Elan Menlo Park Apartments

Will Totten

Disclaimer: I was able to secure a 1-bedroom with significantly lower COVID pricing which made this apartment complex a much better value and made some of the cons more tolerable. If I were to move into this complex at the current prices, I would give this review less stars. Pros - The complex has good amenities overall. The amenities include a nice gym, pool, package locker, dog relief area, barbecues and a hot tub (even though the hot tub seemed to be broken fairly often). - The apartments are spacious, modern and have good layouts. - Maintenance crew is very responsive and helpful with requests. - Garbage collection service is convenient. - The community is gated and has plenty of parking overall. - The community managers on-site are friendly and easy to work with. Major Cons - The most obvious and egregious con is that this complex is owned by Greystar Property Management. For anyone not familiar with Greystar, they are the largest apartment management company in the United States and overall a god-awful company, complete with an ‘F’ rating from the Better Business Bureau and countless horror stories if you do a quick Google search. Do your research and know what you are signing up for before you lease with this company. - Speaking of Greystar…not only will you not be getting your security deposit back, but they will absolutely send you a massive bill at move-out. In my opinion, it is quite a deceptive business practice to offer a cheap security deposit on the front-end (in my case it was $199) as part of an effort to drive lease signings, whilst knowing on the back-end the company will send you a massive bill for apartment cleaning, painting and carpeting cleaning on move out (even though I did an extensive amount of cleaning before move out and had no damage to the apartment). When asked to provide itemized invoices to support the cleaning/painting services, I was sent vague invoices from companies that did not even appear to be real. Trying to resolve the issue with Greystar customer service, as you can imagine, was also not a pleasant experience. - The vicinity around the complex is NOISY. By far the worst noise comes from the dog kennel that is located behind the complex. It is not an exaggeration to say that the dogs bark literally non-stop, all day and night, 24/7. If you need to be on an important work video call or are a light sleeper, I would plan on not having the windows open due to the noise. In addition to the dog kennel, there is a moving company located next door which will have loud trucks driving around at all hours of the day. And finally, there is an adult day care located next to the moving company which also produces a lot of noise, especially during lunch hours. (Note: my experience was living in building 3000 so it may be better or worse depending on which area of the complex you live in) Other Cons - There are not many businesses/services located within convenient walking distance of this complex so expect to be driving to grocery stores, etc. - My apartment had a persistent ant problem even though I lived on the 3rd floor. I’m not sure if other apartments had the same issue but we had to have the pest control company spray the apartment multiple times. - The complex does not cover any utilities. In my opinion, the utilities that are billed by the apartment (base water charge/cold water/hot water/water heating/pest control/sewer/trash) are pretty expensive ($200+ per month). Electricity and internet are also separate from this so that adds even more to the total utilities paid to live here. - The gate to the parking lot is broken/malfunctioning quite often. In summary, my overall experience with Elan Menlo Park was thoroughly average. The community itself and the community managers were satisfactory but the complex being owned by Greystar really hinders the experience. I would definitely recommend this complex if it was not owned by Greystar and I will not be renting from a Greystar property in the future.

Patrick Combs

Been living here for over a year and it has been a great experience. The company is quick to respond to requests from residents, whether it is for maintenance or anything else.

Rozier Yan

Highly recommended!! I have lived in many apartment community in Bay Area range from redwood shores to Sunnyvale. Elan Menlo Park is the best for sure. 1. The community is not big but more private and beautiful. 2. The appliance in the unit are all high brand and pretty new. Our 2b unit is 1090sf, the floor plan is awesome and we enjoyed our two spacious bedrooms. It is rare to see two walk-in closet separately. 3. We have lived here almost half year. There are some minor issues, which are actually common, and the leasing office is very responsive. The vendors come quickly and get it resolved efficiently. 4. Big thumb to the manager Ian who is very professional, responsive and reasonable man. He is the best leasing manager I have met. I rarely leave any comments on social media but am so willing to give 5 stars to Elan Menlo Park !

Kathy Gong

Pros: 1. The apartments are well designed. The amenities are new and work perfectly. 2. There are gyms, pool, club house etc. 3. The complex is gated and is safe. 4. There is a trash collection service and someone will collect your trash by your door every evening. 5. The complex is in concrete structures and most of the units are quiet. (but read on) 6. The rent is reasonable and they don’t charge you that much as you move out. Cons: 1. The leasing staff is friendly but not so helpful. Before I moved in, I signed the lease in person so I asked the leasing office for an electrical version. I remember that I received it many weeks after I moved in. 2. The packages are delivered everywhere — the front door, Amazon locker, leasing office and mailbox. It’s a mess. Sometimes my packages were delivered to the leasing office but they never notified us the packages are there. I also lost packages twice in the past year. 3. There is a dog kennel in the north and the dogs can bark all day, so try to avoid the units in 5000. 4. There is no elevator.