We spent a year living at Elle West and still have friends who live here, but would highly recommend living at any other building in the area. You can get comparable monthly prices for significantly nicer buildings/management in the area. We now live at the Monarch which is 100x nicer, cleaner, and has more amenities for the same price. We had mold in our apartment at Elle for about 8 months which was never fixed. We had cockroaches, leaks, and broken hot water routinely while we lived there. When we brought it up to management, they were rude and dismissive. They also gave other friends in the building a hard time about transferring units and move-in/move-out days. They are a nightmare to work with if you can even get a response. When we began looking at other apartments, they all knew of the issues at Elle and have a bad reputation amongst other managed buildings in the area. Gables Park Plaza, AMLI, Monarch, Gables Tower, and a few other smaller buildings in the same area of downtown are all within the same price range and better quality by far.

Great location, older building

The location is amazing, and for the buildings in the Seaholm area it's the most cost-effective of the options. But you get what you pay for... and that means the least amount of amenities, the worst building management, and constant maintenance issues (elevators especially). On the management issue, they've been openly rude to people I know and are generally not responsive unless you owe them money. There's no front desk, instead the building has many doors you can buzz into. This is great for personal accessibility but a nightmare for communicating to deliviery services or friends visiting. Also you have to get used to the sound of freight trains rumbling through in the middle of the night. The only reason I didn't move between Y1 and Y2 was because of the hassle of moving.

One of the cheapest apartments for those that want to live downtown. Amenities / property management aren't great, but great bang for the buck.

Management changed a year ago and the place is now slow to respond (e.g., repairs, guest parking requests).

Location is unbeatable, but given the property age and lack of amenities, I would recommend elsewhere for the price. I know they reduced it, but anything north of ~$2,200/mo. for this place is probably too much.

They do offer Lifetime discounts, which is literally across the street, for around $180/mo. (phenomenal gym).

I'd recommend living downtown, or near downtown, 1st year then going further out 2nd year.

Great location

This building is located in the center of downtown Austin. There are several other apartments in this area, so you can easily find your classmates within walkable distance. It is a little less expensive than other buildings nearby, but still costly. Finally, there is the noise of trains every day and night.

Living at Gables West Avenue has been great. You can be downtown at an unbeatable location (42 *seconds* from Trader Joe's, across from the Seaholm District, a couple of minutes to the river or to Whole Foods, etc). When going to school, driving is around 5 minutes. Taking the bus is super easy since you have multiple route options that all get you very close to Rowling Hall.

The amenities are not as great as Park Tower or Park Plaza, but they're not bad, and this apartment makes up for it via the better location and slightly lower cost.

One important point: the train to the south can be loud if you are facing that direction. I recommend being either on the north side or on one of the inner-facing units (my unit is facing the pool, so the center of the building, and it's fine).

We only had one very minor ant problem and it was fixed within two days. The building is safe and access is controlled via key card. The pool is small but not loud.; quiet hours seem to be respected so far. The gym is tiny (two treadmills, two elypticals, a couple of strength machines, some dumbells) but it's something. There are multiple gym options nearby anyways.

At the time of writing this, I have been at Gables West Avenue for six months.

The best part of this apartment is the location. Right across the street from Trader Joes, close to the trails, close to the night life, and a 15 min bus ride to campus. The incremental cost of living downtown is worth those conveniences.

Management is friendly and easy to work with although they are inflexible on most requests. Nothing is included in the price of rent, so be prepared to pay every fee and utility known to man.

Realistically - the property is slightly on the older side, but is probably the best location for someone in the MBA program and is very affordable (at least for the area). Would highly recommend living here due to being across the street from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Furthermore, the most popular bar scene, West 6th, is less than a 5 minute walk. This place is a must consider for those who like to go out and want to be in the happening area. There are 4 apartments leased by current 1Y's in the building, with many more in the surrounding buildings.