The Hartley at Blue Hill

The property managers' interactions range, on average, from okay to poor. Lack of coordination from the move-in process to long-standing maintenance issues, and amenities not functioning. The apartment overall is nice, and a nice liveable space close to campus.

The location is great; you're 10 minutes from just about everything. However, you'll need a car since the bus comes only every 60 minutes to this spot. The appearance of the place is very nice, but much of it needs maintenance, and the new management team isn't keeping things properly updated. If you take a tour, ask about what they're doing to keep everything clean (garbage pickup is a sore topic) and to fix the garage door.

Many MBAs have chosen Hartley as their residence, creating a strong sense of community. If you can overlook some obvious cleaning and maintenance issues, you might find this a pleasant place to settle in for two years.

The apartment itself is not a bad place to live. The reason I gave a poor rating is because of the "Value." You pay a premium for living in a really good area and they consider the apartment to be "luxury" but it seems like anyone can put that title and charge a higher rate.
1. Property management team is good, they help out where they can and are pretty responsive, more so when you talk with higher management vs the front desk leasing specialist. Maintance team is good with fixing in unit repairs but anything around the property is typically broken and stays broken for a while.
2. The ceilings are super thin so you hear every foot step from your upstairs neighbor.
3. They call themselves "pet friendly" but the park is mediocre at best. It's very narrow and the door is always broken.
4. The amenities are mediocre and the pool is always closed for failing inspections. And you have to pay a $250 reservation fee to reserve any of the amenity spaces. The printer never has ink or works. The pizza oven has not worked in the 1 1/2 years that we have been here. The grills are always "getting maintenance." It's a lot of broken things that take weeks to get fixed or replaced.
5. Multiple doors on the property do not lock behind you, stay open when you use them, are proped open and not closed, door handles broken, or latch broken. The garage doors are always broken also. You can reach over the pool door to open it. These are all reasons why safety is getting a low rating.
6. The community is not friendly at all! Everyone who lives here stays to themselves, doesn't say hi, or even hold doors open for you as you walk behind them (meaning the doors inside the building). Everyone speeds in the parking garage, leaves trash/ trash cans in the hallway or throws it every where in the dump area/trash shoots. No one is considerate about a shared living space. It's a mix of international students, grad students, working professionals, and some families.
7. It was worth living for the area, but with the recent flood that happened across the street, that wiped out about half of the nice area within walking distance.
In the end, not a horrible place to live at all. Just has not been worth it to me since being here. I would much rather live slightly farther away for a fraction of the cost.

Management is not responsive. I could not get maintenance in time.

The Hartley is more on the expensive side, but the amenities are wonderful, and the location is great!

As an MBA student, I can’t recommend The Hartley at Blue Hill enough. It’s packed with both 1Y and 2Y cohort students, so you're never short of company for last-minute study groups—or a quick chat after class.

The amenities feel tailor-made for grad life: two resort-style pools, an always-open gym and CrossFit zone, and social hubs like the clubhouse, sky lounge, game room, and speakeasy. Want to relax or grill with friends? Hit the outdoor kitchen or hang in the resident market. Inside, high-end finishes like quartz/granite countertops, walk-in showers, stainless appliances—they make every day feel upscale.

Location-wise? It’s a dream. Just a 10-minute drive to McColl Hall and right by UNC and downtown. Grocery runs are super easy—three plazas are less than a 10-minute walk away. And if you need fresh air or a study break, the Arboretum, Botanical Garden, and Morehead Planetarium are all minutes away.

All in all, this place gives you the perfect blend of luxury, convenience, and community—not to mention, a solid 5 stars from me. Whether you're looking for study vibes or social energy, The Hartley hits every mark.

We chose the Hartley for the location and its central to everything we wanted to do. 10min drive to campus. 15mins away from Durham to enjoy the food and bars there. And along a major highway to get us into Raleigh in about 30mins. Also it’s right by three grocery stores and food options across the street.
The apartments themselves look nicer than they really are. A lot of the materials are cheap but it’s very livable. If you are coming from a more expensive or urban area (we came from DC) then this may be a bit of a let down.
It does have a lot of amenities, and the pools are nice.

I’ve been living at the Hartley since the summer, and I absolutely love it here. The people who live in the community are really friendly, and it creates such a welcoming atmosphere. As someone who lives alone, I feel very safe here, which is really important to me. The location is also super convenient since it’s close to everything, especially campus, so I never have any issues getting back from school. Overall, it’s been a great place to live, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and safe place near campus.

Love that I live in a new unit. Facilities at clean and staff is easy to work with.

I've really enjoyed the Hartley. The floor plans were better laid out than other apartments and the finishes are pretty nice for a large complex. The amenities are great and are all useful (I felt like other apartments had almost too many amenities that were not actually helpful). The soundproofing is much better than any other apartment I've lived in which is great for studying. My only complaint is that rent is pretty steep, but it's much more manageable if you have a roommate. I think it's worth it for the location and quality. The management is ok. I had a difficult time getting timely responses when I was trying to get a lease signed, and it was difficult to get approved being a student with no income. They weren't very receptive to proof of savings/investment accounts.