The Circle at Hermann Park

We have been at the Amalfi for 6 months now, We moved to Houston in a rush because of cancer treatment at MD Anderson, so we did not spend a lot of time looking around (we only had 2 days to look). We needed a furnished place that accepted pets, was close to the medical center and could take us right away. We rent from a 3^rd party corporate agent.
If you are a medical patient, please realize this is a large complex. The distance from the parking garage to your front door is long. Even if you have someone pick you up, you need to be strong enough to get around. The elevator was out of service for at least a week during our stay which sucked. The garage can be very crowded so you may need to park on a level above the floor where you live.
The apartment layouts are good and having a washer & dryer is great. Our electric bill runs around $ 75 – 100 per month for a 1 bedroom on the second floor. Our AC went out and the service guy did respond fairly quickly. He knew right away that the drain from the AC unit was clogged, so it must happen frequently.
The office staff is nice; we saw them frequently when we picked up packages.
The floors in the hallway are filthy; they need a good scrubbing with a machine, instead of being mopped once in a while.
Overall, this was acceptable under our circumstances, but we would look elsewhere if we had to stay longer.

Excellent place to come to and live — the personnel is high end on customer service and always willing to make our home the best place to be — safe, fresh, enjoyable — it feels like constant vacation. Congrats for your performance.

I’ve lived here for four months, so far I’m pretty happy with my experience. My apartment, an efficiency, is spacious and was very clean when I moved in. The staff have been very helpful. When my AC broke at 11 pm at night, it was fixed by 8 am the next morning. The amenities are very nice. The community wifi in the open spaces has been pretty terrible, but the pools and the gym have been good.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a while.
We had to move to Houston in a rush. Wifey matched at the Medical center for residency, so we only had about 2 months to move halfway across the country to get here. We did not have the time to come down to Houston and take a look at apartments and had to solely rely on online reviews. So I hope this review helps you if you’re in the same situation.
The Circle is actually two buildings, Esplande and Amafli. The Amafli I think is newer with updated appliances and granite countertops. I really wouldn’t know because I have not seen the Esplande portion.
Location: Is excellent if you work at the Med center or Museum district. It is close enough (0.75 miles) to the train station, if you work along the train line or downtown. If you work in the suburbs, then you will drive against traffic. Everywhere else, you are probably screwed because of Houston’s notorious traffic. The Circle is right across the street from Hermann park and Miller theatre. So if you have a dog, run, or like outdoor theatre (for free!) and museums, this place is excellent. Also within walking distance of a few good bars and eateries (Barnaby’s), coffee shops (Kaffine). There is a paid shuttle to the med center.
Safety: There are signs in the park saying don’t wander around the park after dark. Have seen a few shady characters loitering around the park. During peak hours the park is very safe. Lots of families, walkers, runners, security patrols on golf carts etc. For the most part the building and garage are locked down. The neighborhood is undergoing change, so there are blocks of old dilapidated housing and blocks of modern new buildings, but I have come to realize that is most of Houston. There were some break ins into cars, again, that is Houston, expect it! The building was pretty proactive in working with the police to catch a thief. For additional safety you can get security through ATT or ADT etc.
Pricing: I feel that the Circle is reasonable priced for the museum district. We live in a 4^th floor apartment with a courtyard view. It is very hot in the summer, so expect high utility bills ($ 200 per month). The top floor apts come with loft space and extra storage room. Rents change with availability and their prices are quoted online. Overall, anything under $ 2k in the museum district is a good deal (for now!). Expect to pay $ 1800-​$ 2,200 for a 2 bedroom in this area (of course you can go higher!). Remember most places ask you to show annual income equal to 3 times the rent (combined annual income of all parties living in the apartment). You also get covered parking and 2 key fobs for access. The units have sprinklers and central fire monitoring, so you get a discount with insurance. They do have some ridiculous sign up fees, which I call the ‘fleecing fee’. Things like non-​refundable this and that, but that is pretty standard practice in Houston. Until a class action law suit comes around, you are going to pay it to all properties.
Maintenance: The staff are excellent and very friendly. They might be a bit overworked though. they have an online system to place maintenance requests. They might take a while but they eventually show up and take care of it. Common areas are very well maintained. You will read of dog poop and messy hallways, but they get taken care of pretty fast. I think as tenants, there is some expectation that you maintain the premises.
Common areas: Special note for common areas. The Circle has 4 very well maintained pools. 2 lap, 2 relaxing pools. Never really crowded. As a resident you get access to common areas, cyber cafes and gyms of both facilities. The Internet in the cyber café’s don’t work most of the time. They do have 3 coffee machines (one is not working as I write this) that dispense fresh ground Starbucks (for free!). Sometimes the machines are not stocked, but that is because they run out. Everyone uses it.
Concierge service: Packages from FedEX, UPS etc get dropped off at concierge, who then send you an email. They also hold your laundry, house keys if you have a maid etc. Very friendly, very helpful.
Overall, we are very happy. I knocked the 1 star off because the first week we moved in our AC was not working. They spent all week fixing it, which was good, but we were without AC in the peak of summer for a week. We asked the management for a discount on the first month, but still have not heard back from them. Will update the review if that ever happens.

While the property is nice and conveniently located to the Med Ctr, and the staff who work at this property are great, the management company for whom they work, Greystar, is terrible. All of my interactions with the management company began confrontational. The corporate office employees fail to understand customer service. All written communication and conversations with corporate begin and end with blaming the local property staff, and property staff blame corporate. As a result, both parties abdicate responsibility for addressing concerns. If you are looking for an apartment in Houston, I recommend avoiding Greystar properties.

The complex is horrible. The manager, Josh, is not capable of effectively managing the complex. The hallways within the complex wreak of bad odor. The office staff is rude. Some of the residents go around taking pictures of other residents –acting as if they are policing the community. I am not going to resign a lease here.
Managing a complex of this size can be a challenging task. Rules need to be enforced and every resident thinks he or she is an exception to the rules at one time or another. It takes a competent group of individuals to effectively manage everyone’s needs. That is where this complex falls short. Poor management leads to unhappy residents.
The reviews of this complex are largely negative. As we all know — for every negative complaint there are 16 other people who feel the same way. Enough said.

Worst place ever! Stayed here last month on short term with Bella Retreats & was very unhappy! Apartment was infested with fleas, & spiders. I got bit all over my legs. You cant use a mobile inside no connection Tmobile, At&t would always get disconnected. I agree this place is below zero! On top of everything was on bottom floor & could hear everything going on upstairs. Thank God I was on a short term lease!

The floor in the hallways are surfaced with tile which looks great WHEN it is clean… most of the time it is grimy, especially on the first floor of the Amalfi. Crawling with millepedes. I have already discussed this with management, and it looked cleaner for a week or two after that but then reverted back to its disgusting grime. Have some pride… wax the floor, and/​or clean it at least weekly. I shouldn’t have to complain as a resident for you to realize that foot traffic can be heavy and floors need to be cleaned regularly.
Secondly, why is there never enough paper in the shared computer/​printer room in the Amalfi? Why are the cabinets never stocked with extra paper in case the printer tray runs out? There is no point to a printer if there is never any paper. I always need to return to my apartment to get some paper because I cant rely on management to do simple things like keeping paper stocked.
I also do not appreciate the long and multiple emails that I get from management regarding things of little importance, like yoga classes. I DONT CARE. I delete your emails without reading them. And if you must send an email that is IMPORTANT, then make it brief. Some of us have jobs. Also don’t send me voice messages about community events.

I’ve lived in the Circle at Hermann Park for a year now and just renewed my lease. The floor plans are spacious, ceilings are high and finishes and appliance are nice. The complex is quiet with very nice amenities. I was specifically drawn to the fitness center, multiple pools and outdoor heated lap swimming pool. Most recently they have added yoga and hot yoga classes. The staff also does a good job with hosting events that include alcohol and food, from time to time for the residents.
If you work in the med center, there is a shuttle that will take and pick you up. There is valet rash service that unfortunately you don’t have the option on and have to pay $ 25/​month for. Personally, I’d rather save my money and not be lazy, but I don’t have that option. The pet deposit is extremely high at $ 500. Great overall location and I feel pretty safe due to the only way in is through a fob/​clicker.

I had to write a review because the ones on here seem pretty biased! Choosing a place from out of town is nerve-​wrecking, but I’m glad I took a gamble and chose the Amalfi! The gym is clean and never too crowded, they offer FREE yoga classes (!), the pool is delightful, and there’s free good coffee downstairs! I mean, you can’t really complain here. The apartment is nice and spacious, and things normally have gotten fixed within a couple days of calling in. It’s a nice place! Don’t trust all the negativity online!

I agree with the person who said the staff are rude. I first found this place on Airbnb. Then I called and Laura said I could book directly. I then had some tech issues and couldn’t print the lease. So I emailed THREE TIMES to get the link on Airbnb.
Laura kept telling me to Google it. Don’t they know their own link???
Total pain! Found another spot on Airbnb.

If there were 0 stars I would give 0. BEWARE of this complex. here are pros and cons.
PROS
1. location. right next to hermann park and very close to medical center.
2. The pool and gym are pretty good.
CONS
1. dirty. The hallways are covered in roaches in the summer. Someone even spray painted «management sucks» on the door from the parking garage into the building. One time someone spilled a gallon of milk in the hall and it didn’t get cleaned up for at least a week.
2. the garbage rooms are always covered in trash. no one puts their garbage in the chute and as soon as it gets warm fruit flies infest the whole building. including your unit. then management sent an email telling you to wash your dishes and do not leave fruit out but no matter how clean your unit is, you will still be overtaken by fruit flies.
3. The office staff seem very nice while you are signing the lease and are then rude and useless.
4. Picking up packages is a pain. You have to go to esplanade and deal with the slow staff there who on multiple occasions «couldn’t find» my packages that I knew had been delivered. Turns out, they inverted our apartment numbers when they wrote it on the box and that is why they couldn’t find it.
5. The water is constantly being shut off and there is never any explanation. It happened at least 4 times that we know of.2 of which occurred at about 6am just as we were trying to get ready for work.
6. Bike was stolen. This happens a lot we learned from talking to other people
7. Move out– if you ever cook with «strong spices» or own a dog prepare to pay insane amounts upon move out for «carpet cleaning.» Even though in the lease it states you will not be charged for normal wear and tear. apparently owning a pet and cooking with strong spices are not «normal.» Keep in mind our dog was 10 lbs and did not shed and in fact did not live with us for 3 months before moving out. Apparently the vendor «detected a pet odor.»
All in all, over priced for what you get. They seem nice at first, but things change immediately after you sign the lease.