Monterey Lanai Apartments

I have lived here for almost a year and I love it. The property is extremely well taken care of, neighbors are friendly and respectful and the manager is a sweet heart.

I lived in Monterey Lanai for about a year and a half, don’t get me wrong the complex is safe but completely overpriced for what you are getting. The landlords children treat the complex as their own personal playground, I have had the children open the door to my apartment, walk right in because they wanted to play with my dog, are you kidding me? Where is the privacy here? This happened on multiple occasions. If you are a family this would be a great complex because there are LOTS of children, so in the summertime theres about 20 kids in the pool constantly, kind of a double standard because I got written up for having 4 girls in my personal apartment making no noise, the landlord claimed she could hear us from down the hall but yet the people above, below & next to me didn’t hear the noise? Moving out was the worst it took me 2 months to get my deposit back after having to contact the landord 30 times and having to find the company who owns Monterey to even get a response about where my money was. When I finally got the deposit back they had deducted $ 1000 for «damages». California Law states that the complex has 21 days from the day you move out to provide the deposit or a list of damages, if they don’t do this you are entitled to the full deposit back, apparently this company likes breaking the law? The company claimed there were so many damages on the carpet from my pets it cost exactly $ 750 to repair (this happenes to be my $ 500 pet deposit plus a $ 250 penalty). The complex definitely has the «in’s» with the carpet and painting companies because they wrote in the comments exactly what they needed to in order to justify the charges, very rehearsed clearly they had done this before. In my opinion the price of complex, plus the children running around constantly and walking into people’s person homes like it’s no big deal coupled with the way I was treated and brushed off when attempting to get a deposit back that was rightfully mine I would not recommend this complex. Wait it out and find someplace you will be happy, I currently live in a much bigger unit that costs $ 150 less than Monterey and is also in a better location with actual privacy.

Don’t get suckered in by the charm!
Yes, the trees are awesome. The cats are awesome. The people all seem friendly and nice (they are). Parking is great. South Pasadena is great!
But like Akiko said — there is NO PRIVACY! You can hear every little thing your neighbor does. The onsite managers are friendly but the actual owner will avoid spending any kind of money for upgrades and repairs. That is a big negative considering the apartments are built in the 60’s or some other long ago decade.
Here is the kicker — I had to serve court papers to get my security deposit back. Multiple attempts were made on my part to communicate with management about my deposit. Management was helpless -«I don’t know what to say. I’ve forwarded your correspondence». So, a day after the papers were served my deposit comes in the mail with no apologies or explanation why my previous attempts went unanswered.
It’s a shame. This place has major charm. In retrospect, I could have gotten more space and amenities for the money I spent.
I cannot recommend this place.

No privacy, mice, gas leak, horrible management, horridly noisy street 24/​7, broken air conditioner — $ 1,300/month for 1 bedroom.
If you are looking for an apartment in South Pasadena area, I would definitely look on Fremont Ave first. The area is definitely a hot zone so if you can’t find any openings, the next area would be Via Marisol about 5 min away from Fremont. When you go up the hill, it is unbelievable how beautiful the area is full of new condos and apts.