Like the previous reviewer, I've lived at the Castilian for two years now. This building has seen MAJOR changes and does not deserve the bad rap that it gets. All of those old reviews are from when it was under a different manager: Campus Acquisitions. Three years ago a company called American Campus Communities bought the building. Since then they've done a $40 million renovation and the building is a lot better. The building was built in 1968 so there are still some kinks, especially with the HVAC. It's a system where the whole building has to be on heat or cool, each room cannot control it. The management tries to time it with the weather, but Texas weather is super unpredictable. It sucks when they switch between heat & cool because it's about 1-2 days of uncomfortable temperatures while the pipes cool down or heat up. The cafe here is great. It's unlimited food and while the food isn't absolutely fantastic, it's still really good. And the cafe staff & housekeeping staff are AMAZING! They are honestly the sweetest people you will ever ever meet. The amenity spaces are really great because they're brand new too. There are lots of study rooms and stuff. And in all honesty the best thing about this place is the location. There is literally no off-campus living space closer to campus. It's directly across Guad from the University. If you live here request a Tower view room because they're really great. Also, the pictures on this Yelp site are like five years old and of all the old spaces. Go to Google and see the new ones. They even have a street view thing but inside the building. read more

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Awful !! dont Rent here, my grandson spent the last year there had mold growing in his room. After Christmas break it was so bad they had to have industrial air purifiers and then a few weeks later had water running down the walls from the floor above. when trying to call customer service they don't answer or return your calls. Also they charge a full months rent for 10 days at the begining of the school year and 8 days at the end of the year. read more

I never write reviews but do not live here. They never give you your mail so if you need to get mail you have to ask the front desk everyday to see if you have anything. we have mailboxes that they never put the mail actually in. one of my fellow residents said they didn't get their mail for a month. there is black mold in the building, the dining hall was flooding just today, the garage is only 6 ft so anything above that you have no chance. the dryers in the building never dry and you have to pay to do your laundry on top of all the money they already make. at times only one out of 4 elevators work or even less. do not live here there are so many better and cheaper options. read more

We had an issue and Rachel at the management company was committed to helping us resolve it. We are happy to know there is good customer service when something goes wrong. Thanks, Rachel!! We are excited to be a part of the Castillian. read more

Holy shit this place sucks. Back again from 22 and every elevator is down now. Thanks for the never ending problems. Also whatever machine you have in the stairwell is loud a deaf person would need headphones. Will be poaching all of your people taking tours so they know and maybe then you'll make a fix read more

Castilian isn't awful, but it's not worth the cost. As a freshman, you would be better off in Callaway or SRD (girls only) if you can sign in time. Castilian is run down, at least 1 of the elevators doesn't work most of the time, which can be a major problem considering resident floors go from 12-22, and I was often forced to take the stairs. Also many of the dryers will burn/under wash clothes and they're $1.50 per cycle, but that's pretty common. I would say about 2/3 of the residents are involved in greek life (can be good and bad), and it often gets very loud at night including 2am on a weeknight when people are yelling down the hall and having a CA (our version of RA) is a joke at this point. I would say residents are more friendly/talkative than you might find on campus, and I have definitely made from friends here. However, the same could be said of Callaway/SRD/other off campus buildings. The best part is the location, and the one really nice woman who checks you into the dining hall everyday. Basically everything else is mid. read more

This place sucks. The food choices are minimal and only occasionally good. The hot water is screwy. One of the elevators is down after 2 weeks. I haven't been here long and I already know I don't want to come back, but I'm stuck in a lease and have to be here for a year. I regret being here and not in a dorm on campus. I already know the Jester food options are significantly better. Fuck this place and the money my family is wasting on it. Oh, and the bike storage is laughable. The front doors don't always work. You need a phone app to get to your floor, open your door, and even to get into the building after hours, so if your lose or break your phone, can't connect to the wifi, or the shitty app just refuses to work you can't get anywhere. read more

have fun waiting half an hour for the elevators everyday, AC is terribly inconsistent, permanent weed smell everywhere, laundry machines mostly broken, trying to get into your room with a phone is the worst experience ever. food okay, wifi okay, people amazing. too bad this staff has this shit of a building to work with. OVERALL TERRIBLE FOR THE PRICE. read more

Worst place. the first month will be good. they have very bad practices for charging huge processing fees.

My son is Class of 2027 at UT. The cafeteria is good, food has variety, and they make an effort to give good services. The only issue is the elevator which is a constant problem. Out of 4 banks, there is always 1 down. During busy hours of the day, waiting line can be long. read more

Castilian is a great place to live. The amenities are really great and draegan is my CA and never fails to help with whatever I need.

I recently moved into the Castillian and I like it a lot. Draegan made move in easy and having him around is a big plus.

Alana Beard, is helping me to find apartment for my son and she have an excellent customer service. Thank you

Overall my experience at the castillian has been pretty good. The food in the cafeteria is always ready on time and most of the time tastes very good. The gym is amazing at this building. The one thing that is kind of annoying is that some of the amenities are broken. Pool table is incredibly angled and all the balls roll down to one end. Effectively ruining the ability to play the game correctly. Other games in the lounge room are also broken or hanging on by a thread. They are still able to be used, but when I toured they looked much better than when I lived here. The front office is nice and very accommodating to all things that need to be fixed. I had some issues with water temperature occasionally but it was fixed within 24 hours. It's a pretty good place to live as a freshman and the price isn't outrageous. read more

I lived here 51 years ago during the Spring semester of 1968. In reading the reviews it seems there are many complaints that have to do with the infrastructure. I would think that the ownership has changed a few times and the maintenance has gone downhill. College dorms take a lot of wear and tear. The meals weren't very good back then so I ate out a lot. I stayed only one semester but met two friends who have become my closest friends but who I don't see as often as I like. So for that reason I raise that part of the experience to 5 stars. read more

yikes! I definitely wouldn't live here again... It seems good on paper but it's been problem after problem. The elevators have been an issue the whole year. There are only 4, which is not a lot when everyone that lives here is trying to get to and from class. On a typical morning I wait 10-15 minutes for the elevator before class. Not to mention, there is always construction and one or two elevators are frequently not in use for residents... THE CONSTRUCTION!!! I was woken up one morning at 7am to a very loud hammer and drill from above my floor. If it isn't at the crack of dawn though, you will definitely hear the sounds of construction very frequently around this place. There is always something going on. The stairwell consistently flooded during first semester and there were pool of water all over place, thus leading to (you guessed it!) more construction. The food was okay at the beginning of the year, but since the start of the second semester it has gotten increasingly worse. Recently, I bit into a big piece of glass in my spanish rice. I am vegan and there are very limited vegan options throughout the day (if anything). Also, none of the food is labeled and apparently literally everything here contains butter or cheese. The cafeteria is NOT VEGAN FRIENDLY. It's really just one little thing after another... My suite mate's room key stopped working randomly one day on her door and she was locked out of her room at 1am for two hours. I have heard multiple people have this complaint. That their key just stopped working on their door or on the elevator and its a pain to try and get anything done here. The laundry room.... The washers and dryers are paid machines ($1.25 a cycle for each) and the payment machines just don't work sometimes. It has happened to me twice where I tried to move clothes from the washer to the dryer and non of the dryers worked so all the wet clothes got to hang dry in my room. Also, the laundry room floor is pretty much always flooded now? so while doing laundry you get the joy of carefully treading through a thin layer of water that's spread across the entire floor. There's just too many little things that add up over the course of a year here. I would highly suggest finding somewhere else to live. Spotty wifi If you are debating Castilian or an on campus dorm, I would say to go with on campus housing. You'll save a lot of money that way! It seems as if they do all these promotional activities and they have really good advertising to get people to live here, but once you've paid that rent the experience swiftly goes downhill. read more

In the past few weeks I have been absolutely appalled at the behavior of the dining hall staff. Some members are extremely nice while others are plain rude. It makes me want to avoid going to the dining because it is such an unpleasant way to be treated. When paying such a high price to live at Castilian, the least I expect is that we're treated with respect. I don't want someone cursing under their breath while serving food. sometimes the food is so disgusting and the chicken is often undercooked that I am fearful of salmonella. Another big issue while living at the Castilian has been the laundry room. There is one laundry room for the whole building and every time I've gone to do my laundry at least half of the machines are broken and the room is flooded. Castilian makes minimal effort to remedy this and makes doing laundry such a hassle. Additionally the machines glitch and I am often times charged for extra cycles on the machine. Sometimes the laundry room is completely unusable and in no way has Castilian compensated residents for one of the amenities they offer. Another big issue is the elevators. With four elevators to service the whole building, only half of them are available to use most of the time. They are either broken or being used for construction. You have to allot a significant amount of time to get to class to factor in the slow elevators. Many people have also gotten stuck in these elevators, myself included. The whole building is either on heat or cold so sometimes it can get way too hot. Despite the above mentioned Castilian has some redeeming qualities as well. The windows are huge with an amazing view, RA's are nice, it's in a great location and has a well equipped gym. Overall it was a decent place to live. Management is nice but they get a lot of complaints and don't seem to be doing anything proactive about it. They're mostly just doing some damage control. Live here if you want to become increasingly annoyed by your living situation during your freshman year at UT. read more

Love Draegan and Reece. Really friendly and helped out alot!

Castilian has been an awesome addition to college so far, and the CA's are totally legit and true people who want to assist you in everything you do. The food is cooked fresh everyday and the workers are eager to help you. I live on room 17 which, in my opinion, is the best floor to live on. I am just in the middle, the elevator ride isn't too long and the view is so amazing. I face west campus and it is the best thing to wake up to everyday. My CA is an awesome guy, named Dreagan, he has totally added to my experience here. He isn't the best at ping pong but I've been helping them learn so now he is better. He is a great dude but I wouldn't play him in poker. Anyone who didn't have Dreagan this year sadly missed out. Hope to see more people here next year! Tate Christian read more

Honestly this place based on the building alone should garner a 2 star rating.. but the people living there make up for it totally. I'll start off with the problems with this place: 1) Deathtrap Elevators - They have a mind of their own and sometimes will take you for a joyride going randomly up and down until it mercifully lets you out after everyone has dialed 911 on their mobile phones and scratched in letters to their loved ones with their fingernails on the elevator walls. 2) SLOWASS elevators - Sometimes you have to wait 5-10 minutes to get an elevator.. and knowing college students we are usually already 5 minutes late to class. I've had to run down 16 flights of stairs many times because I got tired of waiting for the elevators. 3) Electricity/Water - Mysterious blackouts and no hot water.. for days!! We did not have electricity or hot water for 3 days this past semester! In the dead of winter too!! I'm surprised no one froze to death. Their offer of appeasement - pizza, subway, and junk food for 3 days. WTF. 4) Inconsistent Food - Sometimes the food at the cafeteria was good and other times it tasted like it came out of a Pedigree can. Sunday nights were consistently the worst because I guess they just ran outta everything and were "winging" it. 5) Internet - They have a contract with Apogee to provide internet access. Let me say that this is the worst ISP I've ever had to deal with. I paid for the premium plan and many times it was the same speed as the basic plan. Everytime I called it in they just would fix it a couple days later just to have it revert back to slow speeds sooner or later. Customer service is horrible because they know they have a monopoly on this place. Ok.. now onto the good things.. 1) People - You meet the coolest people in the hallways, cafeteria, laundry room, etc. They come from all walks of life and all were very friendly. I was able to meet a bunch of international students from France, Morocco, Brazil, Czech Republic, Belgium, Australia, and Mexico. I've never had such a fun time with a group of people ever! 2) Location - You are right in the middle of the Drag providing optimum striking distance of campus, west campus, the drag, and the bus stop to go to Sixth St. =) So as you can see the people you meet so heavily outweigh all the negatives! I would definitely live here again to meet more people! read more

the castilian is hands down the best west campus housing for your freshmen year!! it is super nice yet still goves you the amazing dorm experience!! its so close to everything too!!! read more

While I have had a lot of trouble moving in, I'm giving the Castillian five stars because of a CA named Tabitha. She is so kind, patient, efficient, helpful and attentive to everyone's needs. I am so grateful that she was there for me today. She is the best employee. read more

I've lived at The Castilian for a little under 4 years and got to see it change a lot over that time. Pros: They've done a ton of renovations to the building. The elevators are speedy (but be prepared to wait 5 minutes during peak rush hours when people want to go to class). The maintenance staff is great and usually respond to a request within 3 days. The rooms have been renovated a bit, in that the bed frames are now wooden instead of metal, and the carpet has been removed and replaced with wooden flooring. There's a new game common room on the 11th floor with things like a pool table, arcade games and such. There's also free printing, which is a major plus for printing those essays. Staff is friendly. I've never lost a package with them. There's a security guard who wanders around the building at night, but the doors to the residential floors (12th and up) are all locked with a key-fob, so I think it's a bit redundant. Food at the cafeteria has improved every single year I've lived there. I think it's roughly on-par with what you can find at Littlefield Cafe, but with more variety. They also laid down new carpet in the hallways of the residential areas about a year ago. The gym is more or less brand new. Lots of new equipment, with some old equipment still in there. Internet is relatively cheap and has gone down over the years; about $25 per semester for 50mbps. On-campus internet is a lotttt cheaper though. The maid service is really nice to have. They take out your trash, put in new trash bins, mop/vacuum the floors, scrub/clean the bathroom with detergent. The only downside is that since there's little ventilation (since most of the windows are jammed shut), the detergent smell lingers for a few hours. The maid service also cleans up the hallways, which is really awesome compared to some of the other West Campus housing options where you see empty pizza boxes and trash lying around in the hallways and elevators for weeks. There's also little dorm-wide events, such as bingo night and casino night where you can win prizes. They're pretty fun. There's a piano you can play on, but it's usually out of tune. There's parking available if you have a vehicle and I hear the permits are relatively cheap, but I really don't know myself since I don't own a car. Cons: There's only a few lights in the room you can turn on, so you might want to bring a lamp if you feel like it's too dimly lit. The bathrooms didn't get a renovation as far as I can tell. The plumbing is still old and the walls look a bit off colored. The Castilian is also on a HVAC system where either only the AC or the heating is on at one point in time for the whole building. It takes about 7 days for the building to make the switch from AC to heating or vice versa, so there can be times when it's pretty uncomfortable. Management tries their best to time it based on weather patterns, but Texas weather is always unpredictable as ever. You can only pick up packages during the daytime at the front desk, but that's to be expected. Cafeteria closes at 7pm on weekdays and 6:30pm on weekends, but that's roughly the same time as on-campus cafeterias. The windows in the room don't open, or open just a few inches if you're lucky. The water can take sometimes up to 20 minutes to heat up for the shower if a lot of people are using the hot water. It can be noisy at times in the evening, even though you're 12+ stories up, since there's sometimes live music playing at the nearby restaurants or open areas and the windows offer little resistance to the sound. Personally I had no trouble sleeping with it though, since they tend to close up when I head to bed. read more

Do not live here. In my three weeks since move in, I have dealt with more issues than I was expecting in my entire first semester. Between air conditioning problems, overlooked details, and flooding, I'm not sure which has angered me most. I moved in August 18, and my AC was not working. The temperature continued to climb and maintenance told me it was likely because I was on a high floor. However, my AC was actually blowing warm air. I had to stay at a hotel instead of the space I pay $1940 a month for because it was too hot. On August 19 there was finally a man to look at my AC from an outside company. He opened my unit and the pipes were so rusted that he can't diagnose a problem. In the process of checking, orange liquid begins to leak from the unit. Management tells me they've ordered a new AC unit and that it would be installed the following day. Until then, they get me a portable AC unit to plug in my room, bringing the temperature down from 80 degrees to about 76 at its coldest. However, the portable AC leaked water all night. On August 20 management informs me that the AC installation had to be delayed until the following day. Later that evening, the tubing for my portable AC, which takes hot air out of the room, fell and began pumping hot air into my room until a student that worked the front desk brought some duct tape and helped me fix it. On August 21 I leave early in the morning for rush. My AC is replaced sometime while I'm gone. Overnight, the room finally cools and I have no issues with my AC until August 30. On August 30, I returned home from class and realized my AC was 5 degrees higher than it was set and the temperature continued to climb. I called the front desk and dealt with an extremely rude and unprofessional worker who insisted he was too busy to call emergency maintenance. (There is no number for residents to call, only a front desk number which frequently disconnects) After waiting for 30 minutes, maintenance is finally called. A man arrives after an hour at 9:30 and tells me that he doesn't know what to do and another man would come the next day. I reminded him that this was a brand new unit and there shouldn't be any issues. My room is now around 76 degrees and climbing. At around 10:15 we discover that other rooms are having issues like ours. After the resident manager called another set of emergency maintenance (I suppose because it was affecting multiple rooms so they had to contain the complaints) the room finally began to cool at 12:30am. The room cools overnight and is back to 65 degrees when I leave for class. August 31: When I return the unit has heated up again, but I am told it's because they briefly turned the chiller off for maintenance. My room begins to cool back down. At roughly 3:30 that same day, I leave my room. When I return about 2.5 hours later, it's once again hot. I inform management and he informs me that the entire building is once again experiencing issues. At 6:20, I notice that my AC system has been switched to heat. On an HVAC system, the entire building has to either be heating or cooling, so it was out of my control. The system gets switched back to cooling shortly after, though my room doesn't cool down until 10:50 pm. September 1: my room was cool when I woke. I left for the day and returned at 4:30pm. My room was hot again and my vent was blowing warm air. The temperature reached 76 degrees. I left and stayed at a hotel with my mom who was in town. September 2: I return to my room at 4 pm. My vent is blowing warm air. My room reaches about 74 degrees despite being set at 65-67. My room finally begins to cool again at around 9pm. I have not had any issues over the last week, and have been monitoring the unit very closely. However, on September 9 I returned to Castilian to find the lounge on the 22nd floor flooded from the central stairwell. Several other residents noticed their lower floors were flooding as well. Water was essentially pouring out from the boiler room, down the stairs, and under the doors leading to the central stairwell. There were also soft wet spots in the ceiling where it seemed water was beginning to break through. I'm not sure what management is doing currently nor what caused the flooding issue, but this was the last straw for me. It's been 23 days and I can't imagine anyone who would want to have their time so consistently interrupted by such issues. My overall piece of advice is simply do not live here unless you want your college transition to be overwhelming for all the wrong reasons. I included this list as a warning to prospective residents. The website makes this place look far newer than it is and gives the illusion that it's worth the cost. There are plenty of other options, and until American Campus Communities can get their act together and start tackling issues and doing preventative maintenance, I can't recommend it. read more

Draegan and Reece showed me around the area and the rest of the staff gave me some good tips. The tabling event was really helpful, and all my housing questions were answered to the fullest. I'm glad I went up to them to solve some of my questions, and I got a free UT Fanny pack out of it :) read more

I wouldn't even give it one star. The other review here is 5 years old and basically gets everything right. Except the people do not make this place THAT much better I'll start with the worst parts: 1. Food- the food is horrible. The cafe has the worst food in any dorm I've been in. It makes Jester look like a 5 star restaurant. It's so bad the pizza doesn't even taste good. The rice is not cooked right. They try to make different recipes like curry chicken but it never comes out good. The one positive is the lunch lady's, who are nice. 2. Elevators- take forever. You could wait for ten minutes some days. 3. Rooms- completely shitty. The carpets turns your feet black. Lights don't always turn on. AC vent is broken and has mold on it. One positive 1. People- you're going to meet some great people if you live here. It's the same thing for any dorm you'll meet a lot of people. So do yourself a favor and don't spend your money on this shit hole. read more

Literally the worst place you could possibly live. You are paying almost $900 a month for really low quality food, no heating when its cold (its in the 30's right now) and no AC when its hot, a shower that changes temperatures and burns you, dirty carpet and walls, and an overall odor that smells like urine and garbage. I have lived almost a full semester here and I strongly regret my decision to sign a lease here. It's just dirty. The carpet in my room turns my feet black and the counters, no matter how much I wipe them down, leave my towel orange. The food is always chicken and rice, and sometimes the chicken is pink. They will put out dry pasta with no sauce available, and we arent even allowed take out boxes. We can only take out fruit and cookies. Once they even tried to serve us peanut butter pasta. I'm being serious. Save your money and go somewhere that will keep you comfortable and healthy. Not this place at all. read more

Excellent place to live! Wonderful staff even worked with my suite are when his bike got stolen.

Draegan was extremely helpful. He was welcoming and had a great attitude! He should get paid for this.

I lived in the Castilian my freshman year and I loved my room but the elevators are horrible usually two out of the four slow ones are working..the food is good and the cafeteria staff is extremely nice. Don't buy the overly priced parking pass because people are just going to steal your parking spot anyways. They wouldn't tow because the construction of the parking garage was horrible and a truck can't even fit. I did not feel welcome or comfortable walking into the building due to the rigid student staff. read more

The Castilian is a fantastic place to live! The service is great and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an area close to campus.

Don't recommend living here at all. However, if free printing is something you're into, this is the place for you (although other people on campus use our printing anyways). The kitchen, front desk, and housekeeping staff are nice, but management is unresponsive and don't listen to residents. Nobody was responsive to my room's fire alarm that wouldn't stop randomly going off, even after we told security downstairs at night, the people at the front desk, and even the maintenance guy when they had to visit to each room. I remember people talking about the fire alarm going off for a washing machine and even then, when I was in my room, I didn't hear the alarm at all. So if there was an actual fire, I probably would never know. We have had multiple strangers (old adults that have followed residents up to their floors) make their way past the security at night on the first floor and past the 11th floor, up to the residential floors. When you tour, they'll show a room full of washing machines and dryers, but truthfully, they never properly worked. They don't take change, so while the machines advertised a price, my debit card actually got charged a bit more. The dryers never fully dried my clothes, even with the upcharge. I even tried putting in smaller loads (keep in mind, pretty expensive if I'm paying for each wash and dry) and even with the 40 minute dry, my clothes were still damp. Even now, I am trying to settle my dispute with the billing people because they charged me for two room keys instead of just the one, and there was even a $5 upcharge compared to what they said in the move-out ad. I've given them over a month and the only way I got a response was by reviewing negatively to a survey to their other buildings. Now that classes are in-person, the inconsistent wifi might not cause you to actually be booted out of Zoom, but still something to keep in mind if your classes are still online. The only thing I really can't complain about is the view, unlimited meal plan, and housekeeping every two weeks. read more

The Castilian was a great first-year experience for my son. Close location to campus, good food. I can speak to the management and specifically Jenni Lopez was exceptional. If I had any questions or an issue, she was on top of it. Great customer service. Highly recommend. read more

The place where students love living! All I can say is that the staff is AMAZING. The management is clearly doing something right. Service is efficient and professional. No extra charges usually. Food is better than on campus dorm food. The environment is very warm and friendly. Also, everything is updated and upgraded so you'll be living in a contemporary paradise! The pre-renovation building had many bad reviews, but the new place is on point! I would definitely live here again if it wasn't for the fact that dorms are extremely expense per month. Freshman....(incoming) come check it out!! read more

I want to be as objective and detailed as possible, so let's jump into a pros and cons list. This review is long but it's worth the read. Pros: -The staff is great. A lot of staff members acknowledge there are issues with the Castillian and they'll laugh with you while they help you fix the issues. The cleaning kitchen staff, the cleaning staff, the receptionists, are all friendly and professional, and I haven't had any issues with the people working here. -The rooms are also pretty spectacular. You get probably 70% more room space and over 100% more storage space than you would in an on-campus dorm, and most rooms have a great view as well. I spent most of my time outside the room, but it's totally possible to study, watch TV with a few friends, etc. in the room. -The wifi is good. As much as people struggle with the on-campus wifi, the Castilian's wifi is consistent and fast. -They have good common rooms and study spaces on the 11th floor. They have several rooms dedicated to solo study, and they have booths and couches for collaborative stuff. Definitely a good place to hang out and get some work done. -And finally, the gym is really nice. They have everything you need for cardio, push day, pull leg, leg day, whatever else you have... The gym is free to use and open 24/7, and it's clean, quiet, and well air-conditioned. Second semester, I probably spent about an hour in the gym every other day, and I have literally never had an issue. Definitely take advantage of the free gym if you choose to live here. Cons: -As far as laundry goes, they are a disaster. Many of the washing machines, as many as 60% of them sometimes, are broken. One even broke down mid-cycle with my clothes still in it, so I had to pull out my wet, soapy, half-cycled clothes and put them in another machine (and spend an extra $1.25, yippee!) When the washing machines break, sometimes they flood the entire room with soapy water, and the Castilian will allow the room to stay flooded for hours before sending someone to clean it up. The dryers are bad too, partly because they don't dry your clothes in one cycle. You will need to keep your clothes in for 2 cycles and your towels in for 3 to actually dry them, even after wringing everything out by hand. The lint collector is also located right under the doors to the driers, so when you open the door, your clean clothes fall right into the accumulated lint. Laundry is not fun at the Castilian. -The elevators are also a nightmare. 4 very slow elevators, often with only 2-3 actually operating, service 22 floors. In the late mornings, it can literally take 5 minutes for your elevator to arrive. And on one very special occasion, the light in the elevator I was in broke completely. Some girl I had never met and I got to bond over just how creepy it is to climb 15 stories in total darkness at 2 am. -Another problem with the Castilian is the dining halls. The dining halls are open from 11 am to 6:30 pm on the weekends, so no matter if you're a morning person or a night owl, there will be at least one meal you want to eat when the dining halls are closed. And even though the hours are supposedly more normal on weekdays, there are big stretches where no food is being served except cereal and tuna salad. The food selection in general isn't great either- there's a lot of junk food, no vegetarian or kosher options, and a small bug popped up in my breakfast a few times. Guests who are not family members are completely banned from the dining halls, and the Castilian's meal plan is incompatible with the on-campus meal plan. That means that if you make a group of friends that live on-campus dorms, like I did, you have to pay $10 or have them "swipe you in" for 10 Dine In Dollars to eat with them. My last complaint, as unbelievable as this sounds, is the TVs in the dining hall often play graphic shows including crime scenes, torture, etc at full volume. It should be common sense that nobody wants to watch a graphic torture scene when they're eating lunch, but apparently it isn't. -Those are the three big issues, but there are a bunch of smaller ones too. The showers randomly get hot and cold, the beds are uncomfortable, they send you notifications for packages that you've already picked up, they test the (really loud) fire alarm every so often at weird hours, the ping pong tables and arcade games they advertise on the website are in terrible condition, the toilets clog easily, the stairways are wet and slippery sometimes, etc. There's nothing here that makes this a horrible place to live, but the on campus dorms are a whole lot better. Whitis is quite a bit cheaper and they do a lot more to facilitate a community in the dorms, and even Jester beats the Castilian. If you can help it, don't live here. read more

My brother lived here for three years and never complained, but then once I got here I realized it's just because he's a nice person. The windows leak, the management and staff are horribly unfriendly and the bath tubs and sinks are all cracked. The gym is pathetic and no one ever swims in the pool and it takes 10 minutes on the elevator just to get to the street. If I could go back in time, I would have told myself to live in Jester before living at the Castilian again. read more

From a parents perspective, the facility has been renovated completely. Nice rooms, great common areas, study lounges, private study rooms, group study rooms, game area, theatre, laundry facility, gym. My longhorn tells me the food is great, but wish the hours were longer in the evening and perhaps open earlier in the morning on the weekend? (maybe just cereal and fruit before a certain time when they open the hot food?) I really like that the parking garage is under the building. Security has been improved. Elevators are slow. AC/Heat takes a while to go between since on boiler system. Most dorms are like this anyway and Texas weather is crazy- take a fan. Great location! read more

This building has gone through some major renovations. Even though the food isn't that great most days, I can get by eating it. The elevators are pretty slow but that's just something you're gonna have to get used to. Other than that, the rooms are pretty spacious and it's super convenient because its right next to campus. Definitely worth the price to pay for the single suite. read more

Okay. If you are thinking about moving here do yourself a favor and look for the reviews that are "hidden". Those are the real residents. Also, check out this facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Typical-Castilan/1417381851841562. These are SOME examples of the living conditions here. They claim they have made millions of dollars in renovations, but the only upgrade is the cafeteria. Nothing ever works. The building is just way too old. The only thing this place has going for it is the location, but considering all of the cons, it's not worth the misery. read more

I wont live here. There are much better housing options than paying 12950$ for a shared room. Yes, unlimited meal plan is provided but still expensive to live; the only exception would be being a residential managet in Castilian. . . read more