The Vistana

Great downtown living, great community and staff.

The Vistana is a great place, we love living here. We are currently on our second lease and just moved apartments within the building. The location is fantastic; across the street from a major cultural and shopping venue (The Mercado) and a few blocks walk to the Riverwalk. The community vibe is great, it’s the kind of place where everyone knows your name and says «hello.» We love all of the building social activities put on by the management staff and the amenity deck is unsurpassed in terms of the view and atmosphere. Some have commented on the high price: You pay for location and the view, if those aren’t priorities for you, then maybe Vistana isn’t for you. We found that the prices were comparable to the other upper scale apartments in the downtown area (and that’s in spite of the fact that The Vistana has the superior view and indoor parking)
The Maintenance Team is always quick to respond to repair orders and are very courteous. The leasing staff do a great job addressing concerns and making accommodations — in particular, Hector has been a huge help and always has the satisfaction of residents as a top priority. The Staff seem to be getting bad press here, but I couldn’t disagree more. They manage 200+ residents with disparate opinions about how things «should be» and they do the best they can to make everyone happy (even though that is obviously impossible). Further, they show a genuine care, concern and personal interest in making the Vistana a great place to live. Does that sometimes translate to them showing emotion? Yes it does. But I will take those emotions everyday over a staff that is cold hearted and corporate minded.

I received a very helpful and professional call from the manager of the vistana. After a productive conversation she understood my situation and promised to resolve it. I am hopeful that future customers will be spared the mistakes of that day. I have faith that she is taking the necessary corrective actions.

I enjoy living here and we just renewed our lease! We moved from Chicago and wanted to live downtown. We like to walk to bars and restaurants and we have tons of options near us. If you work downtown this apartment is perfect! The office staff knows us and our puppy by name and I love seeing them when I come in and out of the building. Great downtown apartment!

Management is Terrible … I pay 150.00 a month for 2 parking spaces, and someone is always parked in my spaces… I’ve contacted the management office, time after time but nothing gets done… They say to call the answering service to have Maintenance handle it, after hours, but when you do, answering service says, «that’s not a Maintenance issue»… Very frustrating, will definitely move when my lease is up… I certainly would NOT recommend this place to anyone… thank God this isn’t my permanent residence…

Staff is nice and accommodating. the location is PERFECT. apartments are renovated with great appliances. loft feel. excellent views. amenity deck is amazing. It isn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for. Very happy with my decision to live here!

I like living here and it’s nice to be downtown but my love for this place stops there because it’s overshadowed by the fact that I pay $ 75 for parking! Which wouldn’t be a problem if I had a decent place to park! I shouldn’t have to park a mile from the elevator because I get home later than other residents. We should have designated parking. That is all.

Iam very excited about my move to The Vistana aka My Downtown Diva Dive! Devin and all the other girls have been an absolute dream in getting me prepared for my new place. Although I love the property I feel they could attempt to keep up with the competition by having better quality cabinets and granite counters in the bathroom and kitchen. It’s a great location and a real nice property but when you do something do it all the way. It’s like having a brand new Gucci bag and not having the Gucci shoes to go with it! LOL! If they made those two changes it would be a «AS GOOD AS IT GETS»
KeeAnn :)

I moved here for a contract job and will be staying in San Antonio indefinitely, but certainly will not be residing in The Vistanas. Everything looked great to start with. They even reserve an elevator for you when you move in. However after the move in, every time someone is moving many of the residents take the stairs since there are only three elevators for the whole building. The other thing that looked great was the hot tub. One does not note the temperature of the «hot» tub when taking a walking tour. It assure you it is not hot. One can manually set the heater on however this takes 2 or 3 consecutive trips to the control at the hot tubs side and a couple of hours to get hot. The management group changed after I had been here a few months. A lot changed with this. They now charge $ 25 instead of $ 15 a month for garbage. This is about what my sisters whole 6 person family pays through the same waste management company. They must make a fortune off little things like this. With the new management group they also stopped letting people in who have locked themselves out during non-​office hours. It is odd since during the office hours, I am myself working therefore am only able to lock myself out during non-​office hours times. My friend did this and they sent her a $ 400 bill. Parking is also $ 80 a month. Renting a washer and drier is $ 60 a month. I would have been happier if they just increased my rent, which they did. At least this would be honest. Lastly this part of town is only cool to live in if you are homeless. For the money you can live in the Quarry or Pearl Brewery area.

This is a great residential building that is located in close proximity to main attractions downtown but still convenient to the major expressways. Most of the reviews on Unilocal were written before the current building manager took over. She and the rest of the staff have been nothing short of awesome. They treat you like you are the only tenant in the building. There was a recent false fire alarm but I haven’t seen them occur with the frequency that was mentioned in a previous review. I’m not a structural engineer but I can tell the building construction is of quality as place is whisper quiet and tenants are extremely friendly when you see them. Glad I didn’t listen to the previous reviews while considering where to relocate to in San Antonio.

I was one of the first residents to move into the Vistana and have been there for over 3 years. I was very pleased with the building and the management team for the first two years. The building was maintained, the staff in the leasing office were pleasant, and issues were resolved quickly.
However, within the past year a new management company took over. The leasing staff are not welcoming, they don’t care about your problems, and don’t resolve issues in a timely manner. I called the leasing office one day to inquire about an issue and the leasing agent told me that it was his last day and he didn’t «care» about my problem. They never greet you when you see them in the hallways, they never smile, and they not take the time to help come up with comprises when there is an issue.
The fitness equipment is currently broken and has been broken for weeks. The weight machines have knobs falling off that been like that for months. The apartment staff said they are taking care of it but that means it will take 6 months to fix it.
They currently changed the gate entrance to a new system. There were a few months that the gates were opening up for anyone that wanted to come in. The apartment didn’t want to reimburse residents for the monthly parking even though we pay for secured parking (not covered parking like they argued). It used to be that you had a sensor that you kept in the car that would open the gate automatically. They switched to a key chain sensor that you have to roll down your window and reach out to place the sensor against a panel. They apparently did it because it was a cheaper way of getting the gate fixed.
The new management company also doesn’t keep the residents informed of changes. For example, we were switched to a new utility company without even being notified. When they were changing the gate system, it was weeks before they told residents why the gates were not working.
They don’t maintain the cleanliness of the hallways. The only one they keep clean is the 7^th floor because that is where the model apartment is located.
The hot tub used to work perfectly but now takes an hour just to heat up (and that’s if you keep turning it on every 30 minutes). During the summer, there are tons of unsupervised kids that the leasing staff don’t say anything when they are passing through the amenities deck. The kids are loud, obnoxious, and destroy property.
Overall, I was pleased when the building first got built downtown. I believe the apartment would be able to get back on track if a new management company takes over (or the owner stops being such a cheapskate). I don’t advise moving into here. I have one more month on my lease and I am moving. Look into Pearl Brewery or Cevallos Lofts.

I should have made this update when we originally moved out but it slipped my mind. Yes, we moved out but only because we ended up moving to Los Angeles.
We moved out September 2011 and I have to say The Vistana was probably one of the best apartment experiences I’ve had. Glad to be out of San Antonio but I still miss the Vistana, the staff, building and my apartment.

Update: after 3yrs/​3^rd management company things were getting better on almost every area below. Still too pricey for what you get as «luxury.» MILITARY — beware… even with military clause they are unsupportive and unprofessional.
Lovely on the outside, beware on the inside. Bottom line, you don’t get what you pay for.
What they say: We call it Lofty Living for a reason. — High, exposed ceilings accentuate our residents’ retreat. Panoramic windows frame a stunning view of the downtown San Antonio skyline. Kitchens with breakfast bars or islands and modern black-​on-​black appliances serve as a culinary oasis. Polished concrete floors provide the foundation of the contemporary interior. And private elevators lift you from the controlled-​access parking area to reach this perch overlooking the city. — The Vistana is downtown living at its best.
What I say: I’ve lived here a little over 4 months. Very disappointed and won’t recommend it unless management starts listening and changing things – attitudes, service and safety issues.
I was only here two weeks with the previous management and things have really just spiraled in a downward trend. They are more about «pillow parties» (think collage mentality) rather than taking care of their residents and maintaining a safe, positive and «luxury loft» environment.
Cost: everything is a la carte – which still might be okay if you received the respect and service that goes along with a property whose rate is 2 times the average rent per square foot here in San Antonio.
Deposits: seemed really high, when I asked I was told … «to keep out the riffraff.» (take that as you will)
Don’t fall for the «upgrade» pitch … superficially cosmetic and the appliances are still cheap, loud and not energy efficient. The dishwasher costs $ 250 and is so loud you can’t talk over it and it can’t be run at night because neighbors can hear it downstairs.
Move in/​out — try to avoid first, mid, last parts of the month. Be sure to do your pre-​move in inspection a day or two before. My apartment was not ready. So I had maintenance and cleaning staff underfoot while I was trying to move in. If you are using a moving company plan on extra hours as elevator availability, utilization/​reservations can be a problem. I don’t know how many folks I’ve seen who almost loose it or melt down due to freight elevator availability and end up paying overages. Plan accordingly. There is only one freight elevator for several hundred apartments.
Parking … again pay separate (the rate is okay but think one parking space should be included), the issue now has become the oversized trucks and SUVs that extend out into the driving lanes (some up to two feet beyond the parking space). These account for probably over 25% of the vehicles allowed to park and the garage is becoming a hazard for residents and other folks who pay to park for work. Also there are no speed control measures. It is only a matter of time until there is a serious accident in the garage to either property or persons.
Location/​views … very nice and the best thing about being here.
Amenities … are not kept up, pool and hot tub have on going issues generally and work out facility equipment continues to have «broken/​not operational» signage on numerous pieces.
Other services that were «sold» … dry cleaning, package acceptance and delivery, trash, recycling, AT&T, corporate apt avail for daily rental for guests, etc. So far none have work as «advertised» and require more time to make them work and any request for assistance is met as if management is being put out; to include billing problems.
Common areas: worn not always kept clean. Generally the issue is people don’t respect the facilities. Some of the residents attitudes generally mirror the management attitudes. Another issues is that often, sad to say, pet owners aren’t as careful as maybe they could be. I don’t know how many times the elevator or elevator waiting area has had pee-​puddles, occasional feces or mud etc. in and around them.
Controlled access for building and garage — pretty safe. though there have been problems around the building and vandalism and thefts in the garage (even though it’s controlled access).
Maintenance. The maintenance staff is very helpful but I think they get «over ridden» by management a lot on actually upkeep and repair. This comes from the notes that are left in response to maintenance requests.
Management. Immature and insolent = unprofessional. Not focused on tending to residents. Posted hours are not always kept. Instructions and communiques are often unclear, redundant and seem to not be screened or coordinated. If you can get beyond the local office and to «corporate» you generally can get assistance and feel like your voice is heard. I think is a rather sad commentary for «luxury loft» living in the heart of downtown.
Hope this has been helpful. If things change, it will certainly change

There are two different ratings for vistana; one for the actual apartment & the other for the management/​amenities. This review is being drafted after living here for 6 mos. My apartment is stunning, it gets a 4 star. It is not a 5 star because I am paying more here than I did living in DC!!! The views both during the day & at night are the best Ive seen staying anywhere downtown. The concrete floors are easily managed. I love the colors chosen & fixtures but we also got the upgraded model. I hear the standard apartment does not have such nice fixtures, ect. In the 6mos we have lived here, nothing has broken or nor have we needed any real work orders. The style is very loft with the exposed ducts, high ceilings & kinda minimalist details.
The management & overall keep of building is 1 star. When I first moved to Vistana there was a different managment team & they were great but they left around June. The new management is run by people that are underpaid from what I hear & were not taught manners. They literally send mass emails that reprimand the tenants for this & that. It’s all about wording & they are not professional. There was one time the both elevators went out, now keep in mind this is 13 floor building. So with both elevators out & people with handicaps, dogs to be walked, time crunches; they decide to put on «Clueless» & watch it blatantly in the office where everyone was complaining. After the fiasco they then sent a verbally aggressive email about people taking there dogs to the 6^th floor that day. Really?!! So they expected people to walk up & down 13 flights to walk their dog when there is greenery on the 6^th floor. I just thought for that day since they had been so accommodating (sarcasm) that they should cut people a break on that rule. The overall attitude with them is a; «what you gonna do about it?» They certainly don’t have the professionalism you would expect for a «luxury» highrise. The new management has really soured the experience, for that I am happy we are moving out in 2 months.
A few questions you might ask yourself before moving to the Vistana is;
1. Can a handle downtown noise?
2. Would a rude management team ruin things?
3. Am I ok with being charged $ 75 for parking, $ 25 for trash, & being forced to choose AT&T as a carrier (there is no option for cable/​internet)
4. Does the downtown life offset the high rent ?
I have enjoyed the downtown life, it was amazing living here but all things considered, I don’t know that I would choose Vistana again; likely not.

The good: The location is great! The maintenance staff are top-​notch, friendly, and do excellent work when they respond to a request. The apartments are very nice for the most part, with modern appliances and fixtures. The walls, floors, and ceilings provide very good noise insulation unlike other places I’ve lived.
The bad: As with any apartment, some residents make the experience less enjoyable for others. However, the office staff does little to respond to complaints. The hot tub is just that, and it’s not intended to be used as a kiddie pool. Likewise, some parents feel it’s okay to leave their half dozen young kids unattended at the pool or with minimal supervision.
Some residents seem to have no sense of responsibility for their pets and think that it’s perfectly acceptable for them to make a mess in the hallway or elevator and do nothing to correct it. Accidents happen, but clean up after your pet!
I don’t mind the bundled U-​Verse, however the mandatory charge for the valet trash service (which nobody seems to use) is ridiculous. Maintenance requests don’t seem to be forwarded from the office to maintenance in a timely manner.
One of my biggest gripes is the way that people, both residents and those that use monthly parking, drive in the garage. The lanes are narrow enough as is, so it would be nice if people would be considerate and not take corners at high speed with no regard for what may be around the bend. It seems like a daily occurance that someone nearly hits my car. The office needs to install more cameras in the garage so that if/​when an accident happens, the party at fault can be easily identified.
Just a couple of fixes and this could be the place to live downtown, but unless the staff takes action I can’t give a good recommendation.

For the record, I don’t live here. My friend does. I’m the lucky friend who gets to play at the friends house on weekends. Yippie!
I will say the office staff is hilarious. They’re borderline crazy, you can just ask how long they’ve worked in the office to know what I’m talking about. They’re cute and nice, but some times I get the feeling they hate the building as much as their whiny tenants.
You’ll be lucky if you get through a «showing» without a hitch. Our showing snagged my friend into renting (sucker). We had elevator problems pretty much the whole month (wouldn’t have guessed it with 3 elevators) which my friend hates, I hate, the whole building hates.
The pool is great. It got a little cloudy after July 4^th but was quickly cleaned. The hot tub works at this point. The workout room needs work or maintenance attendants should check and clean every 5 hours. The noise this city makes is like broadcast on megaphones at 6 am every single day. Noise! You were supposed to be cool!
This place wins in the nickle and diming tenants category. You must pay for cable with AT&T, you must pay for trash and recycling, you must pay for washer and dryers even if you didn’t want them in your unit (who doesn’t, but $ 60 a month?!). I’m sure there’s other «musts» I left out but I don’t pay the rent so I don’t care, BUT! Be warned those kinda requirements adds up REAL quick!
It sure is nice being downtown though… as a guest here.

We rented a penthouse here for about a year and a half, and, overall, it was a good experience. If you want to be in the heart of San Antonio, this is a great vantage point. If you are new to SA, as we were, living downtown is a terrific way to get to know the city.
Security is exceptional with multiple layers of controlled access, views are spectacular (ideal for entertaining), concrete flooring is practical and covered parking and climate-​controlled storage areas on site are big pluses. Residents are friendly and, as a rule, well-​behaved. While I agree with the other comments about the grade of fixtures and appliances and the service level diminishing after Devin and Josh left, this is, after all, an apartment and, as for service, Kaitlyn and Monica are AWESOME.
The Vistana is a bit pricey, but we were looking for a «barrier to entry» to keep the riffraff element to a minimum since this is a rental property. It worked. And, in the case of the larger units, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
The one piece of advice I would give, and it applies to living downtown in SA in general, is be certain that an urban lifestyle and all that comes with that — good and bad — is what you are looking for. There will be noise and panhandlers (in Vistana’s case, often near the building’s entrance because of its proximity to Milan Park, but the park’s proximity is also a plus) and inconvenient grocery shopping, but you will also have the benefits of the River Walk being your exercise path, walking access to the Majestic, loads of restaurants and all the festivals, and the excitement of being in the heart of a vibrant downtown. In the end, it’s a tradeoff and you have to know what will make you happy.

The Vistana is a great place to live. It’s central to everything, has a great staff, especially Devin, Kaitlyn and James. The maintenance guys can’t be beat.
If I have any beef at all it’s that the appliances and fixtures should be more upscale for the rents (particularly in the penthouses) — but that is very minor.
Glad we decided to live here — plan to be here for a long time — hope someday they let us convert to condo…

The Vistana is probably THE WORST place to live in San Antonio.
Oh, let me count the ways:
1. Package delivery notification. Ummm, yah. it’s cool. That is, if you don’t mind waiting 2 – 5 days AFTER your package arrives. I run a business, and frequently get things I need to actually RUN my business. The folks down in the office whom I usually see doing nothing more than watching the big screen TV or picking lint out of their navals, don’t seen to care to notify me EVER in a timely manner that my goods have arrived.
2. The amenities deck: Wow. It sure do «look purd“y in the pictures! But in reality, the hot tub stopped working here 3 months after we moved in last spring. We have asked repeatedly „what’s up?“ And we keep getting the run around. But the bottom line is, it’s cold. All the time. We never use it. Ever. Ridiculous. Also, the gym is a mess. The treadmills sound like cats in heat. The room is filthy and nothing is serviced on a regular basis. Absurd for the prices we are paying here. The BBQs? Almost ALWAYS out of propane. You have a 75% chance of ALL of the BBQ grills being OUT OF PROPANE, especially in the summertime.
3. FIRE ALARMS: This is perhaps the most hideous and DANGEROUS and most unforgivable problem of all (I probably should have listed this at the top). The Vistana has known about this problem for well over a YEAR. They knew about it when I signed my lease early last Spring and did not disclose it to me (ILLEGAL!!) nor to any of my friends and fellow-​residents. It is still a major on-​going problem, and I know for a FACT, they continue not to disclose to new tennants. The fire alarms in the buildings go off randomly, for NO REASON, and for fairly long periods of time, usually in the middle of the night at least once a month, and sometimes several times a night. This is TERRIFYING when you are startled to death out of a peaceful sleep by an alarm (which is in your bedroom and living room) SO LOUD, it can PEEL SKIN. Plus the accompanying, and totally blinding strobe light. That’s an awesome light show and really fun, especially if you’re an epileptic. I made the silly mistake of going down to the sidewalk in front of my building like the screaming recording commanded me to, the first time the alarm went off, right after I move in. How naïve of me. After waiting for 30 minutes, and NO FIRE DEPARTMENT showed up (even THEY KNEW BETTER)…I wandered back up to my apartment, with a few other „newbies“ who apparently didn’t know this was what people do at the Vistana during the middle of the night. The next day, I was told by my fellow residents…“Silly! This happens ALL THE TIME HERE! Just IGNORE ALL THE FIRE ALARMS HERE.» It took me a moment to process that advice… Hmmm. WTF??? Well, it turns out, as twisted as that is, it’s pretty good advice. Unless you like getting up on a semi-​regular basis in the middle of the night, you eventually learn to stuff earplugs in your ears and just roll over. You try not to let the mild heart attack you’re having affect you too much. We all do figure that one day, if there really IS a fire here, we’ll all burn to the ground with the building which is sad to think about really. Tragedy, I just have this feeling is eminent here. Thank you ED CROSS (the building’s arrogant owner. You will run into him in the elevators now and then. He will say «Hi! I’m Ed Cross! I OWN THE BUILDING.») He has so much to be proud of.
4. Elevators: Speaking of elevators: You will spend as much time waiting for elevators at the Vistana as you do sleeping. About ¹⁄₃ of your life. You see, they have decided to let people move in pretty much ANY day of the month, and those people who are moving in, are allowed to tie up one of the only two elevators that connect to the main lobby and parking lots. And they can tie up those elevators, pretty much the ENTIRE DAY (and night). But interestingly, sometimes you will catch one of those elevators on your floor, doors open, and it’s just sitting there EMPTY. The movers are long gone. But no one has come back to get it restored for normal operation. There is no system. No management. But the one thing there IS? About 400+ people all trying to use ONE F’ING elevator to get to and from their cars and apartments during rush hour. Yah. Good system. Thank you Vistana. NICE.
I could go on. But I am limited to 5000 words. I could write a novel.
Bottom line: You need to get your HEAD EXAMINED if you would even consider moving into this monstrosity. Do not get fooled by the pretty website pictures and the fancy tour they take you on. This place is a death trap with a tragedy waiting to happen. The frustration alone will turn you gray. The management are inexperienced and unresponsive. Run, don’t walk… AWAY. They need a «NO STARS» rating. Or negative stars. I’d hit that…

The prices of the apartments are a rip off for the little amount of space. I understand that you’re not paying for the apartment, but the location. Everything else in the apartment was engineered horribly and fell apart quickly. The maintenance staff were all extremely nice and helpful. Most of the leasing staff were horrible at their jobs and organization! The only exception is Josh. He has been awesome. My husband and I also rented out two storage units. When we took everything out, there were tons of dead roaches and both of our mattresses sustained water damage! There was rust, mold and mildew caked on! It was so bad that it seeped through the plastic wrap that was around the mattress and the stain protector that was still on it! Even the boxes also had dead bugs and slight water damage! Completely disgusting! Do not trust these people with any of your possessions, unless you want to have to replace a bunch of things!
I also added pictures so you can see the dead bugs and obvious water stains on the floor. You can even see where the mattresses started to rust.