Hillside Creek

After almost a year hassle-​free with minimum problems, I am once again disappointed by the management at Hillside Creek. I had decided to write off the extremely slow response to my previous pest problem as a side-​effect of a very poor transition in management companies. I moved my review back to four stars. Then about a month ago I encountered some pests in my apartment. After four weeks of submitting service requests, emailing the office staff, and talking in person with office staff, I still have pests and now a pile of excuses to boot.
A little over four weeks ago, I started noticing tiny little uninvited roommates – with six little legs and two tiny antennae – that’s right folks, roaches. Based on their size, I also knew that these itty-​bitty roommates were about to grow into not so itty-​bitty roomies, so I wanted to act fast. I have lived in Texas long enough to know that the occasional roach is just a part of life, but I was seeing (and killing) on average 2 – 3 roaches per day, so I knew that it wasn’t just the odd one wandering in from outside.
I submitted a service request on 8÷9÷15 requesting that pest control spray. They came in the next week or two (I do not remember exactly when), sprayed, and left a note, so I knew they were there. After they came, though, the roaches became more numerous. I don’t know if they were using some kind of bait to lure them out, but at one point while taking a shower, I had to kill four roaches before I left the bathroom. Needless to say, I requested that they come spray again, submitting another request on 8÷23÷15. They did not come to spray the following week.
On the weekend of the 29^th, I talked with one of the office staff, and explained the situation. She assured me that she would put me on the list and ask pest control to leave a note saying they had been there so I would know that they sprayed. I even emailed the office staff on ⁹⁄₂ to make sure that I was on the list to be treated, and received a response on ⁹⁄₃ assuring me that I was. When I returned later that day (pest control comes on Thursdays), I saw no note indicated that my apartment was treated. Although I started seeing fewer roaches, I was still seeing them on a daily basis, and (surprise!) they were starting to get larger.
I went into the office on the 5^th, and expressed frustration that pest control had yet eliminate the pests. The woman in the office explained that pest control could only apply treatment every 2 or 3 weeks (she wasn’t sure which), and told me that that was probably why pest control had not returned to my apartment. She told me that I was probably treated on 8/​20, and that they should be able to spray again this week. When I asked if they were supposed to leave a note when they treated, she wasn’t sure. She also suggested that to reduce the number of roaches I saw, I should make sure to dispose of the roaches that I kill (does she think I keep them?) and also suggested that maybe they were eating dog food (I have no pets). I don’t expect to win any homemaker of the year awards, but I am pretty careful about keeping food in airtight containers, not leaving dishes in the sink, etc., since I know that can attract pests.
Another week goes by, and, at this point not surprisingly, no sign of pest control. I walked into the office yesterday. I was assured by the same person that I had been treated on ⁹⁄₄ (which she didn’t know the week before), and that I had to wait another week because they will only treat every two weeks. She once again assured me that they would put me on the list, and apologized, and mentioned that they were considering changing pest control companies.
To their credit, the staff is very polite and professional every time I express my problem to them (although the advice on keeping my apartment cleaner was both unsolicited and condescending). The problem is that the problem still has not been fixed. I don’t care how often they spray or what company you use. My concern is being able to open my kitchen cupboard and not see a roach crawling all over my clean dishes.
I will update this review soon… check back to see if pest control comes and roach-​pocalypse occurs, or whether I am still washing roaches down the kitchen sink and sending them on a one way trip through the garbage disposal!

What a dump and a scam!!! This place not only screwed me over on rent, but charged me for cleaning fees after I left that place cleaner than it was when I moved in. The air conditioning went out at least 3 times. Worst of all, the low-​life street bums have easy access to enter the complex. Cops were there on numerous occasions and someone hit my car overnight and ran. If you’re looking for a safe reliable place to live, this is DEFINITELY not the place!

Don’t live here. The apartments are cheap and poor quality. There is absolutely no water pressure, the shower goes from ice to steam back to ice uncontrollably. The interior, in general, is old and run down. The exterior looked like shit until their recent «renovations» and by that I mean a couple of dudes walking around with paint rollers and literally just spraying some black shit over the old parking lot to mimic new asphalt. Oh and they towed my car at owners expense to do so but don’t worry they did leave a piece of paper with a few days notice on my door informing me that they would be working on the parking lot in randomly assigned sections over the next week. When I went in to ask dude where’s my car, a simple response of «oh… I think somewhere on slaughter?» Is the professional response I get from the apartment’s outstanding management team. This is a new management team that is making «improvements» some of which included adding on utilities to our monthly rent (which we already pay the city for) and switching the payment policy to only allow one lump payment each month from one person. So if you have roommates that’s a fun bonus.
But hey, it is a roof over your head. And they even have a pool and a fitness center with up to TWO treadmills! Those are some amenities that are hard to find in Austin.

In previously writing, I gave Hillside Creek ¹⁄₅ stars. With the change of management, processes have updated and have addressed most of my concerns.
They’ve implemented new parking stickers that say «HSC» versus «Hillside Creek Apartments». I appreciate not having to drive around town and taking off my sticker. Call it paranoid, but some things/​people I just don’t want following me to my apartments.
The maintenance staff is the same. I just need to be more creative in overcoming language barriers. Regardless, they make the effort and do a great job.
I love that now I’m getting notified by phone if I have a package at the front office.
The website hasn’t crashed yet since management has come in. Though I wish you could split payments between bank accounts/​cards within the payment portal like we were able to do before.
Love that they made sense of the visitor signs. I never understood what the previous sign meant, so I would tell my friends to just park at the front prior to the update.
I would like this place even more if they applied for Google Fiber. I don’t know if that’s in the works, but being that this is a Time Warner Cable area, I’ve cut the TWC TV cord and just use TWC internet and watch content using Sling and antenna.

I wanted to wait until I got my entire deposit back to write a review; the last place I lived kept $ 40 for a b.s. charge. Anyway, when I look at some of the reviews, I have to wonder if we lived at the same place. I never had any trouble with my car, and on the occasion when a neighbor was being loud after 10pm, a call to the security service took care of the problem. Annoying neighbors are at every complex, but at least HCA had a way to deal with it rather than me having to go confront the jerks.
The floorplans were spacious and updated, and very clean when I moved in. In fact, they were the SAME floorplans as at the last complex I lived at on S. 1^st St – except $ 60 – 100 cheaper. But there was no covered parking at that complex, and the manager was a moody and often extremely rude person for no reason. Brian and Rex are responsive and pleasant to deal with. Maintenance requests were usually handled in 24 hours or less, and the maintenance team DOES speak English, I had no problem communicating with them. The pool area is probably one of the nicest I’ve seen in Austin, and one of the maintenance guys cleans it every morning; I’d see him as I left for work. By nighttime, because of all the trees on the property, sure, there are leaves in it, but I really have to wonder at the expectations some ppl seem to have…
Did I ever see a roach here? Yes, as I did in every other place I have ever lived in Texas. Those huge roaches live in the trees and no amount of pest control in the apts makes a difference. The small roaches come from ppl being dirty, but I never saw any of those. The 2 bugs I saw were close to the entryway when the cats got them, so I assume they came in under the small gap under the front door. The maint. guy installed a door sweep and I never had any more uninvited visitors.
The neighborhood was average for an older part of town, and there’s a bunch of great Asian joints within walking distance. It’s less than a 10 min drive to downtown, and quite a few bus lines at the corner if you’re car-​free. Since the average rent for a 1 bedrm in Austin is over $ 1000, the price-​point for the amenities and location at HCA is excellent.

Conveniently located apartment community at a reasonable price!
I’ve lived here 6 months now and have been very happy. I have a larger ¹⁄₁ with a great layout, a nice balcony, and updated appliances. The team has been very responsive to my maintenance requests, for example my entire bathtub area was even redone when the finish started chipping and my dishwasher drain was promptly unclogged.
Parking is a breeze, there are no assigned spots so you and your guests can park anywhere BUT guests will get towed if they stay overnight without a guest pass. This can be a pain in the neck because you may not always know ahead of time that someone will get too drunk to drive home that night. It would be nice if you could print your own pass. Sometimes I do have to park a bit further from my unit if spots are taken, but generally this is not a big deal.
My only gripe about the complex is that the entrances to the apartment buildings are not blocked from parking, which means that if you are walking into your building with tons of grocery bags, a laundry basket, a couch, you will need to shimmy in between parked cars or walk around on a pebble-​covered ground. It would be a HUGE help to have one space in front of each apartment building blocked «no parking» to avoid that or sidewalks that connect so you don’t have to walk on the pebbles.
Also, there is a very friendly couple, the Care Team, that host community events at the complex. They really do help foster a feeling of community and always make you feel welcomed.
All in all, a great place to live!

I have lived at HC for 7 months. Unfortunately I have to move due to my job and I am completely bummed that I have to move out.
Pros–
Location is awesome
Staff is great — Rex leased to me and he was awesome!
Loved my apartment — perfect size and upgraded, lots of storage, great price
Covered parking included in the rent
Always got a parking spot close to my place, and if I came home super late, still could park relatively close.
Always easy to get a visitor pass for a weekend or even a week.
Gated
Maintenance was super nice and quick. I didn’t have a maintenance issue until 5 months in.
Cons–
Yes the crime rate in this area is awful, I don’t know if its because I spent 2 years in St Louis or maybe I just didn’t have a bad experience. It definitely looks shady at night but with that said, I once left my driver side window down all the way down all night and half a day before realizing it. I had lots of stuff in the back of my car, including a $ 150 car part, all visible, and nothing was touched.
The exit gate was malfunctioning which within the 7 months I lived here has happened 3 – 4 times, and actually closed on my car, denting it and breaking the rear light. Of course because of the sign saying they are not liable for any damage, even though it was malfunctioning, they wouldn’t pay for the damages. To me that is just bad business. This is a Greystar issue, not necessarily a HC issue.
Office Hours — I work the same hours they do so it was sometimes difficult to get visitor passes or put money on my card for laundry. Multiple times the office would be closed during lunch hours due to «staff meetings» that would last hours. If I picked that day to spend my lunch hour going there, I was out of luck.
Renewal Rates — I would be nervous to hear the renewal rate if I were to stay. After 6 months it went up $ 100. Timing always has a lot to do with that though. Summer is the busiest and most expensive time to move.
All in all, I am extremely sad to leave. I didn’t have any issues big enough (besides the gate issue) to make me look anywhere else. I will miss it!

I’ve lived here for a year. Had to fight to get this apartment as the rent market is crazy. I knew soon as we moved in that the neighborhood was going to be crazy. Talk about living in a rat cage in the middle of chaos. You’ll hear sirens every single night multiple times a night. It’s like living on a constant adrenaline rush. don’t think you’ll be coming home to relax.
The layouts are nice and the new appliances in our apartment were nice. The bathtub was basically falling apart and lost chunks of paint from the metal each time you used it. The swimming pool was occasionally clean and empty which gave me time to sit and read a book in peace and quiet. That is until the sirens came blaring again.
The roaches were disgusting and present, regardless of how clean we kept the place. We are clean people, but the people next door and below were absolute slobs. Their roaches got bombed and moved up to our place. Just sick.
Rent just got hiked $ 100/​mo. for a 15 month lease and $ 150 for a shorter lease. That’s my cue to go. The manager Rex is one of the coolest and most hard working guys there is and was an absolute pleasure to work with. That was the best part about the complex.
Unless this is your last resort, stay away.

Do you want to live in a roach infested apartment with terrible management? If so, this place is for you! The only reason I’m giving it a star at all instead of the negative it deserves is the proximity to downtown and I-​35. The layouts are really nice, so at first I was thrilled to find a place so cheap so close to everything. However, after the first year they raised my rent $ 125 and in came the bugs. Even though I have repeatedly requested an inspection, they just send in a guy to put down bait and it does nothing. I’m not a messy person and I don’t leave food out but for some reason they keep showing up.
Management cannot get their stories straight and give conflicting information depending on whom you speak to. Now that I’m on a month-​to-​month payment plan, the rent is ludicrous. I was originally quoted with it being about $ 980, but I’m paying $ 1,100 and they told me next month will probably be even more expensive. I’m sorry, but $ 1,100 for a roach-​infested shithole is pushing it, regardless of location.
It sours me because initially I loved this place, but now I can’t wait to move. August cannot come fast enough. Please look elsewhere if you’re thinking about moving here.

I really enjoyed living here the past year and a half. They’ve cleaned up the complex very nicely. Too bad I can’t say the same for the office. There’s no compassion with this place. They blame the tenant for not receiving correct information. The towing policy is out of hand and causes a huge headache for those that live here. I was towed. I bought a new car and made it home after the office was closed so I was unable to get a parking pass. They tow after 9am while the office doesn’t open until 10am. I was told I should have called and they would have dropped it off at my apartment. I don’t think he understands the concept of time. Would a call even matter if no one is there til after my car is already towed. I’m very disappointed in the lack of customer service.

just applied for their apartment, liked the location, close to downtown.

This place is the absolute worst place. They charge erroneous fees. I had to bring MY copy of the lease every month since they kept telling me a different price (a $ 40 -$ 60 difference) It took them 5 months (I only stayed 6) to fix my garbage disposal and dishwasher, half of my outlets didn’t even work and it is also bug infested. The management in this place is also bad. I could never just talk to the desk person cause he never knew why or what fees I was asked to pay for. He just said to just pay it. The gates don’t work so protect
your shit. There is also no assigned parking so good luck trying to find a spot. DO NOT SIGN A LEASE HERE!

In the past year with all the improvements they have been making, I have resigned my lease. (Also because I just didn’t feel like moving.) They are definitely making an effort.

Don’t even think about it. The crime rate is out of control over here.
Also, this.
Need I say more?

I did not give a 5 star, only because these apartments were built a long time ago!!!
Management is great — there are several bus lines that go in every direction in Austin!
Loud unruly tenants do not make a complex good or bad — this facility is clean, gorgeous swimming pool! It is real fun to watch the fireworks from the balcony in downtown Austin, or the bats if you like!
Keep it weird!