Varsity Berkeley Apartments

As the person paying the rent and insane amenity charges I have to do a shot out to those that are considering living in these truly beautiful apartments. Well over $ 5K for three bedrooms and trash charges of about $ 100 a mont, per unit. Be sure to read your lease and drill down on these expenses.

As a student at UC Berkeley, I looked at nearly all housing options. Apartments, dorms, houses, everything! I wanted something that was clean, but not too expensive. Something close to the campus and public transportation.
When I saw Varsity Apartments I immediately felt welcomed and comfortable in the clean and presentable environment. It is hands down the best value for what you pay for. With rooftop access to a beautiful view of the Bay, a nice cozy study lounge, free coffee (cause I need plenty of that), and convenient location (2 blocks away from Bart) living at Varsity has made my experience in college amazing. The common space in the rooms is very roomy and makes living with others more enjoyable. The rooms are sized well and very clean. The amount of resources and perks of living in Varsity is too long to list.
I’ve also made a lot of great friends and connections, so that was a huge plus too! I genuinely enjoy living here and it’s by far one of the best decisions I’ve made during my studies in Berkeley.

Cleanliness, manager friendliness, and safe environment are my priority when looking and moving into a new apartment. Thankfully I was able to find Varsity Apartments when I first moved up to the bay area. Because it was recently built in 2015 and a luxury apartment, it’s very clean and modern– which I love! The elevators run up and down smoothly unlike the other elevators you find in Berkeley. The staff, Raj, Josh, and Love are seriously the best ever and always smiling whenever I pass by– They are here everyday and Josh is on site ²⁴⁄₇ so whenever I forget my keys or have some maintenance issue, he helps me right away. I was concerned about security in Berkeley but Varsity has security cameras everywhere, keys for the main/​back entrance, and security on call with security guards walking around the building every night. I don’t see myself moving anywhere else after living here.
Best part about this apartment doe is the fancy free coffee/​hot chocolate machine in the study lounge, rooftop with comfy couches and ceiling heaters, and the luxer packaging system. Oh and location wise– walking distance close to campus (10mins) and bart (5mins)!

I am a student at UC Berkeley, and I needed a new place to live my 2^nd year here, since the dorms were no longer an option and so I got to house hunting. This was a huge disappointment.
For what you pay in Berkeley, worthwhile options are very limited and rare. Desperate for a place, I asked around on Facebook for a place.
A friend of mine, who was a previous tenant here, recommended the Varsity apartments in downtown. At first I was hesitant, given it’s proximity to campus, but was relieved to find that the 51B was literally right across the street, which takes you to campus in under 10 minutes. From what I’ve seen in Berkeley, and I’ve seen a lot, house hunting for awhile, this place gives you amazing bang for your buck.
I’ll be living here for the next school year with the same friend who is renewing his lease plus our other buddies, but this review is based on what I’ve seen from visiting my friend every so often.
The location is ¹⁰⁄₁₀ since it’s around some pretty awesome spots. From the dorms, I would usually have to bus it to downtown for all the fun stuff and conveniences, like Staples, etc. However, this place is literally just a walk away from these things, which is pretty cool. Plus it’s like 5 minutes from King Dong, which is easily the best Chinese food in Berkeley.
The apartments themselves are very clean, since I think since Varsity’s fairly new. The amenities here are awesome, the roof is an amazing place to just kick it with friends, since there are HEAT LAMPS and SOFAS up there. Plus their lounge serves amazing free coffee. Try the vanilla latte. Security is also not an issue, as all the doors entering the building require security access to get through, plus the area itself is pretty safe.
Management was very accommodating and professional when I went to check out the place and turn in my application, and the tenants seemed very nice and social.

Varsity Apartments is THE place to be for young professionals and especially for UC Berkeley students like myself. The apartments themselves are spacious and thoughtfully laid out. With a stunning rooftop terrace, convenient high-​speed private lounge, secure parking, and much more — there is NO better value place to live than Varsity Apartments.

At first, I was skeptical about a new Manager for Varsity Apartments but as I got to know them, I started to appreciate how much they took care of us. Being a tenant for more than a year now, I saw how the evolution of the apartment dynamic has changed from really crazy to organized and efficient.
The best thing about this place is that whenever I think about a potential problem, management takes care of it before I can tell them. Granted there are some problems in my own apartment that they cannot see but they also take care of those in a timely manner.
PRO’s:
1. GREAT rooftop view. I can’t even describe how amazing it is to go home to it and watch the sun down and sunrise everyday. The west side faces both bridges and gets an amazing view. The east side faces the beautiful berkeley hills and a little of the campus (Mostly the campanile)
2. Good coffee: the free coffee in the lounge has always tasted amazing. THE HOT CHOCOLATE IS BOMB. My girlfriend compared it to that of Italy’s hot chocolate.
3. The security and cleanliness: Varsity cleans up twice a week in all common areas. I feel like Im in a hotel. The lounge is always clean same with the rooftop.
4. JOSH. He is probably the most humanizing factor of Varsity Apartments. Having a mature individual who know’s what to fix whenever something goes wrong. I definitely do not think anyone could do his job better. I mean, this guy has dedication like a best friend. Someone who you don’t have to call all the time but when you do, he’s there and he takes care of business.
5. Raj has taken professionalism to the new level. Whenever there is a problem, she definitely takes care of the problem as soon as it comes up and takes it to a personal level to investigate and resolve the issues.
6. I just met Love, a new employee, today but I have to say, WHAT A SWEET GAL! Really approachable and a huge help to getting the information we needed to resign our lease for another year!
CON’s:
1. The coffee could be refilled a lot more. Its amazing that they even get to offer free coffee but if we assume that there is coffee in the lounge, we hope to come there and get coffee but if it isn’t present, I get discouraged to rely on it. SUGGESTION: Maybe a good way to do it is get everyone have 2 slots per day per resident or something.
2. Rooftop hours: It sucks that some residents like to come up and cause a ruckus sometimes but closing the roof at 10:00 sucks for people who just want to enjoy the view. There is security to kick you off if it is past a certain time.
3. The office should probably double purpose as a study place in the evening: Maybe more tables. It’s real estate that literally becomes design in the morning. Just a dream haha Not a real concern. The lounge gets filled sometimes.
Other than that, really loving how management is

Come for the views, stay for the coffee machine
This is a really nice place to live. All of the tenants are friendly and respectful (mostly Cal students). The staff really goes out of their way to take care of you. The overall noise level is quiet. Because the building isn’t huge, many problems are avoided and there is no delay for issues that require management’s attention. All of the units and amenities are five star. Rent is very expensive, but you get what you pay for. Shout out to Josh for being a great guy and taking care of all of the maintenance for the building. There are really no cons to living here; the high rent is simply a trade off for the quality you receive in exchange.

Irish and Joshua have really created a home environment here. I was new to the area but Josh and Irish both made gave me the support I needed and made it very comfortable. We have a beautiful rooftop view here and a beautiful study lounge that wouldn’t have been possible without Irish’s dedication and lovely design. She puts so much into her work and I couldn’t imagine living in a better place. Josh is the homie!!! He’s always just one call away. Much love!