Trolley Palm Apartments - La Mesa, California

Erick B.

My family has lived here for 13 years. Its a nice quiet place with a little excitement thanks to economy & trolley station. It's not too bad only 3 or 4 negotiate incidents in that time. Units are nicely insulated, so you don't hear everything in the unit next to you. I'd like the pool to be heated but otherwise its clean when we use it. I'd prefer in unit washer/dryers rather than use the 2 small laundry rooms. Otherwise position experience. Only reason it gets a 4 instead of a 5 is the previous management.

In my time the property has gone through 3 owners and 10 managers. The last manager Silvia was the worst talked to you like you were second class, was not people friendly. I only picked up my mail on the weekends so I didn't have to interact with her. So glad she is gone the new/interim manager Stephanie is awesome so much more approachable and friendly.

Axle the maintenance guy is great too approachable and professional, he is quick to check in with you regarding a maintenance call/work order keeps you in the loop with time frame and completion date.

mike M.

A Gem of a Manager and breath of fresh air at Trolley Palm Apartments

Stephanie, the manager at Trolley Palm Apartments, is an absolute delight! From the moment I moved in, she has been nothing short of amazing.

Stephanie goes above and beyond to ensure that any concerns or issues are promptly addressed. She's incredibly helpful, always ready with a solution or a listening ear. Her professionalism combined with her friendly demeanor create a welcoming atmosphere heree

I've been living here for some time now, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Stephanie's dedication to making this community a great place to live is evident in every interaction. Her attention to detail and commitment to resident satisfaction are truly commendable.

nick M.

Outstanding place to rent as somone with a family and pets! Brand new park 2 minutes away and 3 minutes from downtown! Axel the maintenance man works super hard to keep everything up and running and hes been working by himself for majority of the time Ive lived here, but he does an outstanding and professional job and anytime i see him he is always smiling and happy to be doing his job! Hes very knowledgeable and has even explained things in ways that made sense to me so that i wasnt confused about what was going on. Stephanie the Office Manager has been truly wonderful here, things are being scheduled quickly and with regards to our own schedule as well. She is super nice and is willing to talk any time you see her and has been nothing but helpful since she came here!

Alex R.

Lived here from 2021-2023.

Apartments are incredibly low quality and aging. Very much a "slap a coat of paint on it and it's good to go" mentality of property management. Everything that could break at one point did.

All the fixtures (cabinets/closets/sinks/drawers/doors) had rotting wood that was barely holding together. Warping of the central living room window resulted in a 3-inch hole which we were told we could do nothing about. Insulation is practically nonexistent (old single pane windows and warped and rotting doors) - which increased heating and cooling costs. The plumbing broke frequently while we lived there - and the water in the apartment had incredibly poor temperature control (either freezing or painfully hot). The stairs leading up to our top floor unit and the patio were cracked and in a poor state. Every time I used them, I felt like they were going to give way and I would fall.

We had a pretty healthy termite infestation in our apartment throughout our stay at the complex. Very minimal efforts were taken to combat this.

Management to their credit is on top of service requests. Although there's only so much that can be done to improve/fix the aging backbone of the units themselves. It was a complete crapshoot with maintenance staff. The revolving door of people they hire to work on your home range from very competent and professional (shoutout to George) to combative. We had one maintenance tech (since fired) threaten us over the phone because they didn't like the fact that we were submitting a lot of maintenance requests.

On move out they managed to weasel an extra month's rent out of us despite giving advance notice of the month we would be terminating our lease. Honestly the only reason I didn't pursue legal action is because the leasing agent who signed our renewed lease from 22-23 forgot to input a dollar amount for the lease breaking fee so we ended up not having to pay to terminate our lease early - and things ended up evening out at the end.

I would not recommend these apartments to anyone. While the newest and most expensive units look nice (I believe they have replaced all the rotting fixtures in the most expensive "XR" units) the "bones" of the apartment are incredibly old and flawed. For $3000 a month in La Mesa I would look elsewhere.

EDIT (5/29/2024): I was recently made aware by some friends still in the area that the complex is only offering 11 month leases now (per their website). I'm not an expert in CA renter law but I believe that allows landlords to skirt some renter protections that are afforded to residents at the 1 year mark (specifically rent control cap and just-cause eviction protections) - that should tell you everything you need to know about the intentions of the property management.

David K.

I am a current resident of Trolley Palm apartments as of this review. I’ve lived here with my cat Thomas for almost 4 years now.

This apartment complex changed dramatically for the better two or three years back, sold to a new owner who has since spent many, many millions of dollars renovating and upgrading everything. I have seen a few of the fully renovated unites (I think most are all renovated now) and they are spectacular, very well done.

Nearly everything here has been modernized, brought up to code. It’s now professionally managed by Sunrise Management. You can manage everything by your phone, repair request, rent, leases, etc. The laundry rooms all have new modern machines operated by a phone app. Access to the rooms are through a digital card pass, as is the pool. They spent a fortune and completely re-landscaped the entire property. They have also contracted with a pest control service, so that is not a problem here.

Trolley Palm is not the new steel and cement block everyone builds today (cheaper), it has several green open grass areas, lots of huge palm trees, all of which are well maintained. They have a very nice pool that is also well maintained and it’s under palm trees, how cool is that! The place is truly pet friendly, lots of people have cat’s and dog’s here. The open grass areas are designed for them.

Yes, this is an older building that has been massively renovated. But this older building’s apartment units (built, maybe 80’s?) are larger. You can compare the square footage yourself, but if you have been shopping for apartments you already know the newer ones are pretty, but everything is smaller. It’s a preference, but I personally love the larger (and greener) living space

The Trolley station is just across the street from Trolley Palm apartments. I can do Downtown San Diego events, the beach, dance clubs, Comic-Con, bars, Mexico, whatever! It’s kind of fun, party, relax a little and not have to worry driving. You arrive home a 90 second walk back to your apartment. It’s nice!

A unique advantage to this location unlike most all of Downtown La Mesa is there is no shortage of parking here, in downtown La Mesa parking is sparse and you pay. So, if a friend comes over to my apartment they can legally (and safely) park at the trolley station for 24 hours (free too!) and it’s just a 90 second walk to Trolley Palm apartments. We all have assigned parking spots here, so your personal spot is secured. The parking situation here at Trolley Palm is awesome good!

Speaking of location. It about a six-minute walk to Downtown La Mesa from Trolley Palm apartments.
So I’m six minutes away from all kinds of Downtown resources, events, nightlife. It’s a fun area to live, I often go to Denny's for breakfast, it's right next door to Trolley Palm. Also, car shows, Octoberfest, Farmers Market, beer, dancing festivals, etc. on La Mesa Boulevard.

Nearly across the street from the other side of Trolley Palm apartments is a gorgeous brand-new park, opened just a few weeks ago. Super modern, never seen anything like it. Much of the play equipment is made for adults too. The parallel bars are over 8 feet High.

Now, about my personal experiences with management at Trolley Palm. It was just chaos 4 years ago. However, after the property was sold, renovated, and now managed by Sunrise Management; everything settled down. I have lived in 3 other apartments in the past 15 years. This by far has been the most positive experience and I feel the new owner and Sunrise Management are doing a much better than average job. I really have no complaints, repair requests have been completed timely, staff have been professional, courteous and responsive. A few even exceptionally kind! You know who you are and it is to you Thomas and I dedicate this review.

James S.

Expect to pay $75 to a $100 each month for utilities (water , trash, taxes and pest control.) And your deposit is really a move out fee. You will be charged a professional carpet cleaning and a professional cleaning fee. I also forgot that the water is shut off at least once a month for repairs.

Dustin B.

Military beware. Manager told me on several occasions that we would not be charged a termination fee. Few weeks later get a bill in the mail being charged for termination fees due to my roommate not being military. (A verbal acknowledgement/agreement should of held some weight in this instance) cleaned the best we could and still charged a cleaning fee. Paid to have carpets professionally cleaned, still charged a carpet cleaning/removal fee (this one was understandable due to dogs)
We did enjoy our time here, expensive? 100% clean? Most of the time. Working washers and dryers? 50% of the time.

My only other complaint about this complex was the fact that other tenants blatantly refused to clean after their pets, with how much that complex is making off tenants the least they could do is make sure the dog areas were kept clean, at least the previous owners did that.

Alexander W.

Applied for property. Paid app fees and a refundable $250 (key word) holding fee. Things didn't work out. No biggie. Silvia the property manager the same day stated that she would process the refund for my holding fee. I provided all applicable information and was assured my money would be back to me within 2 weeks. After the 2 week period, Silvia ghosted me. Wouldn't respond to email or phone call for days. Little did I know, she waited 2 weeks to even process the refund. If thats any indication of how they handle business there, you might want to stray away.