Ben M.
Yelp
Great building, professional staff, super new and modern. It can be annoying to share amenities with the hotel because you can't bring outside food or drinks to the pool (part of Wax Myrtles) but I think having that in the building outweighs that. Overall I have nothing but good things to say. I'm trying to stay here for a couple years so fingers crossed they don't raise my rent like crazy next year!
UPDATED 12/1 - 7 MONTHS INTO LEASE:
This is still a great building; almost everything in my first review (written 1 month into my lease) still applies. However, there have been several issues that renters MUST consider before moving here.
1. Management: This building has multiple companies who operate it, including Sienna Leasing Staff, NFC Concierge Service, Hyatt Maintenance, Hyatt Hotel Staff, and restaurant staff (there are 3: Wax Myrtles, Diner Bar, Grey Market). This is a unique situation due to the nature of the hotel+resident parts of the building. This does not include the plethora of contractors who built the building (which every apartment has).
Sienna Leasing Staff is excellent and genuinely cares about residents. Erik is a pleasure to work with, and Leslie Caffey (manager) is always on top of things. Unfortunately, due to the bureaucracy of the multiple companies, the issues I have are rarely able to be fixed by them, and they end up consoling residents rather than being able to get anything done. This is not their fault, but it is indeed bothersome and a significant pain point.
2. Security: The building is located on the same block as a terrible homeless situation in Downtown Austin. There is a group of homeless people, typically 5-10 at any given time, who camp at the corner of 6th and Brazos (entrance to the apartment is on 5th and Brazos). Sometimes they will camp on the benches directly in front of the entry to the building. It can be very bothersome, especially coming home late.
A HUGE issue is with the resident doors locking. The front door to the resident lobby will sometimes be unlocked, even at night, apparently due to a glitch in the computer system (what staff told me). They are supposed to lock after 6 pm. However, there have been multiple events where "glitches" leave the doors unlocked. Once, a homeless non-resident walked into the lobby while I was there, and nobody was at the front desk. Sienna's staff addressed this issue, investigating why the computer glitched, but it still concerns me.
3. Elevators: Any high-rise has issues with elevators from time to time; it's not unique to Sienna. However, in my 7 months here, we have averaged a critical incident with the elevators about once a month. When one of the three elevators is not operating, it can create extreme and unreasonable wait times ranging from 5-10 min. Considering the apartments start on the 17th floor, this is a huge concern. TKE, the elevator provider, often comes and fixes them. Leslie is always on top of working with TKE to expedite fixes. However, they still happen. I have no trust this issue will not continue to persist with this property, albeit perhaps less than what I have experienced thus far.
4. Amenities: The resident amenities are great and high-quality. The only downside is the pool. Sienna does not own it; the hotel owns it, which creates issues. Because of this, you cannot bring food or drinks, there is strict guest enforcement, and often it is so crowded with hotel guests it is unusable to residents.
5. Overall apartment quality: The units are nice and sleek; however, like most new apartments, they have been "thrown together" and have many issues that I hope will be ironed out as the building gets older. AC/Heat is difficult to operate; sometimes, internal fans (like your stove fan) can make noise, and overall build quality could be better. Again, this is not an issue unique to Sienna per se, but still a problem nonetheless.
TLDR; Great building, great Sienna Leasing Staff, some unique problems with big pain points depending on the leaser
