Campus Lodge Tampa

For the price, this is an amazing place to live. We have had some issues with our appliances: our burners set off the smoke alarm every time we used them, the dryer to four runs to dry anything completely, water leaked out of the smoke alarm, and my roommates fan made an obnoxious noise. After recieving complaints from the upstairs neighbor about the fan and putting in maintenance requests for the other things, they have all been replaced this year. Maintenance can be hit or miss, sometimes they do a good job, sometimes they come by and remove the lint from your dryer filter and leave it on top of the dryer and tell you that’s the issue. They also are known to leave lights on and sometimes take things (not my personal experience) so I make an effort to be home when they come by. Upper management was also difficult at the beginning of the year, but I’m pretty sure they changed, and i feel it has improved recently. The front office staff is soooo nice and there are always events going on for residents (my favorite is grocery bingo). This month they had a smoothie bar, a “take and bake” pizza night (make a raw pizza and the office, cook it at home), and a trivia night. I love the setup of the apartments, everyone has their own bathroom, the rooms come with a decent sized closet (depending on which room you get you could have two closets or a walk-in), your own bathroom- which is also pretty big, a pretty nice desk, dresser and side table. I would recommend bringing a mattress pad or memory foam cover, as the mattresses provided are not the most comfortable. The common area/kitchen is a nice size, sometimes me and my other two roommates will cook at the same time and there is usually enough room for us to not be on top of each other. I enjoy the screened in balcony also, when it’s not insanely hot outside. The amenities are probably my favorite part. The pool is insane- it’s like you’re at a resort. A decent gym that’s usually not too crowded. A printer you can use 24/7 (if you bring your own paper). The WiFi kinda sucks for your phone, but thankfully I have unlimited data. If you don’t this could be an issue, but I’ve heard people have set up a connection for their individual apartment so you could look into that. I renewed my lease, so ovbiously I enjoy the apartment overall, but there are some improvements that could be made. But it’s probably the best you’re going to get around here for the price.

love the community, the ammenities, the pool and the events they have to make living here more fun.

Great apartment for extremely reasonable price. Seems to be the best bang for your buck! Maintenance is always super quick to respond and fix everything and they are really nice. Staff is friendly. Parking can be a bit of a nightmare if you come home late, would recommend getting a reserved spot if that is the case, as I’m pretty sure it ensures you always get a spot near your building. Complex offers fun events like painting, trivia, etc. Traffic is a little bit rough during busy times, especially getting out of the complex. Renovated apartments are beautiful and functional.

WiFi pretty fast. Not enough parking. Lots of raccoons but they’re kinda cute. The renovations don’t really make sense but that’s fine

Great place and excellent staff

Love it! Love this place. So different than all of the other apartments that look all the same. Staff is amazing!

TL;DR: Management sucks. Come in with a low expectation and you'll be fine. Alright, let me start off by saying that if you expect any student housing apartment to be as good as the showcase unit they show you in the beginning, your going to have a bad time. If and when you ask them about the cons of the apartment complex before you lease they will sugar coat it cause it's their job. I guarantee, you will have problems with any student apartment you choose. You are not renting a luxury apartment. Just have this in mind when you're searching for student housing. This is going to be long, and will be subjective. Everyone's experience is different hence why you have a high contrast of 1 vs 5 star reviews. Also, people who are mad are more likely to review than the people who are content. So that could explain the high volume of 1-star reviews. Okay, so for the review. I've been living here almost a year, and I renewed. I didn't really know if I wanted to renew but they made us after only 2 months into our lease (management problem). If anything changes then I will edit this post. Prices will fluctuate every year depending on the market, even if you are renewing. My rent is going up by $5, making my rent go to 550 to 555 (3x3, bedroom b, 1st floor- prices change depending on type of room and whether you are living in the top floor). You pay utility, and our bill fluctuates between 15-25 monthly (individually), so that's about 565-575 I pay every month. That's not bad for a 3x3, where other places rent a 4x4 up to 650-700, but your paying for location at that point. So, there's a star for the low cost. Location. Without traffic, it's about 5 minutes away from usf. With traffic, which will be every morning, about 10-15 min. If you don't have a car then campus lodge wouldn't be a good place to live considering the HART bus doesn't pick up here anymore. Unless you want to walk down livingston and cross Bearss to catch the bus at Reflections. I would guess that's about a 10 minute walk, I wouldn't know. The neighborhood isn't very good but walking during the day shouldn't be bad (again, this is with any student apartment, even the ones near campus at 42nd. I would say the safest apt would be the ones at campus-the very expensive dorm-like ones). Anyway, I don't mind the drive. If you want to walk to USF then find a different apartment, but the closer it is to USF the higher the price. There's my second star. Community and safety. So your neighbors will be primarily young college students but there are some older adults who just work (this is with any student apartment). Apartments are not co-ed unless you request it to be, however, management may screw it up and put you in a co-ed without your permission, so be vigilant when you get the names of your roomies (I'll talk about this later). I have great roommates, but that's by chance. I wouldn't put too much faith into the roommate preference form you fill out in the beginning. I don't have any noise complaints and I barely hear any parties. Granted I'm not near the pool. Like with any apartment, your going to hear people upstairs (and I suppose downstairs?). The apartment walls are a bit thin but once your playing your own music it's fine. If your uptight about your roomies playing music aloud, idk what to say. Wear headphones? Parking is fine, I've never had problems finding spaces. It gets tight after 10pm but there is usually some spots open. However, in the beginning of Fall semester it will fill up fast at night. So, there's another star. Internet- This is very important to me. I love gaming and my free time usually revolves around my computer. You can get decent ping with the ethernet cable, and now with a wireless connection since the new internet is in place. However, it still cuts off often especially after 10 pm. You can't really complain to CL anymore since they will just refer you to spectrum. Before here, I lived in a very rural town and I didnt have the best internet connection, so for me this is a great upgrade lol!. I guess take this part lightly. As for appliances, they are old. Like every reviewer has said, it will take multiple cycles to dry your very small loads in the dryer. In the beginning I just went to those laundromats that can dry a large load in 15 minutes, but I'm too lazy now. Pretty much everyone can do this, we are just too lazy. I doubt CL will upgrade everyone's washer/dryer any time soon, and without charging more for rent. It's just something you learn to live with. So, thats my 4th star. Okay. why only 4 stars? Cause even though I don't have much expectation for management, they still suck. If you want something done, your going to have to be persistent. Multiple calls and visits. It will be draining, disheartening, and you'll just want to give up. Just pick your battles I guess. Sorry for the long review, and thanks for reading this far. I tried to be fair/honest without my emotions getting in the way for the pros of this place. Hopefully this helped.

Safe, plenty of parking, plus short drive to USF With our first daughter going into an apartment junior year at USF, we wanted something safe, clean, and not a party scene every weekend. We looked at many other apartment complexes at night only to see the parking lots dimly lit and people parked on grass, in fire zones etc. The other places we looked at did not appear to have space for every student to have a car, let alone a guest come over to visit. (Peoples cars are towed because of this problem). Also on our list, was a floor plan where each bedroom is not directly off the main living area so the rooms would have less noise coming in. Found these and more at this large student complex where my daughter has been a tenant the past two years. Nice laundry room in each unit, decent size living room/kitchen, gate is closed after 10 pm, beautiful pool and workout room she has used many times. Definitely would check out this well designed apartment complex when you are looking for off campus housing.