The Preserve at Old Dowlen Apartments

Not the ideal locale for a wedding reception, although it was beautiful! The game room was amazing for an apartment complex, but it was not ideal for the reception.
Pool table was great… the boys enjoyed it. There were nice seating options of both tall and short tables. Room opened up to the patio and pool which were stunning!
The pool is beautiful. Couldn’t get the outdoor fireplace to work so we all had to stay in… a bit too cold for hanging out without some heat!

I know what the other reviews say… and that’s ok. I’m just here to tell you the real story. The management is amazing! We have all kinda of community events: beer tastings, crawfish boils, pool parties… they were even passing out popsicles at the pool. Just installed two new grills outside. My apartment is basically brand new, they come immediately when called, and parking isn’t that bad. What else can you ask for? This is the best place in town, hands down. See you living here soon! :)

Too expensive for the quality of the apartments and also the management was rude when we complained that the new apartment we moved into was not clean.

My husband and I lived in this apartment complex for a year and a half. We chose it because it was the nicest complex we saw in Beaumont — appearance, amenities, location, and safety-​wise. It does still leave something to be desired, and it is more expensive than other apartment complexes, but we were pretty happy there.
PROS:
— Maintenance is prompt and they do a good job
— Very nice swimming pool area with outdoor grills, a covered seating area, and hot tub
— Convenient location near Hwy 69 and everything on Dowlen Rd
— Our neighbors have been fairly quiet
— Nice complex gym if you can catch the machines when they’re free
— We never had a problem parking close to our apartment
CONS:
— The construction and layout of these apartments is obviously poor quality and not very well thought out. Though they claim to be a «luxury» complex, there is no granite, and the appliances are cheap. The pantry and bathroom cabinets are strangely designed and not very useful. One of our cabinets opened backwards. Our laundry room door was falling apart by the end of our stay. If you have too large of a TV, it won’t fit in the built-​in TV «nook» in the living room. Also, any time I baked something in the oven and closed the oven door quickly, the smoke alarms went off. This was, hopefully, just our unit’s design.
— There is only one dumpster for the entire apartment complex. It is almost always overflowing and really, really disgusting.
— Old Dowlen road receives a lot of traffic and is not well maintained at all, and you cannot walk to anything from the complex, despite it being close to the Wal-​Mart and Parkdale Mall
— The apartment has recently changed management, and it does not appear to be for the better. When arranging to give our move-​out notice, I was told by one of the office staff something completely contrary to our lease. We had to talk to the manager to clear things up. I have not noticed them make any improvements to the property, despite asking residents for suggestions. Hopefully they will eventually, as it has only been a few months.
In response to Kate’s review, I doubt you could find anything better in Beaumont. Despite the cons, it was not a bad place to live.

I do not live here. I will not live here. I will tell you why!
The people who work here aren’t the best. The first time we went (after dark, and therefore couldn’t tour the community), the leasing agent spelled our names wrong on the Guest Card thing, even after we spelled them out for her. Twice. So I came back the next day to see the property and maybe tour a model apartment home.
Different woman working (I got the impression that she was a manager). Stopped in the middle of talking to me to write down her order for lunch at McDonald’s (leasing agent was making a lunch run, apparently). When we were touring the courtyard/​pool area, we got locked out of the building and she had to bang on the window to get a resident in the fitness center to let us in.
The ONLY thing I like about this apartment complex was the courtyard/​pool area:
large saltwater pool (with a really cool kiddie area and a jacuzzi), 2 gas grills and a dishwasher, outdoor fireplace with a big screen tv above it, second veranda with chairs/​tables by the door from the fitness area. THAT is nice. Not a reason to rent here, though.
Apparently, they have a tanning bed– but the bulbs get really hot, so you’re limited to just a couple minutes per session. Mmmmm. Skin cancer and burned flesh. My favorite!
Here’s their satellite policy:
$ 1,000 deposit (yes, there are supposed to be 3 zeros there)
$ 100,000 liability insurance policy is required, with the Preserve as the payee
Cannot be bolted or adhered to anything– has to be on a tripod (hmmmm maybe that’s why there’s more damage if there’s wind as it’s not actually SECURED to anything!)
Seriously. Nuts. Apparently only 1 or 2 residents have paid that insanity to have a satellite. The manager kept reiterating that they «don’t have very good service anyway» with their dishes. Awesome.
We get to the apartment and it’s odd… You walk up the stairs and into a door that has the apartment number by it. This door is not locked, nor are you allowed to put any kind of lock on it whatsoever (even if it’s the same key as your front door, or even if the office and fire department have a copy of the key). After opening this door, you’re on you’re patio/​balcony. Gee, furniture and bicycle thieves will have a field day here. Then there’s your front door. Walked in and the apartment LOOKS nice enough.
Here are the issues with the interior:
Each bedroom has a built-​in desk. And it’s cheap. Laminate countertop on the desk (made to LOOK like granite, but it really just looks like cheap, scratched laminate) with shelves above. The desk in the 2^nd bedroom in the Neches floorplan takes up an entire wall, so you can’t even try to avoid it. The master bedroom has a much smaller cheapo desk in a little nook in the corner.
While the kitchen and bathrooms DO have large, tall cabinets («Cherry!» the manager kept saying), they also look cheap. Either cheap, or abused by previous resident. Lots of storage, just not as pretty as the price indicates.
Also, the fridge is an «apartment size» fridge. I know my appliances. I asked the manager about this, and she either feigned ignorance or she really didn’t know. All she said is that «Well, it’s the stainless finish and all of the apartments have the same fridge… so I’m not sure…» But it is. The «apartment» size fridges are around 10 cubic feet (this one looked closer to 7 or 8); whereas «standard» fridges are around 14 – 15 cubic feet.
Shouldn’t be a huge deal, unless you have 10 people crammed into your apartment and you cook 4 course meals for every meal of the day. Just be aware of this. Because the leasing agents most certainly have no idea about it. Even the space for the fridge indicates that it’s not a standard fridge. It’s obvious when the place was built, the kitchen layout was designed to accommodate a full-​size regular fridge. This little fridge is dwarfed in the big space intended for its big brother fridge.
Again, in the kitchen there are laminate countertops that look like granite.
The apartment I looked at sat right on Old Dowen and was the only one available. Lovely views of trash in the ditch on the road and road noise to and from the WalMart right up the street.
Garages are over $ 100 per month and are rarely available. There is no storage closet on patio/​balcony.
Once we got back to the office, the manager said, «I know that we’re the most expensive apartments. but I think you’ll find that our apartment homes and our amenities are the best around! So that’s why. We really are the best».
No. you’re not. Gigantic 300+ unit complex with fake granite, small fridges, ugly cheap built-​ins, insane satellite policies, and a tanning bed that will fry you as it gives you cancer. Clearly the best. Largest 2 bedroom has a market rent of over $ 1500. I’d rather jump off a bridge!