Location
4500 Alhambra Drive
(East Davis, near the intersection of Alhambra Drive & Mace Blvd.)
Phone
(530) 297-7368
Website
http://www.alhambraatmaceranch.com/
Features
Affordable Housing units available
Central heat/air
Dishwasher
Exercise room
Pets allowed
Study room
Storage
Patio/balcony
Washer/dryer hookup
Pool
Laundry
Clubhouse
Play area

Alhambra Apartments offers one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom units ranging from $986/month [July 2007] to $1,424/month in five different floor plans [March 2005]. Apartments feature Kenmore kitchen appliances, walk-in closets, energy efficient water heaters, private exterior storage, private patios/balconies, and extra telephone lines — most units include a full size washer/dryer hook-up. The site is close to Unitrans A bus line & T bus line and has private garages available for an additional fee. This complex is managed by Jon Berkley Management, Inc.. They also have units that qualify for Section 8 Housing Vouchers.

Target Proximity

In June 2004, Target submitted to the Davis Community Development Department a preliminary, conceptual plan for a Davis store at 2nd Street & Mace Boulevard, immediately south of Alhambra Apartments. The debate on whether to allow Target in Davis resulted in the city allowing Target to build a store at Second Street Crossing, near the old Frontier Fertilizer Superfund site. It opened for business in October 2009.

To learn more about rental housing within Davis, please visit our Housing Guide as well as our Apartments pages.

Comments:

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"I liked the apartment; they sometimes come with washers and dryers in the unit. I found the managers/repair man to be friendly, albeit weird. It's far away (out by Mace)."

2006-03-05 19:08:46   Nice apartment with balcony. If you pay an extra $40/mo you get a washer and dryer in your balcony closet which is very convenient. Management is not the most helpful, but they try. Lots of families live here, so there are kids running around in the afternoon. —JoannNguyen

2006-10-06 19:54:01   I have had a bad experience with the management at this apartment complex. Property was stolen from my apartment by either the managers, painters, or cleaners and the management was extremely insensitive and cold. They are very suspicious to me. I do not recommend living in these apartments! —GeorgiaKk

2007-02-22 17:20:45   The management decided at some point to stop accepting packages from UPS or FedEx for residents, but didn't bother to inform the residents of that. For people who work during normal business hours, this is a huge inconvenience. —ColleenParks

2007-12-18 22:42:19   I would STRONGLY discourage renting these apartments. The apartments are dirty, the staff is rude, and you will never get your full deposit back — even if they praised you for having the cleanliest apartment they've seen yet! If you are looking for a quality place to live, do not let these affordable prices fool you! —AggieAlum

2008-04-09 09:58:03   I've lived here for the past two and a half years and never really had problems with management. The maintenance guy, Steve, is pretty nice about fixing/replacing anything in the apartment. Theresa, the current manager, is definitely friendlier than the previous manager Sarah (not that I really had much of a problem with her either).

There's a lot of families/kids though since this is a low-income apartment unit, so if you're not down with kids screaming and running around in the afternoons (especially during the summer when they take over the small pool) then don't live here. —wootywoo

2009-07-16 15:56:45   I also had a bad experience with this place while looking for an apartment. I had to come back three times because noone was ever in the office. The leasing agent seemed not to care, tried to explain something to me while talking on her cell phone (personal call obviously) then The "Manager" was very rude and short with us. I would waste my time with management like that around —veronicasmall

2010-07-17 12:37:33   I was not a big fan of living here. The rent price is pretty darn good for a 2bd/2ba, but that's definitely negated by the bedroom sizes. It was not comfortable living in that small of a space, and I made the mistake of assuming I could. Interior walls are very thin, and the units were not well insulated. Neighbors are great though, and maintenance was promptly and properly taken care of. Unfortunately, we lost almost half of our deposit after three walk-throughs with the manager who informed us at move-out that the unit just needed a minor clean for turning. I was not happy with being lead astray like that. I ended up going back to my old complex, because the cost for the services there is just so much better. —Richard Atherton —RickJames

2010-08-11 13:48:22   I don't really have any bad experiences with the management. Whenever I ask for repairs, they are very quickly done. They are always willing to help if you have any problems and talk through all the processes. For the apt complex itself, I like how it is nothing like apartment complexes full of college students who party and make noises and such every night. it is a very ideal place to spend quiet times and study. The neighborhood is very nice. also, the affordable housing program they have is great! some of the friends that I knew had a 4br apt before and I remember it was way cheaper than any other 2~3br apts around. Literally 5 mins walk to Target. Don't understand why it has such bad reviews.. —emily237

2012-01-10 13:02:21   I lived here for about two years and my overall experience was positive. It was the first apartment I ever lived in so I have no point of comparison. It took them about a month to come in and fix one of our toilets but we had two so it wasn't a dire situation. At least six times they either put a note on our door or in our mailbox that said we were going to be evicted if we didn't pay our rent in the next two days, etc. I always got my rent checks photocopied and signed so I would take my copy to the office and they informed me that the letters were actually for a tenant in a completely different building. That was super bizarre considering my apartment number was on an easily readable sign about an inch from my door where some of the notices were taped and my mailbox had my last name and apt number on it. Illiterate or apathetic, who knows? Other than that weirdness, the office staff were friendly. They keep your packages in the office which is nice unless you get home after the office has closed for the day. Finding a parking spot wasn't too difficult. I felt we got a fair amount of our safety deposit back. Close to the freeway. Nice place to live minus loud kids and parties. —LoriOrf

2012-05-30 11:34:15   This is by far the worst apartment complex I have EVER lived. We moved here because of the apartments in Davis it was not only the cheapest for what you got but it appeared to be newer and nicer than some of the others. However, After moving in (my sister and her boyfriend moved in the same weekend as us) we realized that they did not meet expectations. My sister's apartment was barely cleaned and had dark mold around all of the windows and doors. The carpet in my apartment was hard and crunchy and had stains on it. There had been a birds nest outside my door and when asking the apartment to take care of it they tore down the nest and left the mess of bird poop all over (its still there by the way..and we have two nests built in our hallway one of the stairs that are littered with bird poop and one on the fire alarm in the hallway) They randomly turn off water in apartments without notifying. They send tons of notices about things but never actually take care of anything. The do not enforce rules on animals (I have a dog) and due to it my dog got attacked by a pitbull from the neighbor below me who didn't want her dog anymore and just put him the hallway trying to make him runaway. My apartment has mold all over the windows and doors and ceiling in the bathroom again. I have also had to scream at neighbors for having parties until 4am in the morning where people were all over the hallways and playing music so loud my apartment shook. Its like living in a dorm.

The office staff is rude. They sent us a notice in February (we moved in September 5th) asking us if we would be returning...a full 6-8 months before our lease was supposed to be up (pretty sure this is actually illegal...and considering they have not REALLY followed up on renting our apartment I feel backed by that)

Dont live here. We lived in another complex when we first moved here and although the cost went up for the second year forcing us to move...we never had any issues there. Look around and find some place better. Its too expensive for what they offer. —RachelLanyi

2013-05-15 09:10:53   Well, I can honestly say that in my last year in Davis I could not be happier to be moving. Like many UCD students, I moved almost every year to a different apartment and while I have had very interesting experiences at other complexes, none could rival the overall disappointment and general negativity associated with this place.

Pros: -Cheapest rent I've seen in Davis. Period. (not worth it) -Target is right next door.

Other than that, this complex has been a nightmare from the beginning. Luckily, the management got rid of the rude receptionist that they initially had who was just overall unprofessional. I had asked for the dimensions of the rooms 3 separate times before finally giving up. I didn't find this question unreasonable since my housemates would be sharing a room and needed to know if it was possible, plus, most other apartments complexes have this information ready.

But, the funniest/worst part was that when my roommate and I went to check out the place for the second time (after only writing our names on pieces of paper, she didn't check ID's or anything like that) she decided she didn't want to walk to show us the apartment so instead she gave up a map, showed us where it was at, and gave me the master key. Maybe I seem like a trustworthy person, and I am, but she didn't know that and I could have easily written a fake name on those papers and I would have had the master key to the complex: such a problem.

These should have been huge red flags but the price proved too tempting and we signed a holding deposit. Fast forward to the week before move-in day: management calls me a week and a half before we were scheduled to move in to tell me that they didn't have all the required documents for us to move in and as a result we wouldn't be able to move in on our set date. Not only were they so unorganized that they didn't realize this until the week before, but we also found out that it was half of the complex they were doing this too.

My roommates and I did everything we could to get our information into them by the date and we submitted everything a few days before; no easy feat, considering none of us were within 2 hours of Davis during this time, one housemate was in China! Long story short, we had to wait a week before we could finally move in. It turns out that the management had made a mistake concerning Section 8 Affordable Housing requirements for the apartment complex=the mistake was completely and 100% their fault. (Granted, they did fully reimburse my housemate for staying in a hotel for that week.)

Upon moving in here I had stopped sleeping in until noon and started waking up anywhere from 8:30-10: not unreasonable considering I'm a college student with no responsibilities before 10 am. But, apparently Alhambra has a problem with this because they consistently perform regular maintenance beginning at 8 AM (e.g. mowing the lawn, trimming the weeks, etc.).

Usually, I would just look past that and get over it but, in preparation for the new leasing year, they have been doing extra work. Two weeks ago I woke up at 8:15 am to a loud, banging/hammering noise on my window. They were changing the baseboards around the windows with NO notice. If I would have known, I might have been less angry, but that was unreasonable.

What prompted me to write this review (i.e. the last straw) was the fact that I was jolted awake at 8:05 this morning to someone making loud noises outside my window and shouting at other people who were shouting back. Then I realized it was the maintenance staff painting my building and more specifically my window and the window right about mine. He proceeded to sing/shout drunkenly while painting the windows. Normally, I would think this was hilarious but at 8 am on my only day off, it's just....not so much.

Also, the apartments themselves are just mediocre. The bathrooms and sinks were all crusted and rusted over with calcium stains and everything else when we moved in. Not clean conditions.

We also had a mice problem upon moving in. If we had mice towards the end of the year, I could see how it could be the product of a messy environment but when you just moved in, it's hard to argue this. Plus, I've seen plenty of potato bugs (one of the other reviewers said to do this, but seriously, GOOGLE that. It's creepy as....).

I've lived in other apartment complexes (e.g. Allegre and Lakeshore) and have spent countless hours at friends' apartments in other complexes and can honestly say I recommend ANY other place over this one.

TL;DR: If you're considering moving here, DON'T. It's cheap, but there are other cheap options without the headache. If you plan to move here, also plan to move in a few days after the agreed upon move-in date and deal with loud noises at 8 in the morning AT LEAST once a week. —JocelynM

2013-06-23 11:47:49   It's was very expensive for me to move here after having to relocate after only two months of living here. I moved here for two main reasons, 1st reasonable rent, 2nd it was listed as (Smoking not permitted) Per their website. I soon realized it meant smoking not allowed in the apartment meaning the could smoke on the patio.

The person below me was a chain smoker and did not work, which meant my upstairs apartment filled with cigarette smoke and smelled awful and had be coughing soon after moving.

I asked the property manager to use the Davis rules being away from any open window at least 25 ft and they would not in force and instead offered to relocate me in a (SMOKING COMMUNITY), which I turned down because the same thing could happen again.

I asked to be released from my lease, and was told (NO) several times. If I broke my lease I would have to pay the 10 months rent or until it was rented, my understanding was it had been empty for 6 mos prior to me.

I was not until I contacted the Property Management Company that the agreed to release me with out penalty.

The apartment location was very nice, over looking a park and very spacious. The master bedroom window sounded like a wind tunnel when I was windy, broken seal I assume and one on the bedrooms also had a lot of condensation in the double pane window, again guessing a broken seal.

When the ac was on the smoke was even worse, believe it or not.

The kitchen cabinets inside were awful, so many stains and ugliness that the maintenance department said it would have to be painted. Pretty disgusting really.

At the end, the property manager did return my full $700.00 deposit as promised, but the cost of storage movers and everything that goes with it has been very $$$$.

I would suggest going thru the apartment completely before singing the lease, I have heard from several people they don't like to release people with out penalty. (There is no Break Lease fee) read the lease before you sing, they went over my 10 page lease 10 min. MY MISTAKE (read it).

And, they would rather have you move than in force any kind of smoking rules, If smoke bothers you this might not be the place for you. —Kathyjean

2013-12-26 07:10:04   I had a very bad experience with the apartment's managers, Brynna Ghiorzo (Resident Manager) and Shannon Colgin-Fox (Leasing Consultant / Assistant Manager). My wife and I filled out all application forms and were told that we did not need to disclose any property that we owned outside the United States. Shannon told us that the process might take up to two weeks. After one week, my wife called Alhambra, and Brynna told her that the process might take up to three weeks, and that we needed just to wait. After three weeks, my wife called again and was told that there was a document missing, i.e. one of the income statements. I was one hundred percent sure I had submitted the required document to Shannon, but Shannon seems to have failed to turn it in to Brynna. Brynna told us about this after three weeks had passed. The application process had been very very slow. We were promised the move-in date of November 8th, but four days before that date Brynna called me and required proof of property ownership of a small house I owned outside the US. It was impossible to produce that important document (which had to be translated into English) in mere four days. They should have told us on the very first day we were there that we needed to submit that document. On November 8th, Brynna told us that we were not allowed to move in without turning in that document. Our former apartment had already been leased out and we were ready to move out. My wife and I were engaged in a heated debate with Brynna, during which she tried to defend herself consistently. It was only after that long terrible altercation that she decided to refer us to another apartment. These two managers promised us that our application would be processed, and that it would be approved shortly, but they did not keep their promise. They showed enthusiasm and used convincing words, but in the end they meant nothing. Their performance has been terrible and they seem to have no sense of responsibility with their words. Eventually we realized that the one-bedroom we were applying was too small. It is not big enough even for a small family with children and a lot of stuff. If the way these two managers perform is representative of their overall performance when dealing with potential customers and existing tenants, I would suggest stay away from this place. It would not be worth the struggle. I am still unsure whether their bad performance reflects the low quality of the real estate company they work for, or it simply reflects a serious flaw in their personality, or their personhood. If you study or work at UC Davis and like biking, this place is just too far from campus. —BayuKristianto

2015-04-04 11:31:45   July 2015, The management are rude and unprofessional, they have this, "I don't give a cramp attitude. Just pay your rent and shut up." I would not recommend these because they are not worth the rent price. I spoke with the new owner;(the new name does not live to their actions) it cost my rent to be increased by 10%, and got my car towed. She lied (Amanda Ponce) about dealing with parking (got emails to prove it), even though they have signs that state, "Tenant parking only". They don't enforce their own rules,(which are not on the lease) unless they don't like you then they have your car towed even if you are the one paying the rent to live there. When I first moved in; they did three expections. They fixed nothing. I had a kitchen drawer fall apart; just fall into pieces, not kidding. It took them a week to fix my air conditioner; three different men; one kept looking around to see what I had. This is why I won't let them in on their own. I read a previous review items were stolen. The bathroom sink I have to keep scrubbings each time I use it, because mold quickly develops. The washer/dryer are in the pantry so when ever I use it. There is steam in the pantry. You can't put food in there even can food. I have to constantly clean it after I use the washer and dry and the fan does not help. I am sure there is mold somewhere in there. Also, when I moved in, I had to clean the bathroom and scrub down the counter. They were not clean. These apartments when they were remodeled were not done by professionals. If you look under the counter you will see all the cracks and errors what they did. I recommend you take pictures of all their violations. There is always garbage thrown all over the dumpers. This would be a great place to live if they would get rid of the landlord Brynn and do what they claim to do and lower the rent. These apartments are just not worth the price. They are suppose to be low income. I don't think so! Even though there are families here; it's pretty quiet. But I have noticed Police helicopter flying around and a couple times I had a bright light shine into my place. Which I felt it was very intrusive and very inappropriate. Even though there was a murder/suicide recently it was no where near these apartments. —slim

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