Monarch Coast

I have lived at the Monarch Coast Apartment Homes for almost a year now and I still can’t forget the day that I came and met Chris in the leasing office. I was in a really bad place in my life, things were frightening, new beginnings, I wasn’t sure what my credit score was or how it would effect my situation, I had to downsize from a house to an apartment, and out of all the properties I looked at it in the OC from IRVINE to Costa Mesa — all the facilities this Lyon Properties was the best.
I will always remember when Chris said to me «…we will make this work … everything is gonna work out just fine …“and it did.
The staff here is amazing in the office… We have the charming Krystal, who is a delight, she does all my work orders for me instantly. I can call and ask for my water bill or any question … she never has an attitude !
I like to stop in the office in the morning and get a fresh cup of coffee that they always have available and they greet me warmly every time (I am a high maintenance tenant). Carola is amazing in accounting every time I have a glitch or do something wrong she is legitimately professional and patient with me.
Recently I requested through what I believe to be the GM. Dawn, new carpet.
I worked with Javier who also is very professional and diligent in communication then implementing the approval from Dawn.
It is amazing how a fresh set of carpet in what I now consider my house ‚
brightens & lightens the spirit, it’s an upgrade for sure.
There’s also a special employee Fernando that from day one has been the go to guy for the properties maintenance etc.
I think he works eight days a week, lol. I always see him even on holidays helping other tenants with issues when I have a work order he comes in. He is quick, he’s efficient, and his uniform is always clean and fresh. Fernando will explain to me what happened. I always feel safe here & that my daughter also is in a safe location with all these amazing people around us !
We see them all driving around in little golf cart always acknowledging us by name with a sincere greeting. Once or twice Fernando saw me walking with a lot of bags & offered assistance.
The Dana Point Monarch Coast Apartment Homes is a class act.
I’ve lived in Laguna most of my life and definitely refer and will continue to refer anybody looking for a place to live here and feel proud about it!
H

I just want to add a review with regard to the maintenance team at Monarch Coast. In my experience, they have always been responsive, friendly, and professional. We’ve had to have several maintenance issues taken care of over the last couple of years and Javier and Fernando respond quickly and make sure that the work is thoroughly completed. Keep up the good work!

I just signed my second lease here and I am really regretting it! The first year went okay. The location of the apartments can’t be beat! Walking distance to the beach and great views. We didn’t have too many problems with the apartments and management seemed to leave you alone. We went out of town and came home to a flooded sink. We put in a work order and they ‘fixed it’. It happened again and they sent the same maintenance guy who did not know how to fix the problem. Once they fixed it for the second time it seemed to be fine. Time passed and we practically forgot about it.
Like I said, we just signed our lease and of course the sink just randomly starts overflowing on day. We weren’t using it at all! It flooded the whole kitchen, got in our kitchen drawers, under the appliances and on the carpet. It was after hours so it took them a little longer to get over but they came and fixed it. This guy was much better. The problem is that the damage was done. The water smells like puke. It’s all over all our dishes and our carpet. They cleaned our carpet and the after hours guy did the best he could.
When we asked the office to have a cleaning crew take care of cleaning the kitchen all we got was attitude.
You get what you pay for I guess. Everything is fine until you actually need something and need them to take care of the apartment you are RENTING! No more referrals here.

Lyoncommunities’ slogan could be Bringing Crap Home.
Be sure to ask the leasing office about the «blank» «green» square on their site map.

Love this place. Great location at a 15 minutes walk from the beach. Friendly and very helpful staff. Facilities (pool and gym) are well taken care of. Apartments are set up in a way that gives you a lot of privacy. As you can tell I enjoyed living here. After three years it’s time for me to move on (buying a house), but without any hesitation I would recommend this place to everyone. Keep up the good work Chris and team

They followed up the next day with a phone call and apology yet still had zero explanation why I was not served upon my appt. arrival. A star for the apology.

This place has an equal number of positives and negatives, hence a three star review. Location is as good as it gets near the beach and the prices are in the range of acceptable.
Old AC — our apartment on second floor was hit by the sun most of the day and AC could run for hours, never stopping but the temperature would not drop below 74 — electrical bill was too high. Without AC inside temperature could climb to 80 due to southern exposure — no cross ventilation in the apartment to speak off. It would be nicer outside than inside — attic had a bare minimum of insulation — probably 1980 standards.
Parking was adequate if you do not mind parking in the over flow lot in the back.
About twenty percent is subsidized housing — you are not told by the front office — and some of these renters behave as if they own the whole complex, so make sure to ask about neighbouring units in your building.
Overall, if I had to rent again, I would act depending on what unit was available. I definitely would not rent the same unit we had the first time — would look somewhere else if that was the only choice.

I simply love this place, stunning golf course views, wonderful amenities and the staff couldn’t be more helpful. As a matter of fact last week my patio furniture was delivered unannounced, I called the leasing office, the staff meet the deliver folks, inspected the shipment for damage, directed and staged the furniture on my deck… WOW, I was so impressed What’s not to love with customer service like that
Thank you Monarch Coast

Great experience with Bill Sullivan and Chris in the leasing office. Very professional. Beautiful community.

My husband and I moved into Monarch Coast back in May of last year. This was the BEST DECISION WE EVER MADE in terms of residence. Our apartment is simply sublime. It is pricier than what we paid before, but you do get what you pay for sometimes! We truly feel at home here. I don’t even know if we will ever want to buy a home– the only thing that would top our current apartment begins at homes in the $ 1 million dollar range in this area. We cannot hear our neighbors at all, and they are all polite professionals at that! The views we have of the golf course and ocean are so gorgeous. Management is friendly and respond quickly to service requests, have not had any issues. Parking is fine and guest parking is available, it isn’t that far of a walk. We take advantage of the running/​biking path down to Salt Creek Beach frequently. We moved from the HELL of an apartment complex located nearby, The Villas at Monarch Beach (see my review on their page, I highly do not recommend) and we are so thankful to have found Monarch Coast!

I have been at Monarch Coast now for three years and hope to renew my lease for another year. I have been very pleased with my living situation. As large a complex as it is, it is very professionally and well managed. Kudos to Dawn for doing such a good job. Also to Carola, many thanks.
The maintenance department under the direction of Donnie, and his team, Fernando and Jesus, is outstanding. They really take good care of the residents. Repairs are taken care of in a timely and organized manner. It is very obvious that they take pride in their work. Thank you, guys.
Thank you for making this a safe place for us to live.

The location is awesome, the grounds are peaceful and nice.
The appliances are old and tired.
But the staff is non-​caring and will rarely return a phone call. Treat you like you are an idiot for bothering them.
The highlight is Donnie the maintenance man but the gardeners do poor work, always messy. I wouldn’t consider this «luxury apartment living» especially since they raise your rent every year like clockwork.
Resident parking is okay, guest parking VERY difficult.
But again, the location can’t be beat.

Having lived in my share of apartments around south county area, I can say that this is one of, if not the best for it’s pricing, location and quality. Less than a mile from the beach, central to laguna beach and san Clemente and all the great restaurants and nightlife. Woodsy and breezy atmosphere definitely keep it cool and quiet in the complex. There’s a pool and a gym on premises and anytime I have had maintenance issues, they have been dealt with promptly. Parking is the only thing I would say can be a bit tough. There is ample guest parking in the complex, it’s just not always the closest unless you live on the perimeters. There are reserved spots close to apartments for tenants, and there is an option to rent out a space if you are wanting extra ones reserved for other tenants. I looked so many places before I found this one and I am very glad I did. If you check out

So this review is after a few months living here, plus after a few terrible grounds ideas. So the place is still peaceful until Saturday and Sunday afternoons, when a gang of scooter and skateboard children take to the paths and knock you down! There are large dogs off leashes with poop and weird berries stuck on the sidewalk everywhere. The appliances are REALLY DATED. The pools are packed with unsupervised kids, don’t let them tell you any differently. Everything in the apartment seems to break, the maintenance is fast (thanks Donnie). Dawn will NEVER call you back, ever. Plus the tree trimming crew/​gardeners here are awful. We had a green beautiful tree to look out at, and now it is bare sticks. Plus they replaced a real grassy knoll with mulch and artificial grass, which looks and smells disgusting. I wouldn’t consider this «luxury apartment living» by any means.
Office staff is nice.
Maintenance is great.
Good parking.
Nice amenities.
Nice floor plans.
Great location.
I will hopefully be updating the review if a few of these things get addressed.

Do not bring your kids here, people will hit them with their cars, great place for dogs, pool is beautiful and the people are friendly and great except for Chris he is useless.

I walked into the leasing office feeling really bad about my situation. As soon as I walked into the leasing office I was greeted by NiTasha Woods. Her smile and welcoming attitude made me feel instantly at ease. She was professional and courteous and effecient. Within minutes I had my application filled out and she had me assured that everything would work out for me. She took extra good care of my situation and made sure I got the apartment I wanted. I moved into the community because of NiTasha. She is a consumate professional who means what she says and most importantly follows through with what needs to be done. I recently had a maintenance issue that was taken care of the same day. Of course NiTasha was the person in the office who helped me. It always puts a smile on my face when I walk in and see her.

I really like living here, its beautiful and peaceful. I feel safe here and you can’t beat the location.
I never really hear my neighbors outside of an annoying dog yapping on occasion. There is a pretty significant problem of people not cleaning up after their pets. They just tell me to «keep an eye out» like I’m suppose to monitor the yard all day.
I’ve never had a surprise visit from maintenance. They are always helpful and friendly.
I wish they would make non-​smoking buildings. I hate that I have to close my windows because of my neighbors wreaking up the place.
The water pressure in my 3^rd floor apt sucks and it takes 20 mins for the water to heat up in the morning. They told me to turn up the heat on my water heater but that really was of no use.
There is no recycling bin by my dumpster which I think is terrible. I’ve asked them three times to put one there put they have yet to do anything. I also see a lot of good furniture thrown in to the dumpsters. It’d be nice if they reserved a place for unwanted furniture to be recycled by one of a 1000 tenants here. Maybe have a designated parking spot or two to showcase it.

mold mold mold!!!
illegal ventilation for the units

We have an upgraded model which is nice. Views of the ocean and golf course would seem quiet and peaceful, but it’s not. Tenants are loud. We have a mini «Regal Cinemas» in the apt across from us with one of the loudest surround sound systems ever imagined. The tenants above us have animals for children that bang on a piano, not for lessons, literally bang the keys and run/​jump at all hours of day and night. They water their plants excessively or wash off their deck and it all runs down onto our furniture. Complaints to the office went unnoticed and we found out that one of the women in the office has a relationship with him so nothing gets done. Not sure of her name, but she’s the old blonde that takes care of the apt ledger. We had issues with our BoA account and the billpay checks and she had no problem discussing all of our personal issues regarding being late as a result of that in front of people who were prospective renters. They saw us afterward at the mailbox while they were walking around the units and asked if that’s «the norm». Hopefully they chose another place. Came home one night and our bedroom window was busted out, maintenance did come to fix that night, which we appreciated. Air conditioner and heat does not work properly, only sends out neutral air. Repeated calls to fix and are always told that «it works fine». Smoke backs up into our apartment from other tenants using wood in the fireplace. Other people’s dogs come on our patio and pee on our patio furniture or the sliding screen doors. We have had packages stolen from our front door. Bottom units always smell like stale mildew because the water sits on the concrete making a slimy mess. There was a fire next to us and our fire extinguisher was used to help put it out back in July, it still has not been replaced. We keep getting told «its on order». Parking is a joke, you get one covered spot and fight for a spot unless you want to park at the very end of the complex. The gates are always open and people come in to park so they can access the path to the ocean who are not residents. There seems to be a lot of young Marines and section 8. Cops are around very often on domestic disputes. Walls/​floors are thin, I can hear my neighbor peeing when I’m putting on my makeup in the morning.
So yes, the apartment and views are great. It should be for $ 2300/​mo. However, that money is better spent elsewhere without the ghetto feeling. When our lease is up in March, we are gone. Lyon has other great properties that we loved, which is why we came here. This one is definitely not one of their shining stars.

Price =
Typical OC pricing, but a little higher due to location. Rent is due 1^st of each month, NO exceptions! You have to pay renter’s insurance too, which they actually check. That is $ 15/​month. No utilities included. Every time you renew your lease, they want more money.
Parking=
New program in place where you have to use a parking tag in your car. If you leave your car in the wrong place for over 24-​hours you get towed. Each apt gets 1 covered parking spot. They say there is plenty of guest parking, but there is not.
Amenities=
Washer & Dryer on the patio in a closet, fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher. Gym has a little yoga room & a decent cardio room with 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, 2 bikes & 2 steppers. They just got a flat screen TV too. It is open 24-​hours with your pass code and there is a weight room with some old but working equipment — but I never use it because there are always teenage boys in there with no shirts on. 2 pools & 2 Jacuzzis. 20 min walk from Salt Creek Beach!
Apt=
1BR is a decent size, but overpriced. The maintenance likes to schedule surprise visits when you aren’t home, which I dislike. Lots of people have small dogs, but nobody around me has been too loud. The tenants seem to be a mix of single career people and 18 – 25 year olds. I have had several appliance and heater issues, but they all get fixed in time. Cabinets are old, but I think some are remodeled. I had to put a note on my door for the UPS and mail guys to take packages to the office since I had a couple things taken or not left. Lots of stairs if you live on the bottom floor. It is nice, but if you want that homey feeling, I would go for a smaller complex.
Overall, I vote 3 stars, for A-​OK. It is nice on the outside and nice on the inside and close to the beach, so you can’t beat that. :)