Mia

I lived her Jan-​June of ’15 and the place was awesome for me. The room was clean and the balcony was a nice addition to have. The proximity to downtown Palo Alto is a plus and plenty of great places to eat. The neighborhood is quiet and the neighbors are very friendly. Jenny is the building manager and she is the best; so patient and always willing to field questions and really goes out of her way to try and make you feel comfortable. Yeah conservice is obviously a sketchy company but so many places use it, its hard to avoid. Price was a little steep for me but it was my only option at the time and the kitchen was not as up to date as the photos on Unilocal or online.

I was not going to review this place, but some super shady stuff is going on here. It ‘looks’ like a nice place on the outside – but looks can be decieving.
If you’re not paying for it (because your company is) and if you’re not here much (because you work all the time) you don’t notice what’s going on.
In this review I am only going to focus on one thing (cuz there are so many shady things going on here right now).
Conservice. Mia uses them. They’re shady.
You can see more about Conservice on Unilocal (
).
and and on the Better Business Bureau Website
This company is not BBB approved. They’re some mystery billing service.
Mia does not want to increase rent, so they do so under the guise of a mystery ‘utility service’.
This utility service company (which is a scam) will exploit you for money.
Again, see the Unilocal reviews for «Conservice»
Mia Palo Alto is giving out all the names and personal information of their tenants to a company that does who knows what with all your personal information. Count on lots of time, phone calls and emails to correct for incorrect bills. And maybe even some identity theft, who knows?
I think someone else (on Unilocal) has mentioned this weird ‘utility bill’ with random charges on it at Mia Palo Alto.
Anyway, save your credit report, save your time, and run run run. Unethical businesses stick together. Mia Palo Alto is just shady, shady, shady. And getting shadier by the minute.
And this is just the beginning.
There’s so much more bazaar stuff going on here. There are so many other places to rent in Palo Alto — particularly at this price point. Find something else. Find a good local business with ethical business practices. Rent that place. Don’t rent this place.

An amazing location, great amenities, and an extremely attentive management – Jennifer is just a very impressive manager and never lets a request/​issue/​question fall through the cracks.

Mia is managed by the same management company that manages «The Marc» (FPI) … another grossly overpriced apartment building but one which has yoga classes and other amenities that make it far classier than Mia. Mia is undergoing extensive remodeling but it’s not like it’s making the units’ amenities be as nice as the outrageous prices would suggest. The «hardwood» floors are vinyl which is essentially hard as a rock, not as attractive as wood, and without any of the warm appearance of wood.
Residents are billed for electricity and water but since none of the units are metered, it is a mystery how they can be allowed to bill conserving residents for the profligacy of wasteful residents. Why not just raise rents by a small amount so that residents don’t have to pay TWO utility bills every month? FPI is creating a very large inconvenience needlessly so that it makes it look like they’re not raising rents.
The rental office frequently places flyers announcing events like planned water outages and other maintenance in each unit’s door but it’s hit or miss. Sometimes you’re informed of nearby construction, sometimes you just hear the hammers nearby and you’re NOT informed. Sometimes you’re gassed out by noxious odors of tub reglazing or painting and, again, sometimes with and sometimes without prior notification. You’re given timetables for some nearby remodeling but the workers take 2X the advertised time.
On a square foot basis, the rental prices of Mia units have to be higher than just about any place outside of Manhattan. If you come off the street, your 600 sq. ft. place is $ 2600+ and your 450 sq. ft. cracker box is $ 2400. They have a coffee urn in the lobby which almost never has any coffee in it. They give occasional small politenesses so that we can feel better about the large scale ripoff. The boom town mentality in Palo Alto is creating an invasion of companies like this which pretend to be about community but, in the end, are about truly incredible greed. The Mia building was purchased for $ 36M … an absurd price so, of course, tenants will be bled so that the people who paid this absurd price get their money back, with interest. By the way $ 36M amounts to well over $ 400K per unit … an absolute absurdity for 450 – 600 sq. ft. units.
The logo for Mia is, in fact, the cinder block pattern seen on the lobby floor when you go outside. I didn’t know cinder block was tres chic. I guess ugly is the new hip.

I’m writing this review from when I lived here during the shift from the Park Tower Apartments to the new Mia Apartments. I don’t really like to write reviews, but this place was such a hidden gem I couldn’t let it go. The location really doesn’t get much better than this. It’s only two blocks from downtown Palo Alto, which is one of the best downtown’s in the Silicon Valley. It’s great, whether you like it for the restaurants or the nightlife. I loved it for both. Its really close to Stanford shopping center and everything is walking distance, like the post office, grocery’s and even the bank.
I never had any complaints living here. It’s a quiet spot with a great ambiance. The neighbors are all pretty quiet and very friendly. Jennifer, the Manager, is awesome to deal with. She took care of any problems I had, which were few to none to begin with. She hosts some awesome Tenant parties and she really cares about the well being of the community.
As I was leaving there was some remodeling going on and I was able to see some of the renovations. I thought It was nice before the remodel, but the new apartments look amazing. If it weren’t for my new job I’d try to move back in a heartbeat!
I hope this review is helpful and If anyone is thinking about moving in to the area I wouldn’t pass this place up!

I moved into Mia Apartments in September this year and the service has been nothing but excellent. Jennifer at the front office is always helpful and attentive to my questions, and everyone else who rotates around is always very nice and helpful as well. My current studio is in a well-​kept condition before my move and I enjoy having the patio, pool and (well-​equipped) gym on site. The area outside is safe and quiet — overall, I would recommend the place for people who likes a safe, personal home in a good location near downtown Palo Alto.

This is my 5^th month here at Mia apts. this complex is a hidden gem. I’m a commuter on a weekly basis from the southbay to the city and back. This apartment complex is unique in its location– its probably my favorite aspect of my stay here so far (: I love it bc I’m within walking distance (literally 2 blocks) from the heart of a lively dtown Palo Alto but its tucked behind University Avenue’s outskirts just enough, that its suburbia! meaning its pretty much, always quiet and peaceful here.
Its the little things that (also) add up. :) Amenities! Amenities! I haven’t had a chance to use the pool yet, it looks clean– but the workout facility is great. Its located next to the pool area & get this. its actually MAINTAINED (aka clean w/​working machines! oh, the luxury. scarred from previous disgustingly horrendous and dingy apt gyms. barf). The charming first floor lobby is always stocked with complimentary hot beverages (& even those to-​go coffee cups which I need to stop stealing– where can I buy those. costco?!)
I like that the staff here are firstly– competent, attentive, and PERSONABLE. My unit was newly furnished with brand new appliances. However, being the avid baker that I am, I probably have used my oven more frequently than my microwave. Long story short, my oven door broke :(I called the apartment office and the staff were patient and helpful. They said would send someone to repair it within the next 2 days.understandable. To my delight, I got a call the following morning and they were able to get the repairman to fix it that afternoon! :)

Nice location, nice inhabitants… but, uncertain that regulations are being followed — especially about usage of toxic materials and lag of warnings/​instructions when toxicity is about to hit the air.