Vista Denver

TLDR — My experience at Vista Denver has been disappointing at best. Vista Denver does not care about its residents and takes advantage of the fact that a majority of tenants are students, who may not know about tenant laws, of which they violated multiple. They only care about money and not the heart and well-being of the residents. There have been 2-3 management companies in the one year I lived here, and they have all been disappointing and subpar. While the location and floor-to-ceiling windows are great, it is not worth it.

For those curious, my issues with Vista started the day I moved in. When I first moved in (June 2024), my roommate and I were not notified that someone was already living in my unit. This person left trash and rotting food all over the apartment, creating a smell that lingered throughout the summer. We never saw this roommate, who supposedly vacated before we moved in. Vista Denver also states they “walk units” before new roommate moves in to ensure “proper cleanliness,” which was not done here. The unit, including two of the locked bedrooms, was not professionally cleaned by any means. The laundry machines were also never in good working order. They frequently broke and never properly dried our clothes. My roommates and I all went to different floors to do laundry, as ours never got our clothes clean and dry. The inside of the laundry machines were also never cleaned.

In March 2025, I reported an issue with my ground outlet flooding every time it rained. While maintenance would promptly drain the outlet whenever reported, the problem itself was never fixed. Still, I have never been answered the issue, why my outlet continued flooding, if there was a safety concern, or if the root of the issue posed a safety threat.

Our air conditioning broke in June 2025. It was first reported on June 1, and nothing was done until June 14, when it reached 95º in our apartment. We received one portable unit, which we had to continuously refill with ice water, but it did not sufficiently cool the area. We later received more AC units from management. Multiple vendors came out and determined the AC unit would not be able to be fixed for at least three (3) months. As our lease ended before this 3-month period, we asked to terminate our leases early. The temperature in the apartment remained uninhabitable for us and my roommate's cat, who had visible behavioral changes due to the heat. Management and the ownership group refused to work with us. We were only taken seriously when we got our parents involved, and even now, we are still not taken seriously.

Long story short, do not live here. Management and ownership do not care about you and are looking to simply take advantage of students. Location is amazing, but there are many better places for DU students.

My advice: don't live here. I had NO AC the entire year I lived at Vista, and management did absolutely nothing about it - no efforts to fix it, no apology, and no credit for rent. We were promised head and AC included in the apartment amenities, didn't have AC the entire year, and we were still paying the same amount in rent. The laundry rooms are gross and laundry machines are constantly broken. The elevators are also constantly broken. Further, the water is always being shut off with usually only minutes notice for "renovations." These renovations only apply to certain apartments. I was unlucky enough to be placed in an unrenovated unit, but still paid the same INSANE price for a glorified dorm room. The staff are rude and unhelpful, management constantly hounds you to resign, and IMPORTANTLY, they give out gift cards and other prizes for leaving a 5-star review. So... I doubt that a lot of the positive reviews are genuine. Constant parties were happening on the deck which were loud and disruptive, not great for "student housing" where students would presumably need a quiet (or just not insanely loud) space to do homework. Parking is extra and WAY overpriced. University House Denver has wayyyyyyy better prices for both apartments and parking, and is essentially in the same area (across the street). It's not perfect, but at least it's what you pay for. The only nice thing about Vista is the windows, and even then it's not worth it. The window latches are always broken and hard to open and close, and the price hikes for a "view" even if you're facing the alleyway are ridiculous. To top it all off, the responses both to Yelp reviews and also to the Google reviews are so insanely unhelpful and "promise to do better" when they did nothing but scratch their heads when we didn't have AC for a year, everything was always broken, and disturbances were constant. They could do so much better but they are money hungry and incompetent, and outsource their jobs to students who are just doing their best with a sub-par job . Don't live here. Literally anywhere else would be better. At least get a better price.

I’ve lived here for 3+ years now, and with each passing month, my initial “meh” feelings about Vista have turned into disgust.

I made a maintenance request on Day 1 and remade it every 6 months, and have seen no response or action any time. Even when speaking to the maintenance team or management, they have been rude and/or outright refused to fix my living space.

The year of unnecessary renovations sucked, but I understand why it was so hectic. That being said, the changes were not worth it. The 4 bedroom units don’t even get kitchen tables anymore.

Finally, the rent hikes have been insanely unjustifiable. I moved in paying $850 a month. The most recent renewal was for $1100 a month, including a “view premium.” I live on the fifth floor and my “view” is of I-25, the Denver Water station, and the back alley facing another apartment building. When I asked management to please explain the fee, they were at a loss for words. Don’t expect them to be communicative or kind.

Finally, they spam call and text and email trying to bribe you into a 5 star review, and never follow through on the promised rewards.

Between the constant laundry, water, and elevator failures, basic amenities are not met in any meaningful way.

Save yourself the nightmare of living here. STAY AWAY FROM VISTA.

Vista is a great apartment for students of DU that want to live close to campus but not on campus. I was lucky enough to find great roommates but I believe that the floor plans are quite small and they lack all types of storage room. I also believe that electricity should be included in the rent and that we should have a dining table in our kitchen. The safety of the building is not good as for three weekends in a row we had police intervention in the common areas but I feel safe in my space. I feel like parking is quite expensive and should be much cheaper. The apartment overall is on the more expensive side but since it is furnished it is more worth it than others.

So I've been living here for a couple years now & it's improved soooo much. The old management company (I want to say it was called Preiss or something like that) were pretty terrible and maintaining the property. There were an absurd number of water shut offs and the management just wasn't very responsive to issues. When Cardinal took over, the general state of the building got so much better, they started hosting really fun resident events and they hired a ton of great people to work at the front desk who seem to really care about the people living here. While I was definitely bummed when the owner replaced the gym with a business center, it sounds like they're talking about some outdoor workout equipment which would be super sick. I got placed with 2 roommates I didn't know when I first moved in & the situation's been super great all the way through. I really like the Vail floor plan, the room I'm in has a lot of space & I really enjoy hanging out & cooking in the living room/kitchen too. It's definitely not perfect & the price has gone up a bit since I moved in but for what it is I like it!

Convenient location for DU students, walking distance to class, good price for what is included. Really cool patios and you can see downtown Denver and the mountains. Overall, would recommend!
Pros:
- Private bathrooms for each person
-AC!
-The staff is friendly and helpful and they give away free food at events
Cons:
-The kitchen has a dishwasher but it is a little bit small
-All of the furniture is included (bed, desk etc.) but you need to get lamps

The area and environment is very diverse, safer, quiet and reserved while very closer to DU campus area. I have always felt welcomed and accommodated at every event, point and time. The assistant personnel is more welcoming, very cheerful and fully supports and accommodate me every time regardless of my background and/ race.

I have also always received any of post box parcels efficiently and safer.

I thought this was going to be an actual apartment instead of student housing, but that one was my fault for not doing enough research. Having my own bedroom/bathroom is nice, but that’s about as good as it gets. The room when I moved in was dirty, and multiple things did not work. I have also received multiple pass aggressive and at times threatening emails from the property management. One of the two elevators that services the 9 floor building does not work, and has not worked for over a month, with seemingly no urgency to fix it. Would not recommend

It is ok. The management can be bad with rent accounting procedures and maintenance issues.

As a non-US resident, I have no problem getting through application and move-in process. The staffs communicated amazingly. The location is very close to campus. They response to maintenance request very quickly. I like the bedroom that comes with a big window. I can enjoy sunlight and view outside while I am studying. There are some small annoying things like too small fridge for 4 tenants and little thin walls. Overall, I'm satisfied.