Pavona Apartments

Loved living here — did not enjoy what happened when we left. We lost over $ 300 on our deposit for 12 hours of re-​painting after having lived in the apartment for three years. The walls had normal wear and tear — nothing significant as far as paint damage. Not sure why they decided it would take 12 hours and $ 300 to fix. My husband and I didn’t care enough to fight back — we were ready to be done.

My roommate and I are looking for an apartment to move into within the next couple of weeks but wasn’t 100% sure of my move-​in date. We both go to school and work in the area and need to move before fall. We walked in, didn’t have an appointment but Corina was very friendly and welcoming. We couldn’t decide between a 1 bedroom or a 2, but we were taken to see a 800 sqft 1 bedroom. They didn’t have any 2 bedrooms to show at the time.
The apartments are very new and modern, LOVE the storage space out on the patio and the units come with new Whirlpool washer and dryers! We ended up not leasing an apartment because we were able to secure a house closer to campus, but we will keep Pavona in mind for the future!
*great looking apartments!
*very friendly office staff members
*heated swimming pool and ²⁴⁄₇ gym!

I’ve been living here for 9 months now and here are some observations and experiences based on the fact that I walk my dog twice daily and, for a few months, I spent a lot of weekday daytime hours in the apartment.
This is the best place I could find for the rent and amenities: gated, underground garage parking (pay extra for a second car down here), tons of visitor parking or park on the street (the free alternative for your extra car), laundry inside the unit, pet friendly, close to everything without having to get on the freeway all the time, walking distance to the VTA and Japantown, and steps away from the park.
This was my first choice after hours of apartment hunting online and it lives up to it. The area is generally quiet. The most noise you will hear will be lawnmowers and the occasional kid in the pool during warm days if you face the courtyard, cars if you face 7^th, or the train that goes by on what would be 8^th (behind the complex/​visitor parking) honking the horn every other hour during business hours.
In the area: lots of people walking their dogs, pushing strollers, jogging, or riding bikes, especially now that they opened the new apartment complex next door. You will see the occasional homeless person because the park has a public restroom, but they keep to themselves and their distance.
To finalize:
— Do have in mind how the sun hits your apartment. I’ve noticed some don’t seem to get any sun at all, (just in case that’s important to you, it sure is to me!).
— You have to face 7^th if you want DirectTV.
— Apartments facing the courtyard = «living with your curtains closed.»
— People are quiet and management has free dog poop bags so there’s never poop on the grass.
— I’ve never had anything stolen from my door and have only ever seen 1 person trying to sneak inside the complex.
UPDATE (5÷13÷16) to say that nothing that I mentioned on this review has changed. I’m still very happy to be living here and feel very safe in this area.

I’ve lived here for just over a year and I love Pavona! The Leasing office staff is always friendly and gives great customer service, and whenever we have questions they are always helpful.
Pavona also does fun things/​activities for the residents you wouldn’t find at other communities.
All in all great experience living here!

This place is a gated community. Thought a gate would do something but my Christmas presents were still stolen from my doorstep. The office has FedEx deliver to the door, that is part of the FedEx service they claim. So the only logical response was to not trust my neighbor. No, office says, sometimes people come in and pick up packages. How is that possible if they community is supposed to be gated and safe?
Watch out for these loopholes! Just bc you’re paying a lot of money, doesn’t mean you’re getting what you’re supposed to get.
I would give this place four stars for very nice service, location, and apartments, but I pay up the butt for everything I just listed, and stolen packages from my doorstep that’s NOT by my neighbors??? That sure is safe!
Oh and no granite counter tops, for $ 2,600+ rent, all you get is plastic… cheaped out I guess or ran out of money for building. Outside looks so nice and inside feels like a disappointment. Not getting what you paid for. Sunnyvale has better options and less hobos, heading there next.

I’m an SJSU student and I lived here for a year. The best apartments I have ever lived in. Michele helped me out the most! She helped me with my first experience renting an apartment and she’s an awesome sales woman too. The majority of people that live here are adults with children and business people. They are safe. The location is great for school. Really close to freeways, stores, events in japan town, and VTA services. They are VERY pet friendly which I loved. It had a comfortable and relaxing environment. They have friendly and super helpful staff. They have friendly tenants and the amenities are amazing (pool, gym, computer room, hot tub, club house, underground parking, gated community, etc). If anything of yours breaks the staff that helps out with manintance are quick in coming to help out! The apartments are fairly new and are in great condition.
Because of all this the apartments are expensive. That’s the only downfall but in the end it is worth it for everything you get in your new home. I lived alone in a 1 bed room and paid $ 1800 a month. There are cheaper 1 bed apartments but at the time they were not available and I needed a place to stay and literally looked for over 6 months and could not find anything in the downtown and north San Jose area.
Highly recommend these apartments as long as one can afford them!

Wonderful apartment complex with knowledgeable and friendly maintenance and office staff. Beautifully maintained gardens and pool area, safe gated community, underground parking, friendly neighbors, clean apartments, good prices, walking distance to Japantown, Pet friendly!
Carmela and Veronica are very nice and they seem to remember who everybody is. They always have a smile and a kind word or two for me, which is so appreciated. I enjoy visiting with them in the office, when I have occasion to.
Simply put: This place feels like home! There is nowhere my husband or I would rather be, apartment-​wise. :)

Spoke to Veronica and Carmela. They both are not very knowledgable in therms of service dog. My housemate has a medical condition where he requires a service dog, but I got a call from them this morning stating that because his service dog is a pitbull (He has a doctor letter stating this as well) it will not be allow to stay here. Even as I tried to explain to them that we have a doctors letter and under Title 3 of the American Disability Act, they cannot turn us away based on the breed of the service dog. Here is a passage regarding breed restriction from Title 3:
«Conversely, if an individual uses a breed of dog that is perceived to be aggressive because of breed reputation, stereotype, or the history or experience the observer may have with other dogs, but the dog is under the control of the individual with a disability and does not exhibit aggressive behavior, the public accommodation cannot exclude the individual or the animal from the place of public accommodation. The animal can only be removed if it engages in the behaviors mentioned in § 36.302© (as revised in the final rule)…»
As leasing professionals, I would learn/​do more research before turing anyone away. Extremely disappointed, but glad that I did not give them my business.
To all future residents, if you have a service dog, no place can turn you away base on the breed of your dog.

You can’t get a better apartment complex than this in San Jose. The entire complex is well taken care of and it looks just as nice as the pictures on Unilocal (I’ve seen pictures of other apartment on Unilocal,but when we took a tour it looks nothing like the pictures they have on the site). The management staff are nice and are always on top of things, if we have a problem they are always there to take care of it right away. There are a lot of see and do within the vicinity of the Pavona. All the major freeways are very close by and can be easily access. This apartment complex is safe and clean.
The only downside to this whole review is the rent, and if you’re not from around here, it will shock you. But trust me, you cannot get a better place for the money in this area. You honestly will get what you pay for here.

Im an SJSU student and I have to admit, this is the best place to live. Moving from the cvc dorms to this beautiful apartment complex, I have all the amenities I’ve always wanted for my home away from home.
After moving out after my 1^st year at pavona, I was looking for an inexpensive apartment to move to, which unfortunately was located in the east side of San Jose. It was a terrible decision and decided to move back to pavona. I couldn’t find any other apartment complex in San Jose that fit the same criteria on my «list» as pavona did.
The staff here perform above and beyond. They’re always helpful when I’m in need of anything. They’re super friendly that I can talk to them on a daily basis, yet stay professional when it’s time to be serious.
The pool is a pretty nice size to just lounge or do some exercises. Along the sides, there are bbqs for hot summer days. Don’t forget to mention they have a jacuzzi and a basic/​well-​kept gym.
If you were interested in running some laps, theres a park right next to pavona that have a baseball field and jungle gyms for kids. The inside of the apartment is modern and the neighbors are friendly as well. Parking is usually relatively available. Pavona is near the 101 and 880 freeways, near Japantown and SJSU.
Of course all things have it’s pros and cons, and the only con is you get what you pay for. But comparing to the surrounding apartments in the area, this is an affordable place to live. Don’t believe me? I highly recommend checking this place out for yourself.

The people here are just great. My husband and I were a little needy and they helped as with a smile, always…
Also, the location in JapanTown was great! There was a huge park where we could walk our doggie, right across the street!!! Anyway, great place!

I don’t live here and probably wont end up living here in anytime soon but i had to write a review for their excellent office staff!
I toured this complex back in February with the anticipation of moving in sometime in May. Although my move in date was far away they took the time to show me around the complex and answer any questions that I had. Yesterday I got a follow up call to see how my apartment hunt was going, if their service for potential renters is anything like the service they give for their renters this staff gets 5 stars in my book!

This place is honesty a little slice of heaven. From the moment that I stepped in the the leasing office, the Pavona staff has always made me feel like i was at home. they had provided a lovely and yet professional environment that anyone would be pleased with. As far as the complex itself, it is a beautiful and lush environment that is always well groomed and beautifully kept.
As a college student, this apartment complex is one that all of my friends envy me for having, with a convenient parking lot in the back and a very nice park across the street. The maintenance crew that Pavona has is amazing they do a clean, quick, quite and professional job, and are always happy to see you. Pavona also has a gym on site and a pool with two BBQs that are right by the pool. As my very first home away from home, I highly recommend anyone to live here if there are any apartments available.

Pavona apartments is a great place to live! Great location, safe, quiet, clean and with a very friendly staff.
Michelle (property manager) along with Ashalic (agent) where very professional, and easy to get along with. They were able to accommodate our needs and very loving to our dog.
The maintenance crew, Anna & Juan, respond very quickly to fixing any issues inside the apartment. Very friendly and trustworthy when entering the apartment when not home.
The only issue that we had was the rent was too expensive which prevents a 5 star rating.
Thank you Pavona for an awesome living experience that we had. It was one of our favorite apartment community to live in and we enjoyed it!

I love Pavona Apartments! I’ve been living here for about 6 months now and waited to write a review so I could get a better feel for the place. Here are the top 3 reasons I think Pavona is amazing:
1. Location
I am literally 2 minutes away from the 101, 880, and 87. Getting on the freeway and explaining where I live to friends is always easy. There is also a great park right next to the complex. It’s a nice place to jog or to bring your dog. There are always lots of other friendly dogs that my puppy can play with. It’s about a 5 min walk to Japantown, which is literally on the next street over. Whenever my housemate and I don’t know what to eat for dinner, we can always find some place tasty in Japantown.
2. Management
The management at Pavona Apartments is absolutely amazing. Every one is extremely friendly. Michelle and Veronica always say hello and every time I come into the office with a question or concern they drop what they’re doing to help me. They are also extremely helpful with maintenance issues. If there’s ever an issue with anything in our apartment, they make sure it’s fixed right away. Juan, the maintenance man, is a great guy! Our dishwashing machine was broken when we first moved in and he came in within two days and replaced the whole thing! We also had some issues with our dryer vent and he came that same day and fixed it.
I have an absolutely extraordinary story about their customer service (particularly about Juan). Over the holidays, I dropped my new iPhone in the parking lot before going out to dinner. Later that night when I couldn’t find my phone, I frantically searched for it but was unable to find it. The next day I left California to go home for Christmas and just assumed I would never find the phone. It was brand new and had not been registered meaning, besides my SIM card which hadn’t been synched to the phone yet, it was completely empty. When I got off the plane, my mom told me that someone texted her from my number saying they found my phone. It was Juan! He told her he would keep it safe in the management office until I could come and pick it up. That phone was completely new, meaning it hadn’t even been booted up yet. He had to have plugged it into a computer, run itunes, and synced my SIM card with the phone in order to find my mom’s number just to return it to me. AMAZING customer service!
3. Community
There is a heated pool, a jacuzzi, gas grills, a big room in the office for parties, and a gym. The gym has treadmills, bikes, free weights, and a couple other machines. It’s also air conditioned and has TVs. The management frequently throws parties for the residents most of the times with yummy drinks (yes wine!) and delicious food. So far since I’ve been here there has been a luau, halloween party, and christmas party. I’m sure there’s been other ones too that I just didn’t hear about. The size of the apartment I live in is awesome! I have a 2 bedroom/​2 bath set up that works great for me and my housemate. The layout is exactly the same for both rooms making it easy for us to split the rent right down the middle. We both have really nice sized rooms and big bathrooms! There are no elevators but it’s really not that big of a deal. I like to think of it as me committing to being more healthy and taking the stairs on a daily basis :) All the other residents I’ve met here so far are great. They’re really friendly and I chat with some of them while we let our dogs play.
I love Pavona! If you’re looking for a place to live, I highly recommend coming to check this place out!

This was my first apartment on my own, and I don’t think I could have chosen a better place! I had a 1^st floor one bedroom from Nov. ’11 and lived here for a year.
The management is excellent first off. Both Veronica and Ashalic were always super friendly and responsive, and any maintenance issues (which were minor) were always taken care of within a day or two. The place was always super quiet, and I don’t remember even one time where people were being too loud. Decent gym too, had treadmills, bikes, free weights, etc. which was all I needed, and never seemed to get too crowded. Pet friendly, which is a big plus!
The location is great! It’s a block from Japantown, and there’s a nice park across the street. Freeways are super close, and downtown is like a 5 minute drive away.
I ended up moving because I found a new place which makes my commute way less of a headache, but would definitely recommend Pavona to anybody!

Me and my boyfriend moved into Pavona November 2011. I was living south in Boulder creek and he was living in Pleasanton. I worked in San Jose, and him in SUnnyvale. We wanted to be closer to work, and each other. We looked at other places in San Jose in our price range, and were not happy with any of them. We found Pavona, and went in to meet with them. Their staff is very friendly, and Veronica showed us the grounds. There wasn’t an empty apartment to show us, but we needed to move, they were pet friendly and we had two dogs, and it seemed well kept.
We rented a small 1 bedroom 1 bathroom on the ground level, right by the leasing office. We thought at first, the gate right there would be a problem, but we got used to it. We rented the Palermo. we initially thought it might be too small, but we needed a place to live.
In our time there, the staff was always very friendly. The grounds are always kept up, clean, and they always responded quickly if we needed something fixed. We never had one problem with any neighbors, and it was amazing how quiet the inside of our apartment was.
During our time there we felt quite safe, especially when they switched security companies.
The only reason we are leaving, is because we bought a house. We went to talk tot the staff about breaking the lease, which was going to cost 3500 dollars, and instead they are working with us to try to get the unit rented out, so we can walk away from the lease with minimal out of pocket expenses.
The one negative, like many people have said is parking. The garage never seems to be full, but after 8 pm, parking on the street or in the back lot was very difficult. From what we were told you can pay extra to rent another space in the garage, but I think it is about $ 100 extra a month.
To have pets is an additional deposit and pet rent, but we were fine with that. We loved the location, the staff, and the apartment itself and were a little sad to leave. But having a yard for our dogs was crucial.
I feel like you can’t go wrong with a unit here. Good luck house hunting!

LOOK NO FURTHER, LIVE HERE! PAVONA APARTMENTS ARE WONDERFUL!
If you are new to the area or even if you are from San Jose choose Pavona Apartments as your new home. The office team of Veronica, Michelle and Ahshalic are outstanding! They are extremely helpful and very nice people. I had to break my lease and instead of paying the lease break fee, they provided me with a great alternative. Ask about transferring to another Windsor community if you ever find yourself in a tough situation as far as your lease is concerned. ‘Where there is a will there is a way!’ They were gracious enough to provide me with the details to make my transition from one Windsor community to another very smooth.
Now onto the apartment and the complex overall. I had a one bedroom and even though I had lots of big stuff there was more than enough room. It is very spacious for one or two people and a pet if you have one! I got a wonderful monthly rate too! And Pavona Apartments are extremely pet friendly. There are lots of dogs and for the most part the owners are pretty responsible. It was a great atmosphere for pets. There is a nice big park directly across the street that’s great for both pets and families. There weren’t only dogs, there were a few cats around too. I had a 9-​year old Cockapoo and he felt at home just as much as I did. The grounds are kept incredibly pleasant and pristine for such a pet friendly place. There are complimentary poop bags at every gate that leads to the street and most people took advantage of that.
Michelle, Veronica and Ahshalic put on great social events too! At these events there’s lots of good food that they take the time to make themselves. Pavona is a very warm and inviting place and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a place to live in the San Jose area. It is close to Downtown and Japan Town where there are lots of great restaurants. I never had problems finding parking when I didn’t use my assigned parking in the garage meaning there are lots of spaces along the street. I felt very safe as there are real security personnel that patrol the buildings by walking the grounds.
Just sign the lease! Thanks Pavona!

Sunday, June 3, 2012. Pricing and rates good on this day only.
Rent was pretty reasonable when we asked about their two-​bedroom layouts. For the Parma, it was $ 2335 for 1208 SF layout and for the Passero it was $ 2250 for the 1116 SF layout.
We were greeted warmly and in a complex open on a Sunday, that’s a winner. The grounds looked pretty and there were plenty of people out by the pool. They didn’t have any models to show us, so all we got were floor plans and a short tour of the grounds, which *didn’t* include a row machine in the fitness center. But that’s not their fault, hardly anyone has a row machine. But really, it’s sad.
We asked about guest parking and were told that the street has always been safe and never full. Pet rent was priced at $ 50/​month for a maximum of two pets and a pet deposit of $ 500.
Boyfriend and I really liked this location, but there were a few deal-​breakers.
*The first is that in every two bed, two bath layout, there were these crazy crooked lines that cut some rooms awkwardly larger than others and put a bathroom in a crazy triangle-​shaped room that lost a lot of space just in being that shape.
*The second is that the more preferable larger apartment that was coming available didn’t have a patio (and we have a gas grill). But it was a rock star location otherwise.
*And I realize that I’m not seeing how this works in person (just based on a top-​down view of a floor plan) but it kinda seems dopey to put the dining room so far from the kitchen. A lot can happen between kitchen and dining room, that area between the two is dangerous, you know. You have to walk outside of the kitchen and then around the room to come to the dining room area… which is indiscernible from the living room… really.

Before I even start giving my review, keep in mind that Pavona changed ownership before the new year. Riverstone Properties is out and Windsor Communities is in. There may be changes due to that so try to consider that when you are looking at reviews. The latest review before mine is still under old management.
I moved here in July after living in Campbell for almost 8 years. Moving was kind of a shock to my system overall but I was looking for *the* perfect apartment. After touring, I was sure that Pavona was going to be where I lived but I still did my due diligence and did the rounds of all the local places. Nothing compared to Pavona.
I’ve now lived here for 6 months and any issues that I have get resolved quickly. The apartments are really sound proof and I never have issues with neighbor noise or dogs barking. I do hear this sometimes but not late at night or at any point where it would disturb me.
The managers are great and are always willing to help. I am very happy that I moved here and love my apartment. I really feel like I’m home.