Catherine Commons, ithaca-ny

Facility quality does not match expectations given the price. Maintenance is very slow, communication is inconsistent, and requests often go unanswered unless repeatedly followed up in person. Staff attitude can feel dismissive at times, and issues are not resolved in a timely manner. Overall, the experience has been frustrating due to delayed maintenance and poor responsiveness.

I have been living in Catherine Commons now for over 5 weeks. So far it has been a perfect living experience and I have no complaints. It’s located in the heart of Collegetown giving you easy access to classes, restaurants, and stores. I also have a beautiful floor to ceiling window that provides me with a lot of natural light and my own AC which many Cornell dorms don’t provide. The fact that you also have your own bathroom and washer/dryer makes this a far better living experience than Cornel dorming. While Catherine Commons may be a bit pricey, this is because you’re paying for a brand new apartment in the middle of college town. I honestly don’t know why there are so many negative views uploaded here because so far I actually have no complaints. I see some people on here complaining about the pricing which I don’t understand because they knew all of this information prior to signing the lease. Overall, I would highly recommend this living space to anyone as you will be living in a beautiful room with a multitude of amenities.

The management is extremely cheap. They ask for $100 to only send you a passcode for your door whenever you’re locked out of your room or apartment. We’re also freezing in our room (60 Fahrenheit) as the heating doesn’t work in January while our electricity bill is more than 400 bucks

Where do I even start. First, the utility bill each month is INSANELY high. Can you believe that we were charged over $700 for ONE month? For the months of June and July (when nobody was living in the unit and everyone had moved out), our bill was over $250 each month. This makes no sense since we turned off everything when moving out (lights, heating, etc.), and the unit was completely empty (so nothing besides a fridge was plugged in). We contacted the utility company and even they were surprised, but they said it was an apartment issue. Second, for a brand new building, you'd be surprised how often things don't work. For example, our heating randomly stopped working and it took weeks for the apartment to fix it. The worst part is that we were still charged over $600 for utilities in the month we had no heating!!! How can electricity and water cost that much?? The water pipe in our kitchen leaked numerous times out of nowhere, and everything in the unit is flimsy. Even the toilet paper holders can't support the weight of toilet paper. Third, the construction noise was unbearable. I was woken up far too many times during final exam week, even as early as 7:00 AM, to my floor shaking from the loudest drilling noises. The construction was persistent for months and sometimes lasted until the afternoon, making studying at home impossible. Hopefully this issue won't be too bad anymore now that it looks like everything is finally built. Fourth, as every review below this mentions, the mailing situation was miserable. I spent so much on Ubers to the post office to pick up packages because they wouldn't deliver to our apartment. The worst part is that we still had to pay a $240 "package management fee," which surprisingly was NOT refunded even though there were barely any packages to manage. Although the apartment set up a shuttle system to provide rides to the post office to pick up our mail, it was only offered biweekly on one day. So for me, who had classes during the scheduled shuttle time, the service wasn't even possible to use. Fifth, the leasing office never picks up phone calls. It actually became a running joke that you MIGHT get somebody to pick up the phone after 10 tries. The quickest I've heard so far was a pick up after 7 tries. Sixth, while some of the building personnel were friendly, there were multiple who were incredibly rude. I remember asking a manager a question regarding leasing and receiving an answer along the lines of, "we are in the business of making money, not making your life easier" (this is not a direct quote, but the sentiment is there). Seventh, the leasing agents really led us astray when we first signed our lease. We were promised a cafe downstairs and a bar right next to it, but neither of those were operational for the entire year (besides the cafe, which actually opened up around finals, a week or two before summer). In fact, as stated above, the construction of both made living peacefully so difficult. This was really disappointing because the alleged existence of these amenities motivated us to sign. Eighth, the provided furniture is incredibly cheap and makes the entire space feel like a dorm. The couch looks like it belongs in a hospital: grey, sterile-looking, and uncomfortable. For an apartment that tries to give off an impression of luxury, it's hardly luxurious. The walls are paper thin, the furniture is depressing, the carpet is tacky, and residents are treated like an annoying burden. I honestly could go on and on, but it's not worth giving this place any more mental real estate. I considered not writing a review so I could move on from the terrible experience, but I feel like it would be evil to not at least try to warn others before making the same mistake I did. Stay away from this place. There's a reason all of the real reviews are 1 stars. This apartment is uniquely bad. If you do decide to rent here, good luck.

I like the place overall—big windows in the rooms, nice common areas, and a walkable distance to campus. However, the management team and leasing office are just awful. My apartment wasn’t ready when I arrived, and the replacement unit they gave me didn’t even have a working shower. It took them 48 hours to fix that issue. Whenever I’ve tried calling or walking into the office with questions about the lease, building, or even electricity, the staff always seem to be in a bad mood. They are never helpful, rarely listen, and often cut you off mid-sentence. On several occasions, I was told directly, “this is not my problem.” I don’t expect anyone to smile at me every day, but at the very least, I expect basic courtesy and professionalism. Listening to residents and letting them finish explaining their concerns before dismissing them should be the bare minimum.