It's very quiet but overall a great and spacious apartment

I've been very happy with the experience at Optima Views, which includes parking, tons of natural light with floor to ceiling windows, and 24/7 door(wo)man. The pool and gym are pretty negligible, so if that's important to you, make sure to check it out when you visit. Pool is nice but inside, and gym is tiny. The rules for the 4th floor deck are a bit ridiculous (no music, pets, food, drinks, etc) and the hours make no sense (deck closes earlier on weekends than weeknights), so I would recommend inquiring about that too if it's important to you. Overall I've been very happy with the building.

Pros:
- Tons of space
- Door man / easy package pickup
- Beyond quiet - if you want to get away from the Kellogg crazy, this is the place for you! Still many Kellogg students here, but not nearly as many parties as places like E2.
- Amazing lake view (NE facing)
- Covered/heated parking - 1 space came with unit
- Ability to control heat/AC within unit
- Deck and screened door with unit
- Massive walk-in closet
- Steps from Metra and L trains
- Heated/covered bike storage

Cons:
- Some stuffy condo rules
- Pricey (but worth it)
- Gym is lacking, but EAC is very close

Amazing landlady and very nice building

The amenities and the location are great. Overall, the management is also great - some things could be better, but overall, they do a good job. The biggest pain is finding an apartment to rent in this building since most are condos. Some of the floorplans are a bit funky too. We found our apartment through a broker and signed a 2-year lease, which sounds like is pretty typical. The gym is very small, but it is there. I also like that the apartment tends to be quieter but still has Kellogg students living there.

Optima Views units are individually owned so there is a lot of variation between how the same units can look. Make sure your unit is recently renovated.

Great for families! We have a 2Br/2Ba apartment and live here with our child. The floorplan works very well for our family - plenty of room for our toddler to crawl around, plus there's a pool in the building and attached parking garage. We even have a patio and yard (grass, bushes, etc.) outside of our apartment that is a good size and we only share it with 2 other units. Great for our toddler! I walk to the Kellogg Hub every day, which takes 20 minutes. Also close to many restaurants/bars, and both Metra and the "L" trains. Our unit could use a bit of an update but we like the building and find management to be friendly and helpful.

We bought our place right before Kellogg and remodeled it (turned out amazing, but maybe wouldn't recommend taking this on right before school). Great building and staff, and we've been getting lots of upgrades recently - new garage door, new entry tiles, digital package system, (free cable to come soon I think). It's quieter than OHO, but still a decent number of Kellogg students. Units come with parking and a storage locker, though note that units are all owned so everything can vary by unit. We love living here - a couple blocks from E2, OHO, McManus, Evanston rocks. About 20 min to the Global Hub. We are on the 10th floor, and don't get a lot of outside noise - don't even notice the trains. Pet friendly too (dogs under 40lbs)!

Overall great unit and building! Perfect location - 1 block to the heart of downtown Evanston, 1 block to Davis Street station, and right next to E2 for Kellogg's social hub. Big spacious units with unique floorplans that maximize windows and fantastic views (get a high floor # if you can). Quiet halls and common spaces and respectful neighbors, with all of Evanston's restaurants and social life just steps away.

The apartment is really nice and the location is great but it is VERY NOISY if you live on the back side of the apartment near the Metra stop. Moving in and out is also not the most convenient as you have to notify the building in advance and reserve the elevator. So, if anything goes not as planned, you could be in trouble.