The Retreat at Rio Salado

Reviews

• KT

  Kenzie Taylor

  Dec 11, 2025
  1.0
  Long review, but there's so much to say for this place. For context, we lived here for 1.5 years before having to end our lease early due to work relocation out of state. We loved the apartment itself, but management deserves 0 stars. Bryant from the leasing team was extremely unprofessional throughout our move out and tacked on over $1,000+ of miscellaneous charges that were unsupported by the leasing contract. It took over a month of back-and-forth, eventual escalation to the apartment's management company, and threatening of legal action to have these fake charges removed. To any future/current residents– PLEASE double check everything that they are charging you, especially at the end of your lease. Although we eventually got some of our money back, the leasing team was openly fabricating charges and was extremely dishonest. Because of this, I can't put anything higher than a 1 star. Although we left with a bitter taste in our mouth, we did have a few pros about the apartment & complex itself that resulted in us renewing our lease: - The maintenance guy, David, was great. Some requests took a while to get to–although they weren't super urgent–but he was very nice and helpful. - The apartment itself was wonderful. Spacious, upgraded features, high ceilings on the 4th floor, walk-in showers in both bathrooms, a TON of storage both inside and on the patio, all rooms had walk-in closets, and the in-unit washer/dryer space was awesome. - We never saw a single bug in our apartment (although maybe the 1st floor would have a different experience considering how much foliage there is). - The gym was great. It's very spacious, not super busy, and has all the basics. - The location is hard to beat–especially since it's right next to both the 202 and 101–so traveling anywhere didn't take long. Tempe Marketplace and Mesa Riverview being so close was also super convenient. And, of course, there are some other cons: - The demographic changed a lot from when we first moved in. It used to be a lot of young, post-college professionals, but now there are a ton of students. If that's what you're looking for, then this is the place for you, but it definitely is a bit louder, the pool is almost always overtaken by parties, and it smells like weed everywhere. - Towards the end of our lease, we saw multiple sketchy things happen– drug deals late at night in the parking lot, homeless people trying to gain access to buildings, Tempe police continuously circling the complex in the evenings, and broken car windows (never ours, but we saw others). I typically never felt unsafe here, but there were some sketchy occurrences on the regular. - Parking, both for residents & guests, is awful. Having to pay $65/month (for an uncovered spot) to park where you live is criminal. Not to mention that there's consistently no guest spots since there's only about 7 or 8 for the entire complex. Management does nothing to stop the residents who permanently park in the few guest spots they DO have in order to avoid paying monthly parking fees. Shout out to the motorcycle guy who does this daily. They encourage you to PAY for guest spots using "Zark," which is insane, but 90% of the time there were no spots available on the app, either. We got to the point where we had guests park in the Villagio or Tempe Marketplace and we'd have to pick them up from there. - Our "renewal offer" for our lease was higher than the current rate they were charging for our apartment, and no negotiations were allowed. - You get charged for "community utilities," like the leasing office A/C, gas for outdoor stoves, and a bunch of other things. It seems like a lot of apartments are doing this nowadays, but be prepared to pay around $70/month for this on top of your rent. - The package lockers were consistently broken, leaving our mail unretrievable. Or, carriers would just leave packages unsecured. Management started to apply fees if you don't claim your packages within 48 hours, so we started shipping our packages somewhere else. If you choose The Retreat, good luck.
• JL

  julie Lopez

  Nov 16, 2025
  1.0
  Horrible place to live! I am currently having an emergency. I called the office number to get a hold of maintenance but the number doesn’t work. I then go to the app to see if I can submit a work order only to get an error message when I log on. Not to mention the lack of guest parking and people constantly parking in my assigned spot
• CC

  C

  Nov 16, 2025
  1.0
  Do not move here. I’ve been extremely disappointed with how this complex has handled my move-out process, especially regarding their 60-day notification policy. I’ve been a responsible resident, paid on time, and haven’t complained about anything — yet the way management has treated me feels like they’re doing everything they can to squeeze extra money out of me on the way out. When I informed them that I’d be moving, I was blindsided by the claim that I was required to give a full 60-day notice, despite the fact that this wasn’t clearly communicated at the time of signing, nor has it been explained in a straightforward way since. Instead of working with me or providing any flexibility or clarity, they’ve been extremely unhelpful, and honestly dismissive. It seems like they’re more interested in enforcing technicalities than treating tenants fairly. Now I’m being charged an entire month’s rent simply because of this ambiguous notice requirement. It feels predatory, and it’s frustrating to see a complex operate with policies that financially penalize residents who have been nothing but reliable. If you’re considering moving here, be very cautious and read every review — and don’t expect management to be understanding or transparent. This experience has been disappointing and has left a really bad impression as I’m trying to move forward. I won’t even waste my time talking about the parking situation as you will see countless other reviews regarding that.
• AH

  alec hollingworth

  Nov 14, 2025
  3.0
  Wish maintenance was better at communicating what the next steps are when repairing apartment needs, currently have a hole in our shower ceiling (due to water flooding out of light fixture from upstairs neighbor) with no idea when they're stopping by or when it should be repaired. No calls/texts/emails regarding the matter. The maintenance team is super nice, however better communication regarding repairs would be helpful.
• AA

  Anna A

  Nov 8, 2025
  5.0
  Love the Staff! Bryant was such a big help with getting me through the process of getting my apartment! 10/10 recommend