Generally speaking, the retreat is a very nice complex with beautiful homes. You can definitely tell that the appliances and construction work was cheap and quick, as many things are crooked and out of place. Move in day was a complete disaster. I moved into a disgusting apartment and had to spend about 9 hours deep cleaning it. Also, they had cleaned all the carpets in the apartment except for my room, which had cat pee and feces everywhere. It also took them 3 days just to get me my keys! However, now that move in day has passed, I think that the staff and management is a little more reliable. Also, the amenities are really nice so that's a huge plus! Overall I really like living here; its just a tad bit expensive at times for the service you're getting. read more

UNSAFE Our WC and her friend felt unsafe in 24/25- too dark, gates left open, side gates have gaps where people slip through even when gates are locked, flimsy doors and windows. Multiple robberies including a car theft while she was there. We were told there was a shooting onsite the prior year or two. Glass in parking lot on multiple occasions. Many people sleeping rough and taking drugs on streets surrounding the complex. One unhoused person slept on our daughter's patio. Many renters tried to move out and re-let their units but most were unsuccessful because it's not a good place to live read more

The houses are gross and damaged, once you leave the house but still have the lease, they allow maintenance to leave the house an absolute mess. They proceeded to throw away all my belongings left at the house despite me still having keys and an active lease. The front desk is very nice and helpful but management is a mess. Visitor parking spaces were taken up for over a month due to the cottages leaving a huge dumpster there leaving about 4 visitor spaces for the entire Cottages. read more

Can't recommend The cottages enough! Such wonderful people and employees here. The amenities are absolutely amazing too!

This place is a disaster, no Retreat, don't let your kids move in here. They do a wonderful job marketing it, try driving by at night. Go to the gas station next door. You won't go back. My daughter had a friend commit suicide while the building refused to allow the police in the building or send their own security. I've had kids in college for the last 6 years, this place is the worst that we have run into. read more

STOP!!! It looks nice but not well-managed and they will try and charge you for everything. My daughter moved in fall 2019 and we arrived to find her apartment an awful mess. We both worked in her room and bathroom for hours and finally, in frustration, I called a housecleaner to clean the kitchen and living room. The apartment clearly had not been cleaned since the last tenant moved out. We just completed the move-out and received a huge bill for the cleaning of her bedroom and bathroom!! There are plenty of quality places to live in Tucson, this is NOT one of them. read more

I've been here less than a week and this place has already been horrible to deal with. I showed up for move-in on a Saturday to no furniture in my room after speaking to 2 different people the week before to make sure this wouldn't happen. I had to ask twice to have the furniture moved in after I arrived. On top of that it looked like the room hadn't been cleaned whatsoever since the prior tenant moved out. Belongings from the prior tenant were left in the room as well. The carpet in my room is dirty and stained and the furniture I'm paying $35/month for definitely has some wear and tear. My ceiling fan is missing a light bulb and one is blown out. The only solution I was given was to wait til Monday for a cleaner to come or clean myself and get reimbursed for the cleaning supplies I use. If it had been a bit dirty I wouldn't have minded but this just blatantly looks like it hasn't been touched since the last person moved out. There's still minor holes in the wall also. The cleaner showed up at the end of the day Monday and left with the room still visibly dirty so I've just finished cleaning it myself. Not to mention they messed up and put in my lease that my room would be furnished without including the furniture rental fee. When I called (the first time) to confirm that the furniture would be there, I was told I never "opted-in" to have it furnished. In an attempt to ensure the room would be ready to move-in, I agreed to sign a new form that was never sent. I checked in again a few days later and was told I needed to sign a new form agreeing to pay $35/month for the furniture or else they wouldn't be giving it to me. Wanting to put this behind me, I agreed only for it to not be ready when I got there anyways. I'm currently waiting for a manager to reach out to me after I let the front desk know my room was still dirty after cleaners left on Monday. I've heard nothing. This place was real quick to take my money but has been real slow fixing their mistakes/negligence. read more

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DO NOT LIVE HERE YOU WILL REGRET IT! This place will screw you even after you are gone. Most of the reviews are fake because management asked us to write high reviews so our favorite manager wouldn't be fired. They kept saying I owe them more and more money once I left but I paid all of my bills. I have received about 3 new bills from the retreat since I left. Update: They just sent me another bill! This is absolutely ridiculous. There was even a shooting here that they did not tell anyone about! I was there and heard the gun shots. No renters were notified and it was basically covered up. Worst place to live! 1/10 read more

I moved in to an apartment that had no bedroom furniture that I had payed for, the stove coverings were not there, we had no fire extinguishers, the dryer pipe was disconnected, there was a whole in my bathtub as if someone had dropped something very heavy creating a hole, and a missing towel rack. Throughout my time living here I had an extremely difficult time dealing with management and front desk who often misplaces packages. Security is often taking smoke breaks instead of doing their job during the few night hours they are contracted to be there. My neighbor and friend died because of how long security took to come because there was no one contracted to be there. Then no manager could be reached to give permission to knock down door until Tucson police could have probable reason to knock down the door an hour and a half later. They also took over my electricity bill without telling me to charge me extra fees and had no one available to contact to fix this. They take advantage of their college student tenants. Before signing I would suggest looking other places if possible. All they ever say is to contact their community director who avoids emails and will not get anything done! read more

I wish there was something less than one star because the only people leaving good reviews are parents. The cottages of tucson SUCK & they will screw you in more ways than one even after you're gone! They'll stick you with AWFUL crazy roommates & then when you ask to move -- they'll completely fuck you. This place blows. it's disgusting, unsanitary & the people here suck!!!! Not welcoming at ALL!!! DO NOT MOVE HERE! Oh & even after you're gone they'll continue sending you bills because all they care about is your money read more

Came down to move my daughter in and she was given a key to a filthy place that was occupied. they did not tell my daughter or the other tenant of the other person-which is their policy. My daughter listed an allergy to cats and this person had a cat. the manager was "at Red Lobster" but would come to handle the situation as there were no other options for space. There's were SIX families waiting for the manager. Over THREE hours later we were shown to a different, extremely dirty apartment, that we have been cleaning for three days. It is furnished and has free cable but no TV as is shown in all the pictures. You can not get questions answered except that they are ready for you to sign your lease and pay them.... read more

The Cottages at Tucson - Dirt on molding along stairs on move in - Apartments Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

The Cottages is a great place to live. The manager in particular is very hands on. My car broke down today and within five minutes he was at my apartment jump starting my car. I would highly recommend this place to anyone! read more

Not a great place to live. It's in the middle of the ghetto and is very unsafe. I would recommend a complex or home with a better rating and reputation. read more

Not a safe place! The first 2 weeks after moving in they literally PROMOTED parties now a large population of the people working/living there have covid. On top of that the units were not move in ready at all! Dirty and disgusting, we had to clean our units ourselves. They also loose, steal, or give packages to the wrong people. My roommate's package was handed to our neighbor (who has covid) and my package was either lost or stolen. The gates also DONT work about 85% of the time. Either your pass doesn't work so you can't get in or they are just wide open...which is scary considering the neighborhood. This could be a really decent place to live but considering how they manage everything, it's terrible & I have to give it 1 star. read more

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Initially when I went to move in at the cottages there are a number of concerns about the condition of our townhouse that myself and 4 of my roommates had. However Noel was very professional and friendly and work through each of the issues 1 by 1. Noelle had them all resolved in the matter of just a few hours. Initially me and my roommates were considering not renting from the cottages and going elsewhere. But because of the great customer service that Noel provided us and her at atention to each and every problem, we are now so happy there we didn't do that. I strongly recommend the cottages and their staff especially, Noel for making everything perfect on our 1st day of moving in. Sincerely, Sheana Byrne read more

My daughter, a U of A student rented here. The worse decision in the world. The management, Chris Cushinberry and his minions, can only aspire to be incompetent. They are the worse. A student was threatening suicide in the apartment next to my daughter. They reached out for assistance to open his locked room. ZERO response from manager or security. Hours later police arrive and break door down to find him hanged. Awesome human skills Chris. Then as our students struggle with the university shutdown, Chris starts charging $50 fees if the students move out. We still pay rent and utilities, it is our legal obligation. No problem. The additional fee? Just Chris taking advantage of the situation to profit. He actually sent an email out to the students suggesting if they are financially struggling now that their parents should sign over any stimulus check to him. Really? I'm sure he has a stash of toilet paper and sanitizer that he will sell at 300% markup. Parents and students stay away from here like the plague. Ask around. Look at all reviews posted, especially the "not recommended ". read more

I don't even know where to begin. This place at first seems nice because it is not far from campus and some of the prices are reasonable. When you live in a house each person pays rent separately. What is not included is water and electricity. You set that up yourselves and you have to rely on everyone to pay you the money if you are the one who set it up. TWICE I had roommates who refused to pay for water or electric so when I tried to call the cottages office they said "I can send an email telling her to pay it but that won't do anything". So they can not force her to pay the bills. There has to be a better way of setting up those bills because that is not fair. Also if you live here be prepared to see the cops EVERY WEEKEND. Cops are constantly called. Gunshots constantly being heard. Made it super scary to ever leave your house. The lock on my bedroom door has been broken for months and they always say they are going to fix it and never do. Which is not okay because you live with strangers. The office on move out day I went to return my keys and the guy goes "just put it in the mailbox". I asked "there isn't a paper or anything I have to fill out so you know it's mine?" He goes "no not necessarily". Thank god another lady came out and said "no yes you do" and hands me the paperwork and the bag to put the keys and my name on. So he was literally just gonna let me put keys in there and when they don't know whose they are I would get charged. Idk if this was his first move out day or he just did not get trained well enough. Bottom line, do not stay here. They are unsafe and scary. You get paired with roommates who refuse to pay the bills. And the office never helps. A few of the girls in there are amazing but the managers and stuff do not get back to you on situation and frankly don't care. I lived here for many years and I'd never go back. read more

I would give it NO STARS if that was an option. Keep your kids away from this place. The units are filthy and the neighborhood is dangerous. The management practices bad business. My daughter found someone to move into her room, but they decided to give the girl a lower rate so they wouldn't honor the subletting of her lease. WHAT!!!? Not legal whatsoever! They will find any loophole to screw you! I don't believe these 5-star reviews. I'm sure they are not real. STAY AWAY or be prepared to hire a good lawyer! read more

This was my letter to management after 1 month of living in the cottages. Upon moving in, our house was in the worst condition I've ever seen. There was water damage, chipped walls, cigarette burns in the floor, missing furniture, dirty carpets and the list goes on. It took 2 weeks to get a new couch, 3 weeks to get our "promised" TV, and a whole month to get a fire extinguisher after putting in multiple requests. The house itself is poorly built and was obviously not maintained. There's stains on the carpets and walls all over the house and a lot of the appliances are faulty. Secondly, we have been disappointed with the lack of amenities that were promised to us. We understand it is a pandemic, however we saw no enforcement of social distancing before the amenities were closed. We even witnessed the manager of the community even playing Beer die with the residents in the pool. We see this as extremely unprofessional and inappropriate. We even had to deal with a drunken security guard coming to our door at 2 AM, wearing no mask, attempting to forcefully enter our home. We still have not received any compensation for that event and additionally have not been assured that the guard was removed from his position. Those are the two major issues we've faced within only a month of residing here, with many more unfolding everyday. We are extremely disappointed with the Cottages. We see the management, the staff and the homes themselves to be an inaccurate depiction of what we were advertised. We will not be renewing our lease. Nor recommending the Cottages to anyone. Ever. read more

Very disappointed with living here. Their management is terrible, they take advantage of college students, search helicopters over head almost every night and just overall aw place to live. Gates are often broken and security is rarely on site which leaves no security to their residents. I have to get my parents involved for them to take me seriously very frequently. There are always unnecessary charges being made to my account. The list goes on and on. I would not sign here ever again. Think twice if you are looking here to live. You should take a look at the 37 not recommended reviews to see what they hide. Also very funny Chris Cushinberry called me asking me to take down my review. What a joke. I have freedom of speech. No I will gladly not take down my review and I will gladly repost whatever you take down. Chris Cushinberry is a complete liar. read more

The 3 young men who are typically at the front desk are truly amazing. They go above and beyond to help you and even helped me move in, which is NOT in there job agreement. They are so welcoming and informed. They have the answers to every possible question! read more

Nah don't live here. This place has black mold growing in places you cannot see (behind the fridge in my case). My roomate was super sick for very long until they finally decided to get our aparment tested for mold. A normaly mold spore count is 10,000 and under, our apartment came back with 580,000 mold spores!!! YEA GROSS. read more

This is a mixed review - I don't think any student housing complex is perfect but the retreat is better than other places I've experienced. Some of the staff at the front desk are completely incompetent and cannot answer my questions. My packages are frequently lost in the office even though FedEx tracking says it's been delivered. And I think it's unfair to force us to resign or lose our house in September, 10 months before the lease even terminates.. The more experienced management is however a great resource for any questions you may have and they try to be accommodating for their tenants. The complex is kept pretty clean all the time. The houses are spacious and they each have a security system. Don't let the gated community image make you let down your guard however, the complex is located in a sketchy neighborhood and I've had several homeless people ring my doorbell late at night trying to sell me stuff. I honestly would have stayed if it was closer to campus and they got rid of the less qualified people working in the office. read more

I lived at The Retreat for two years and my experience with them was good until I was going through the process of moving out the management kept delaying the return of my deposit and at this point told me I will not get it back. I strongly recommend you do not live here because they just want to steal your money from you and whenever I tried to contact them they would say the accountant Anita was out of the office and when I would ask to speak to the manager Autumn she would not even get on the phone with me and told the receptionist to tell me that all conversations about deposits have to go through Anita. In the end I managed to get ahold of Anita just for her to say that I will not be given back my deposit since "I wasn't working there when you gave it to them" and pretty much stole $750 dollars from an old resident with a disability (myself). read more

BEWARE! DO NOT RENT HERE! It was my first year renting here and i would never have rented if i knew what a total hoax this place is. They offer a shuttle service, but most of the time the shuttle is broken down. During the beginning of the semester the shuttle's AC was broken and we had to ride for about 3 moths with no AC in 100 degree weather. The pool is not heated and closes at 10 and they have no jacuzzi. They also offer a printing center, but again the printer is always broken. Everything they offer here is broken along with the golf simulator. They say "Luxury Living" to charge you more. I pay $715 this place is over rated. read more

I have lived here for about three months now and really really enjoy it here! The staff is so kind and amazing and the space is great. The tenants before us broke a lot of furniture and the staff made sure to get us replacements very quickly. The only downside is it being a little far from campus but that is not even an issue right now as everything is online and they have a bus that runs throughout the day that is free and takes your directly to campus. If you are looking for a nice gated community for students this really is a great place and not nearly as expensive as the other residences on campus (and a whole lot bigger than any of the apartments). read more

I love this place! Some of my good friends live here and I love visiting, sitting by the pool, and hanging out on the green belt. I'd love to move to this community when I can! read more

I absolutely love living here, this is my second year here at the cottages. Amber one of the front desk staff is always so helpful whenever I need anything or have any questions regarding the property. I've met some of my forever friends here and the amenities offered are unbeatable compared to what other student living complexes have to offer. read more

My daughter loves living at the cottages! Sarah helped me out and was able to answer all of my questions about the property. The office staff puts on a lot of fun events for the residents and I'm so happy my daughter lives in such a safe and fun community. read more

DO NOT LIVE HERE!!!!! Place has horrible management. WIll not work with you and will continue to add late fees on late fees. My friend got an evicted letter because he was a little under a couple hundred dollars in debt due to late fees. They charge you for anything and its SO far away from campus. If something goes wrong in your house, it'll take days for maintance to come by. Gym is small and always packed Your better of living closer to campus at hub or next. read more

I love living at the cottages! They put on so many resident events that keep us interested and engaged all year long. It always brightens my day when I walk in the office to see the smiling leasing team, Sarah is especially helpful and kind! read more

This is my second year living at the retreat and I love it. It's a great place to be with my dog. The manager here Autumn is terrific. She is the retreat mom who makes sure everything goes smoothly and everyone is cared for. The retreat is awesome in most ways but it's lame that the shuttle is so unreliable and we sometimes have to all cram into two little substitute vans to go to and from class. These vans fill up quick so when the shuttle is broken we have to get on the earlier vans or risk being late to class. The printer in the computer lab is also almost always broken so we should really get a new one. Also the clickers for the gate are currently not working which is annoying because I've had to punch in the code every time for a few weeks now. read more

Very disappointed with living here. Their management is absolutely terrible, they take advantage of college students, search helicopters over head almost every night and just overall awful place to live. Gates are often broken and security is rarely on site which leaves no security to their residents. I have to get my parents involved for them to take me seriously very frequently. There are always unnecessary charges being made to my account. The list goes on and on. I would not sign here ever again. I would advise everyone to never sign here. Think twice about living here because I can make your answer for you, a solid NO. Also, you should take a look at their 37 not recommended reviews to see what they hide. Very funny Chris Cushinberry (the so called property manager) called me asking me to take down my review. What a joke. I have freedom of speech. No I will gladly not take down my review and I will gladly repost whatever you do take down. They've done absolutely NOTHING during this pandemic. Chris Cushinberry is a liar. read more

STAY CLEAR OF THIS APARTMENT LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING. I lived here for about a year and half the outside and amenities look nice but management and maintenance suck. They take forever to respond and only care about your money not you. Last year my roommate and I moved into a 3x3 with the promise we won't get a random in the extra room. We walk into the apartment and there was a random girl in our kitchen it turned out the Cottages placed here in our apartment and didn't even email us to let us know she was there. We did not get along with her at all and it got so bad the random girl threatened to kill me and my room ( I have her threat on recording). My roommate had to go to court to get a restraining order against her and we even had to get a restraining order through U of A to make sure we didn't have her in our classes. The whole time this was going on we were calling management and going in to meet with them and they never did anything about it they did kept giving us excuses on my she is acting up. Moral of the story don't live here. read more

I love living here! The pool and outdoor volleyball court are amazing. It's a great place to hang out and relax with friends. The gym is also updated and super convenient! read more

I WISH THERE WAS SOMETHING BELOW ONE STAR. Because that is not even close to the quality of this place. During my time here: washer and dryer fell through the ceiling creating a flood, infested with bugs which was not handled. Also invasion of privacy, one day when I was sleeping in my room I was awoken by two men who entered my room with their master key, went through MY PURSE looking at my cards and ID and stole keys out of my purse all while they thought I was sleeping. The gates were always broken and houses are literally about to fall apart. One of our water pipes broke and the cottages refused to compensate the 600$ water bill that came from a broken pipe. It is a very unsafe neighborhood, expect lots of police officers and shootings without any information given about it. Security is rarely there. Also my roommates boyfriend had his CAR stolen with over 2,000$ of stuff in it and The Cottages refused to help, even though they know that the neighbor behind The Cottages has stolen cars from there before, maybe why security is very important in South Tucson. Only good thing there is Kiron, who is very nice guy and deserves a raise for putting up with The Cottages. DONT LET YOUR KIDS LIVE HERE and KIDS PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF. Also forgot to mention the front desk always "loses packages" and will not give you money back or try to blame someone else. It is flawed in every way possible. Trust me one the these experiences will happen to you, if not almost all. read more

UPDATE: 9 weeks ago I was told that management would find me a new, cat-friendly, apartment to move into. That hasn't happened. I only received updates on the apartment search when I requested them, and now that I am back into my semester as a graduate student with three jobs I am running out of time to move again. Today I was given a new list of 5 "options" for apartments to move into. I have heard back from residents of two of those apartments so far and both have dogs who are not cat-friendly and have at least one roommate who is allergic to cats. The management obviously didn't bother to check the status of these apartments and was prepared to move me into a different apartment with the same situation. For a "pet friendly" complex I'm not sure why it's so difficult to find a home for my cat. On a side note, I don't even have a "pet" I have a service animal and I'm frustrated that I am paying to live somewhere that won't even reasonably accommodate me and my service animal. read more

I've been a resident for over a year now this place is fantastic. Aside from all the amenities, the staff are very kind and helpful- always willing to help as much as possible. They give out free food and money, who doesn't like free food and money. When you have a problem with your unit, all you have to do is fill out a work order online and within a few days they are at your door ready to help. They pick up your trash if your too lazy to walk it. This is good living read more

Friendly staff, fun parties, nice people what more could you want in student housing? I especially enjoyed living here because the maintenance kept the grounds very clean and responded to work orders promptly. I would definitely recommend living here for students read more

They probably have the best amenities out of all the student housing places here in tucson. Also it is not that far from campus and they provide a shuttle to and from campus. read more