Bristol Commons

This is one of the most over priced apartments in this area. But I am not going to say you are going to find better apartments for a lower price in the area. Believe me, I have looked. This entire neighborhood is filled with apartment complexes that charge you anything between $ 2500 to $ 3000 for a 600 sq ft apartment. But that doesn’t mean I should give Bristol Commons a 5 star. It deserves a one star and that is exactly what I will give it. And yes, I knew what I signed up for — but I did that only because I didn’t find a better option that was pet friendly in the area. An objective view of this apartment will only result in a single star.
Pros: The people of Bristol Commons. Christina and Maggie are extremely nice and are very helpful to the extent that they can help. The maintenance crew is great and polite when you raise requests. The neighbors are all nice and friendly folk.
Cons: pretty much everything else.
Rent– I am renewing my lease for a 670sq ft (100 sq ft of this is the patio) one bedroom apartment for $ 2700. If that is not corporate greed, I don’t know what is. I wouldn’t complain about the rent if the apartment or the community was worth that price.
Layout– my 3 year old niece could have designed a better layout. For some reason the bathroom is inside the bedroom and the only way for guests to get there is through the bedroom. The wash for some reason is outside the bathroom but is in the bedroom. The bathroom itself is extremely cramped up while the bedroom is slightly larger than what it needs to be.
Appliances — the stove, oven and microwave are standard. The fridge doesn’t have ice dispensers. For $ 2700 you didn’t get ice dispensers in the fridge! The wash and the tap needs regular maintenance visits. The towel hanger keeps coming loose every month or two.
Apartment features — the apartment we lived in had hard wood flooring for all units. Even the one above. This was extremely inconvenient as every movement of our upstairs neighbors reverberated throughout our apartment. The cable outlet are in the most inconvenient places in the living room. There is no way to place a TV next to the outlet and the only solution was to run the ugly cable across the walls
Community — it was nice when we moved in. They renovated it to cut costs. And this involved a marathon construction phase of 5 months of noise and dust. The end result was poor. All grass and greenery was removed and replaced with mulch — which has a weird smell to it. Dogs do not have a place to walk or poop in the community now. They expanded our patio and filled it with gravel — which causes a lot of dust and also spills over into our living room. It is the worst thing you could do to a patio and the management did it to save a few bucks on community maintenance. The reason that was given was to conserve water but there are a million better ways to do this.
Security — non existent. You keep bothered by people trying to sell things or collect money for charity. Random people walk their random dogs in the community and there is no way to prevent that.

I have never in my life experienced unlawful verbal assault like this. I came here to do canvassing for a political campaign, which is entirely legal by federal FEC laws and has nothing to do with soliciting. Before I could even start, I had a lady smoking stop me and completely verbally abuse me, screaming at me and threatening to call the cops. I thought it might just be a bad apple, so I headed to the management office to resolve the issue. They were all exactly the same, completely defiant to the law, and illegally kicking me out, while at the same time threatening me. They were not willing to even look at my phone when I brought it up on an official gov’t website. I may not live here, but with management like this, I don’t recommend anyone move here. Who knows what other laws they may not know, and won’t be willing to accept and understand.

I just moved out of here over the weekend and spent an entire day cleaning. I received my move out charges summary and they are charging me for a complete carpet replacement and a cleaning fee. (I lived there for under a year, a steam clean would have done the job!) the total went over my security deposit by $ 400 which they took from my prepaid rent. Though I enjoyed living here while I did, I would suggest never renting an apartment with carpet from Bristol Commons (or really anywhere). There’s absolutely no way you can keep cheap carpet looking new with or without pets. We didn’t wear shoes in our apartment and had area rugs in the bedroom and living areas to help protect it. But normal wear and tear happens. Bristol commons DGAF though. Very disappointed. Happy to have moved to a better location for way less money and no carpet.

After working with management, things have gotten better. Apartment still smells bad but not much can be done here

Cheap materials used for renovations of these apartments. They literally just painted over the current structures dirt and all.
Contractors on site drive a bit fast through the parking lots.
Windows are thin and you can hear everything going on outside. Mold seems grows quickly on them.
The office staff is a bit rude and snobby I wish that they would keep in mind that they make a living off of helping current and future tennets.
Water is consistently shut off and when turned back on it yeilds dirty brown water. The monthly utility bill is close to $ 100 and the water pressure is very low. I’ve decided to spend my hard earned 40k elsewhere.
Three stars for no break-​ins or thefts while living here, maintainance guys are super nice. Relatively a safe area.

We stayed in this apartment for 8 months
Pros: Good location
Has air conditioner and heater

Cons: Ugly looking silver fish in apartment
High rent
Small unit
Old appliances
Leave blower noise is to disturbing
They don’t show you the apartment until move in
Date.

Never come to this place. Various reasons to justify the statement:
1. The claimed size of the apartment is much bigger than the actual size.
2. Staff in leasing office is arrogant, and the attitude is annoying.
First time writing a review. I am really disappointed by the service.

My wife and I have lived in Bristol for almost a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed the community. We have a great inside facing apartment which overlooks the lawns and two large trees which houses many birds and squirrels. My wife picked up the apartment because of these views.
We got a brand new renovated unit which comes with stainless steel appliances, white countertops, wooden floors in the dining &living areas, and new light fixtures. The community is quiet and serene even though it’s less than a mile from downtown and in between two tracks. Access to the 7 eleven and shops on Wolfe have been very useful for us.
The maintenance teams are great and Faith does a good job of managing the property. If you are looking for a great place to stay in Sunnyvale, close to the Caltrain, Central exp, Lawrence, Costco etc definitely consider this place.

I renewed my lease, so it seems time to renew my review as well. I’m still very happy living here. The staff is wonderful and I love my apartment.
To the people commenting about the leaf blowers running early in the morning: The business across the street from our complex has their lawn care between 7 – 8 AM (I always see them while leaving for work). That’s likely what you’re hearing.

I have lived at Bristol Commons for many years first in a one bedroom apartment and currently in a two bedroom apartment. I am on the 3^rd floor and my apartment looks out at trees and gets plenty of sunlight in the afternoon. It is a quick walk to the pool and exercise room. If there are any maintenance issues a work order can be placed online and problems are fixed very quickly. Management are friendly and know me by name.

I would give it 3.5 stars. But Unilocal does not allow me to do so. So 3 stars it is.
Pros:
We were in the 3^rd floor unit facing the pool. It was very airy with lots of sunshine. (I have seen the first floor apts and they are not that bright).
Maintenance work is usually done pretty quickly.
Management greets and responds whenever we visit the leasing office. (Yeah, its a great thing nowadays to have apartment leasing management who greet the customers and don’t treat them like beggars !)
Target, Costco, caltrain station, 101, El Camino, grocery stores are all within 1-​mile radius which is great.
The layout of the apartment is pretty good. No horrible nooks and corners. The shoe closet was where it was supposed to be unlike some other apartments we have seen.
Plenty of car parking space for you and your visitors.
The washer and dryers — though pretty old, were big enough to hold a week’s clothes comfortably.
Storage unit size is decent.
Cons:
Apartment was non-​renovated. So age old appliances. The wood work looked ancient.
The rooms are pretty small when compared to other apartment communities.
The leaf blowers 1 – 2 times a week who start their work at almost 8 AM and continue for a long time. The noise become unbearable sometimes. if you are working from home or you sleep till late morning, good luck. You need something to protect your ears.
The gym is now renovated, but still pretty small when compared to the other apartments.
The apartment walls are thin. You can hear if your neighbor speaks loudly.
The management is all nice all other times. But when it was time for us to move to another place after leaving this one, they literally forced us out of the place. We had not even officially signed the move-​out documents and they had already decided on the last date and leased the apartment to someone else too ! And when we asked they said «its all done now and cannot be changed». This was in summer so they probably wanted to push us (who were staying here for 3 yrs so paying lesser rent ($ 2350) than the new leasers) out and rent the place with a new lease to new tenants at a much higher price.
All in all, a decent place with a small community. If you don’t have too much criteria this place will be good.

Upon graduating from college I received a job in California. So, I had to remotely search for an apartment from Texas and the staff at Bristol Commons was extremely helpful! Their commitment to helping me and their honesty has led to me leasing at this complex and I am extremely glad that I have. The apartment has exceeded my expectations and the area is fantastic. The unit itself is updated, clean, and quiet.
Faith and Morgan in the leasing office have made my transition from Texas to California extremely easy and stress free. I would recommend this apartment complex to anyone who is looking for a cozy and comfortable home.

My wife and I lived here for a year and never once had any issues. There was tons of visitor parking, (I got a spot 15 feet from my front door daily).
This complex is truly dog friendly, people walk their dogs all the time on the grass and its a very social complex.
The gym looks nice but has zero free weights which was a bit of a turn off for me but the cardio equipment is great. The pool is brand new and looks nice even though I never went it it.
The only reason I moved is because I bought a house.

I’ve lived here for a bit over three years now.
I’ve gone through many change in the management, as well as the support staff.
For the most part, it’s been supportive and great. Though, i live in one of the unrenovated models.
I had put a request in to replace appliances and to move the carpet back from the doorway as the door was continuously rubbing against it, causing me to clean it every week. This was all done about 8 – 9 months ago with the old management. Nothing came of it.
A few months ago, Faith, one of the new management staff has come in and been a great help in pushing forward with getting appliances that work properly (and aren’t from the 80s) as well as amazingly getting the carpet moved back from the doorway. It’s been fantastic working with her to make things happen when we can.

Pros: nice accommodations, staff is very friendly and seem to be efficient when something needs attention in the apartment. Nice areas to take my dogs for a walk. Work out room is pretty good for an apartment. The machines all have tv’s. People in the complex all seem nice and it’s a quiet neighborhood.
Cons: the leaf blowers in the mornings. And I’m not sure if they cut grass or just use leaf blowers the whole time! Lol. It seems excessive and maybe could be done after 9am. The parking ports for the cars are a little small and we ended up next to a big service truck so we don’t park in our spot.
Other than that, the place is pretty good!

We have friend couple that was currently living at the Bristol when we decided to lease there. I was reading the reviews and totally ignored the cons for the fact that our friends were pretty happy. It was great! We love the layout of our unit and the location we have a lot of sun! We were pretty happy for about 5 months. Until someone move in above us. That neighbor is insanely loud. Stomp like crazy, move furnitures in the middle of the night, drop things which will just startle you at any time.
My husband and I started taking notes and recordings and been complaining officially a week after she moved in. We even consider moving to a higher level with no one above us but there was none available. The place was no longer livable for us and we just had enough, I also got tired of emailing management almost every week. They have changed the flooring of the upper unit but it does not help. I think we got unlucky of a very bad combination. The buildings were not noise insulated enough and you get a neighbor with the heaviest feet. It was our first time to lease an apartment community and think we will never do it again.
For Bristol, you got great staff special mention to Joseph and Julio, thank you for helping us with our concern. We moved out and solved our problem but your problem is still there. We don’t think anyone can take that level of noise at the rate of the rent. The look of the property is great and updated but the isolation between floors needs to be improved, Badly!!!

DISCLAIMER: This is a review not for the apartment but only on the management.
We ended up at Bristol Commons on one fateful day while my wife and I were actively searching for apartments in the Sunnyvale region. My wife had already talked to someone on phone who seemed pleasant and gave a good rough quote of the apartment we were looking for.
On going there, she encountered this person named Faith who was not only rude but did the following things.
— Opened the desktop for checking the quote and stared blankly at my wife continuously for 2 minutes without saying a word. Then leaned into my wife while she was checking her mobile and asked her what she was doing without respecting her privacy!
— On asking what was wrong, she pointed her towards the door without saying a word.
My wife took her ID and walked out. I am sorry but this is not the way you behave with anyone.
— After bringing this up with another agent on the premises, she got to know that no apartments are available, when they just confirmed one was sometime ago on the phone.
I know this borders on a rant and I generally give only positive review on Unilocal.But my wife was really creeped out and rang me up immediately telling this was what had happened.
Hopefully the management improves on their service.

I loved living here. There is a great community feel, dog-​friendly and safe. It has generally been quiet, and always comfortable. Joseph Hidalgo, management staff, is the reason I chose this place over similar complexes in the area. If I ever had a question or concern he was easy to communicate with, and happy to help. It is clear that he is concerned about the quality of life for his tenants.
The location is great, within easy walk to downtown Sunnyvale’s Farmer’s Market, Target, and local restaurants.
This complex is the sweet spot for paying a reasonable rent in this area. The only reason we are moving to a new location is that both my husband and I recently changed jobs which are taking us much further north.

Pros: Management (Joseph) is friendly, nice size apartment, lots of parking space, close to Sunnyvale downtown, Caltrain and other public trans
Cons: Takes a long time for the management to fix things, ppl upstairs were so loud (stomping around at 1:00 AM!!) that we had to move our bed to a quieter place to sleep (complaints to management didn’t work), grounds are dirty and damp all the time, rent is ‘really’ high for what we get, mail room got broken into
One thing the husband and I got really irritated about — When we moved out, we got billed for $xxx to be used for clean up, which is fair enough, but we had a few doubts as to some items there and asked them to call us back to clarify these. We never got a call from the ‘dedicated’ account representative.
Definitely livable, but don’t expect too much!

The staff is all very courteous, but what they make up for in politeness, they lack in taking action. As a current tenant who recently renewed my lease, my air conditioning has not reliably worked since May 30. 5 HVAC techs have been here all blaming different things, and on 2 occasions my ceiling has been dripping water from the panel. It seems difficult in general to get attention from the parent company, Essex. I’ve emailed Tenant Relations three times, but apparently they only escalate with email back to the property manager, which completely defeats the point. I even called Essex HQ and left voicemail with the regional manager last week, but no one has called me back.
The property manager continues to thank me for my patience, while I work occasional night shifts and cannot sleep during the day due living on the top floor, as heat rises. I’ve opened the windows and put fans in them, but as my balcony overlooks the courtyard, groups of children gather to play soccer and ride their razor scooters every evening from about 6 – 9, the shouting echoes off the other buildings, which is louder than earplugs can handle, even with the windows closed. Look elsewhere if you are old and crotchety like me, or work night shifts like me. After weeks of promises, there is still no ETA on an air conditioning replacement for my unit.
New junior one bedrooms are listed at $ 2100/​mo. The bathroom is so tiny that the sink is actually in the bedroom. For the amount of rent this property charges (market or not), I expect far better service than 5 weeks of half-​assed repairs and no replacement for something as crucial as a/​c in a heat wave. My apartment was one of the first remodeled when I moved in, which also raised my expectations. On a side note, presumably they will be continuing with current remodeling of other units that may be disruptive to you.
If you want more info on the kind of service you will get here, I’ve been documenting my HVAC failure saga at