388 Beale

"Lived here for around a year. The amenities are great and the front-desk staff is lovely. However, these are major issues that compelled me to look for another place: 1. The overall structure of the building is inconvenient and makes it especially hard for food and grocery deliveries. To get to your apartment, you need to take an elevator from the lobby to the 5th floor, then go back outside and into another one of two towers to get into another elevator. I’ve had many deliveries left in the lobby without notice because they could not find my apartment. 2. BIGGEST REASON: Management is terrible and will blatantly ignore you, even when it is an important/legal concern. I’ve emailed and called several times with no response, and their move-out charges were ridiculous with no photo evidence to show where they came from. 3. The package room is in a corner of the parking garage and has little to no cell reception. I’ve had a few packages that went missing and the building was never able to find them. 4. There is no front-desk staff during the night. This can be inconvenient as the only time to reach them is when I’m working. It also raises a safety issue as no one is there to keep track of who's entering late at night."

"Think twice before moving to 388 Beale. Management has a lot of work to do to make this property worth the rent price. The front desk staff is nice and the building amenities are great, but their poor management made me give them 1 star. They have poor security. There were multiple break-ins during the time I lived there. Management didn’t take any action to improve the situation. I (alongside other tenants) experienced a water leak. I had to live with four very loud industrial heaters for 3 weeks. Management wouldn't provide updates about the resolution of these issues, and only gave a rent credit that wasn't even worth one week of rent. Now that I moved out, I’m dealing with wrong charges that they don’t want to refund. I was charged a $280 cleaning fee when I had professional cleaners do a deep cleaning after I moved out. I even shared a video with management of how impeccable the unit looked, ironically more clean than it was when I moved in. Additionally, I was charged their $150 annual package fee three times. It’s reflected in my bank statements, and they argue they removed it from their billing, but refuse to reimburse those charges. I moved out last month, and there isn’t a resolution yet, and of course I haven’t received my deposit back. Avoid all this frustration by living somewhere else."

"First off, the people in the building are super nice and friendly, which creates a great sense of community. The gym, common areas and elevators are always clean, well-maintained and always kept in great condition, which is a huge plus. One of the things I found really cool is the locker system for deliveries and packages. It's so convenient and makes life a lot easier. Last but not least, I gotta give a shout-out to Amy from the staff. She's super friendly and always willing to help, which really made a difference when we were moving in."

"I moved to 388 Beale a little over a year ago and so many factors have contributed to making it feel like a home. The staff is extremely responsive to resident needs, while also going above and beyond to develop genuine relationships with all tenants. Amy, at the front desk, is especially warm and has given birthday cards to my mom and asked us specific details about our weekends and vacations. We love the staff so much that we even made them Christmas cookies around the holidays. This is only a few examples of the warm and welcoming dynamic that 388 Beale creates for residents. In addition, I feel very safe in the building with all of the doors that require specific codes for entry. I have never once felt unsafe in my building and know that the staff is very proactive in making sure residents feel this way. Now that amenities are back open in our building (given closures from COVID), I have been able to enjoy the gym, hot tub, BBQ area, and business lounge space and it really adds to the experience. The gym has all the necessary equipment to get your workout in and it is never too crowded. The location is also very nice and is only a short walk from the Embarcadero and ferry terminal. Overall, I would highly recommend 388 Beale to anyone looking to find their home in the financial district. It has everything you need and more and will quickly feel like home to you too."

"I lived at 388 Beale from Nov 2015 through Dec 2019. The first 2 years were okay but conditions declined thereafter. Here are some of the issues encountered: Communication Communication from and with the leasing office is abysmal. Limited notification of major construction plans and progress, temporary leasing office locations for months, fire alarm testing for a year, on-going water shutoffs, and even move-out instructions. No move-out checklist was provided. No walk through inspection was scheduled. Then absurd carpet cleaning, apartment cleaning, and pet treatment charges appeared on my ledger after move-out. Corporate withheld my security deposit then demanded hundreds more in payment. All surprise charges could have been mitigated with better communication at move-out. -Apartment Cleaning 155.00 -Carpet Cleaning 60.00 -Pet Treatment 50.00 30 days notice and completed notice to vacate forms were given to 388 but never acknowledged or processed until I called 3 days in a row and left several voicemails. Communication with corporate billing was equally frustrating with cranky representatives unable to explain move-out cleaning charge policies and long lapses for providing invoices. Maintenance There was a refrigerator that malfunctioned four floors above that resulted in 5 weeks of construction to fix my flooded apartment. The quality of work was extremely low and I even caught a contractor, on camera, sweeping construction dust particles into the carpet rather than vacuuming. Fire alarm system upgrade/testing had been ongoing for 1 year (Nov 2018-Nov 2019) A North Tower elevator light was out for 3+ months (July 2019-October 2019). Constant construction for 3 years (dog area, spa, grill, business center, leasing office, and gym) and at early hours. Hardwood flooring was installed above my apartment as early as 8:30am during a long holiday weekend. Recycling area in the garage is always messy with non-collapsed boxes and items (primarily furniture) that are not recyclable. Trash smell outside the leasing office and gym is almost constant in the evening and night time. Hot water inconsistencies. Dangerously hot in the early morning hours. Then tepid during the daylight hours. No air conditioning despite 92 degrees in my apartment and oddly-shaped windows that don't easily allow for ventilation. Climate change has extended the two weeks of extreme heat in 2016 to three unbearable months in 2019. A retrofit air conditioning system needs to be made a priority, especially for east facing apartments getting extreme sun in the morning. These apartments cannot be called "luxury homes" without adequate HVAC. I had to keep three fans running non-stop in summer and two area heaters in winter because of the high-voltage heaters costing waaaay too much money to operate. Anticipate $400 per month to stay comfortable using the thermostat, seriously. The Smart Rent door access system is awful, both software and hardware execution. The building exterior lacks curb appeal with harsh concrete facade, dying trees along the sidewalk, an unmanaged smelly egress area to the right, and homeless individuals camping under the bridge to the left. Nearly every morning you can be assured that the garbage or recycling you carefully bagged and disposed of will end up in the street after the dumpsters are rummaged and their contents strewn about (beware of identity theft!!). Community Active Building, the community website, is censored and thereby pointless. Friends moved out due to high rent increases. No continuity of relationships made in the community. Frequent employee turnover with no notification of their departures and replacements (Curry, Cece, and Jonathon). Affordability Lease renewal increase of $6000 (12.5%) year-over-year is not reasonable for a classic 1-bedroom home with no air conditioning and water issues in a city and neighborhood seeing declines. Security Bikes stolen from the garage with no notification, no warnings, and no mitigation. Residents live in fear."