The Park at River Oaks

I love The Park at River Oaks. The location is great, the outside common areas are wonderful — especially the BBQ grills. We are continually amazed when we go out to cook, and find the grills incredibly clean and ready to go. Covered, assigned parking is perfect. We needed an extra space and the management was extremely helpful in helping us choose the perfect spot, and quite ($) reasonably, too. And lastly, thanks for the great Christmas decorations, it feels very festive here!

The location is fantastic. Minutes from several grocery stores (including HEB, Central Market, Costco, Whole Foods, and Kroger), shopping (Highland Village), and entertainment (movie theater). There is an apartment complex next door (the Inverness), and a high school on the other side (behind). Across the street is a large commercial space (Exxon complex).
Nice complex. At first I thought it was new… it’s not — they just keep it up really well. Units are very nice. My neighbor just moved out and they do a deep clean when a tenant moves out. Some units are «upgraded» and can be rented at an additional cost (granite counter top, stainless steel appliances) and others are not (white applicants, laminate counter top). Construction seems quite good– not at all flimsy. I’ve had a handful of bugs/​lizards, but that’s Houston.
Work out room is OK. Nothing special. A few treadmills, a few ellipticals, a Smith machine, dumbbells only go up to 35lbs. Enough for you to get a good work out, but disappointing if you’re used to a full size gym. On the plus side, it’s often empty and I’ve never had to come back because it was too busy or there were no machines available. Pool is nice (they just invested in all brand new pool chairs and tables). Quite often empty. There are some grills scattered around, but they require coals (boo) so take some effort.
Tenants are a mix of mainly the elderly and young professional families. There are social events in the clubhouse every month or so. We’ve had a wine event, an ice cream sundae event, a breakfast event, can’t remember the rest.

This would probably be a 5-​star place, but it’s got one knock against it: the price… which is rising. The management and maintenance team are truly great people and if you want to live here make sure to get to know Camille, the property manager, and Russ, the lead maintenance guy. They will make sure your experience with the building is top-​notch. The whole office staff and maintenance crew are friendly and can really make your experience here.
The grounds are very nice and well-​maintained. It’s a very clean complex of 8 «buildings», all attached to each other by the garage with the exception of building #8 which has it’s own parking on the ground floor. Pool is open year-​round, although unheated so not much winter swimming going on. The apartments are spacious and comfortable, and for the most part up to date. Based on what I’ve seen after a couple people moved out near us they seem to replace at least something before a new tenant moves in – we got new rugs.
The location is convenient for Houston drivers, right off of 59 and not too far from 610. Metro is pretty easy too– providing access to downtown, midtown and the galleria. Walking the ‘hood? Not tons to see, but some of the walkable bars will do – Blanco’s, Cellar Bar and Velvet Melvin are 5– or 10-​minute walks away, but longer walks down Richmond either direction or down Westheimer/​West Alabama towards Montrose will get you to other spots as well. Three grocery stores in the immediate area (Whole Foods, H-​E-​B, and Kroger) so you’re all set there.
The community feel of these apartments – they usually do a monthly event, such as happy hour at Blanco’s or Saturday mimosas and kolaches – and the convenient location make it a great apartment. It’s now just a matter of if it’s what you want to pay. For our first year in Houston, it was worth the extra rent to live somewhere convenient and comfortable. Now that we know the city a bit better and we’re looking to save some money, we have moved on but with no regrets of living there.