Aerie Apartments

Terrible experience. I paid $2,600 for the deposit and first month's rent after signing a lease, then had to turn back on my move from Indiana to Miami for work because of major car trouble. I cancelled 72 hours after signing. They told me they didn't know whether I could get a full or partial refund. I understand lease agreements, but I also think doing the right thing matters. They were going to have the same room filled within less than a week of my cancellation, so even a partial refund would've felt morally right to me. I would never consider this place again or recommend it, based on those values.

I work downtown, so being this close was a lifesaver. The staff were really attentive, and I got a nice room with a balcony at a great price. I'd recommend it!

The shared areas were kept up and cleaned often, and the kitchen appliances and washer and dryer all worked fine. The apartment is affordable and I'd stay again. It's also well connected: close to Government Center Transit, the Metromover, and Metro rail, with easy access to the Little Havana free trolley and the bus system. Brickell City Center is about a 15-minute walk away.

The worst part of my 40-day stay at Aerie apartments was the phone-based SALTO KS lock. Your smartphone is the key to both the main entrance and your unit, which can turn a simple mistake into a stressful lockout. It happened to me twice. One night I came back late with a dead phone. I had to wait for someone to open the main entrance and ask to tailgate inside. Luckily, a roommate heard me knock and let me into the unit. On Jan-13, I stepped into the corridor to throw out trash and accidentally left my phone inside. There was no roommate home, and I was locked out at about 10 am. I spent around 5-6 hours outside waiting for help. The cleaning lady couldn't get me in, and the emergency call button on the doorbox kept disconnecting. Around 4 or 5 pm I finally found someone from management who escorted me back to my unit. For me, one lockout like that is enough for a 1-star review. Laundry payments were frustrating too. The second- and third-floor machines use an app, which is more convenient than quarters, but you have to reload at least $10 rather than pay per use. A wash and dry costs $1.50 and $1.00, so after my last load I had about $7.50 left. I asked for the balance back to my credit card, but nine weeks after moving out it still hadn't been processed, and I couldn't uninstall the app until it was done. It seems silly for a laundry app to hold onto the unused money indefinitely. There were also good things about the apartment. The location worked well whether I had a rental car or used public transit. It was only a 5-6 mile drive to Miami South Beach, and street parking was free, which I think is hard to find closer to the beach. Walking west across the river gets you to Government Center, a bus and metro hub with connections everywhere. During my stay, all the transport was free. The building was newly built and regularly serviced, with modern security and laundry systems, a clean, minimal interior, and a full kitchen with a fridge, microwave, induction cooktop, utensils, bowls, and pans. The high-speed, stable internet never gave me trouble for remote work, online meetings, or streaming. Trash bags were often in short supply, so trash overflowed and smelled, especially when everyone was cooking. I also saw cockroaches in the common area, as shown in the pictures. Some days I had to chase them out of the unit with the decorative twig tree from a vase as a broom.