The Retreat at Blacksburg - Apartment rental agency in Blacksburg - 1800 Redd Rd, USA

Didn't appreciate getting a bill for repairs 3 years later that goes directly to credit reporting agencies. The proper time for charging me for damages is soon after I vacate - returning the deposit to me in full and sending absolutely no communications to me regarding further bills before sending them to collections years afterwards is not acceptable behavior. Whether this is intentional (to avoid people contesting inflated/made-up charges) or an honest mistake, do better.

I hope they attend the issues reported by residents in a timely fashion. They tend to ignore or delay issues like fixing washer etc reported by students

Great place to live that is really nice! Do recommend. Just wish the gym was a little less cardio-biased. For as nice as the clubhouse is, the gym is a little underwhelming. Kindly, I’d say too many pieces of cardio equipment and not enough machines/weights. Just trying to help. The gym would be better if there was half as much cardio equipment and couple of bench presses with a free-weight squat rack instead. I’ve never seen more than two people on pieces of cardio equipment at a time when there’s around a dozen pieces.

I'm sure that this place is lovely from the resident point of view (other then being a disgusting mess on move in) - as long as they're not the ones paying. As a parent who is paying for this, my experience this first month has been terrible. I could not be more disappointed. Despite that they had the summer to clean the place, when my son and his roommates moved in the placed was disgusting (see pic of carpet on move in) even having items of clothing left over from prior tenants. Without question had my child left the place like that I'd be forced to pay an absurdly inflated fee. Then, I go to set up ACH payment as there is a "convenience" fee for CCs. No problem, I thought. That's what I did for the last place. However, they make the ACH payment most inconvenient. Instead of simply being able to enter one's checking info into the payment portal, one has to link their bank account online to the company that processes their ACH payments. If, for security reasons one does not have their bank account online this is not an option. Thus, they make ACH especially inconvenient and then charge a convenience fee for CCs. When I asked about waiving the fee on the first payment as I could not set up ACH as noted above I was told that only the local manager could waive the fee. That manager said only the company office could. There was no resolution to this with each saying that only the other could. The on-site office does not accept checks. Thus, if one wants to mail a check and the USPS takes longer than expected to deliver there is, naturally, a late fee. After all of this frustration, the icing on the cake was tonight when I went to look at the payment portal to see how much to send & I see $5 for a lease violation. I asked my son about this. He said "They have a system where you leave trash bags outside and they come and pick them up everyday, our bag had a rip in it so they fined us" - amazing how quick they appear to be to nickel and dime over anything (despite how expensive they are in the first place) yet, they leave the place trashed for our son when he moved in and I don't see any credit for that. The fees clearly only go one way. One might think that, especially for new residents, they'd let them know about the trash the first time instead of the fee, but clearly they're out to squeezed out ever last dime that they can. Thus far, one month in, I am very sorry that I signed a lease here. They clearly have zero regard for the customers figuring, I assume, that student housing is limited and they can take the customers for granted. I can already see that they look for any excuse to add on fees like this $5 at every opportunity. I suggest that parents/payors be very cautions and understand that underlying the luxury appeal that they'll get when they visit to consider renting, this place is difficult to deal with having management who will nickel and dime you at every opportunity. They will hit you with every conceivable, contrived, inflated fee that they can while holding themselves totally unaccountable w/not so much as an apology for the disgusting condition of the place on move-in much less a fee credit by way of one example. How disappointing! Reply to owner's comments to my post: As you can imagine, I tried very much to resolve these issues prior posting my experience to warn others. I found the management and staff to be unhelpful. Any company can make mistakes, etc. That is not really the issue so much as the incredible lack of resolution given the issues and the high cost and luxury façade of this property. Being fined $5 (for each resident of course) for the trash w/no warning to new residents only a few weeks after our kids arrived to a disgusting and dirty apartment w/no compensation nor even apology by the staff speaks volumes about your company. This is not to mention the difficulties with payments and "convenience" fees detailed above. I would be glad to speak with someone in management who has the authority and desire to make things right.

I’ve lived here for a couple years and have greatly enjoyed the experience. Most notably, the maintenance crew. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with most of them as well as the head of maintenance, Steven Flores. Steven is an outstanding maintenance director and love to help everyone. He doesn’t ask a lot from others and has provided great support with any issues we’ve had in the past. Personally, I don’t think anyone would be better suited for his position!

The Retreat offers more than just the best housing in Blacksburg. The Retreat is a welcoming and comfortable community with a staff eager to serve, support, and get to know it’s residents. The Retreat offers the best amenities in Blacksburg, including a resort-style pool, walking path, golf simulator (yes, you read that right and it is AWESOME), and ample study space. What a gem we have in The Retreat!

It’s a nice place, but it’s really hard to get maintenance done. Also after moving in, cleaning was done by the people living there before you so if they didn’t do a good job, then that’s a bummer

I very rarely leave reviews but I needed to acknowledge how helpful and friendly Kate was. She was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. Our decision was made after our tour. I am confident that this is the perfect place for my son to live.