The Lodges of East Lansing

I lived at the Lodges for 2 years. The first year went pretty smoothly. The unit was extremely dirty when we got there, and we had to do a deep clean, which we were promised reimbursement which we never received, but besides that it was mostly fine. The apartment was never cheap, but it's student housing, so that's pretty par for the course, and it was close to the university for my roommate who was going to MSU. Amenities were nice, I used the gym a bit, maintenance requests were typically pretty prompt, some noisy upstairs neighbors but what can you do?

Then the second year, they decided it would be in everyone's "best interest" to rip out and redo all of the flooring in every apartment in the complex. Management gave inconsistent and flimsy instructions on what actually had to be done- do we have to move out all furniture? Take everything off of floors? Shelves? Out of the unit entirely? They also made it clear that ideally pets should not be in the unit for the process. My roommates and I had to get an AirBnB for two nights, and I came back and found that one of my computer monitors was broken. We arrived back to our furniture having been put wherever they decided was convenient; the TV was just haphazardly moved, as was just about everything in the apartment. So, after packing everything up, we had to essentially rearrange the entire apartment while we were pretty much moving back in, again.

On top of all of that, the floors were already scratched when we arrived to our new flooring. An actual engineer had to come in and inspect our floors and take pictures of the scratching, because it looked to be in worse condition than the original floors after having been installed for a few days, tops. Not to mention, we actually got off easy; we had some notice. The early units had maybe 5 days of notice, max. And this was right in the middle of the semester, when I'm sure people were prepping for exams or other similar stressful things; I work from home, so it impacted me, but not quite in the same way.

When I brought up my concerns to management, they said that pets "could" be in the unit, despite their messaging that they should be moved, and despite all the units we saw with doors left open while the installation was happening. In what world would that be safe for pets? With the AirBnB cost and the damaged belongings, I was hoping at a minimum for a reimbursement, if not reduced/removed rent for a month, and the "best" they could offer was a $50 gift card.

That is frankly offensive.

The whole situation was so horribly mismanaged that I can't in good conscience recommend anyone even consider the Lodges. If someplace is slightly more expensive but isn't the Lodges, choose it. Management does not care about student schedules or the schedules of people who work from the apartment, and they will not listen to your requests.

One of the worst environments I have lived in.

While the staff are all super nice for the most part there's too many caveats to give this complex any higher than a two. While living here I had emailed the front office around five separate times about info. Although yes, I probably should have called nearly all of those times I did not receive even one late response.

This is coupled by the fact that the apartment randomly decided to schedule new flooring to be put in during midterms season. Again, yes they did provide a notification this would be happening, the manner in which they conducted this renovation is unacceptable. My apartment was scheduled to be under construction for about four days, causing me not only to have to relocate my *LEGAL* emotional support animal, but also to uproot my studies.

The cherry on the cake comes with the actual renovations process. Although it is not the apartment at fault, they still had to both vet and approve the people to conduct work here so I can only blame The Lodges. After construction was done and I returned to my room I found not only glue stains all over the floor from installation, but I also had many planks of wood bulging out of the floor.

This is an unacceptable way to conduct a business. While yes students live here who have their own wants and needs, The Lodges clearly only operates under the premise of making the most money they can. I would avoid The Lodges if you want any sort of good environment to live.

I really love the lodges. I will be living there for my second year now and I have had nothing but a great experience! The employees are so kind and the management is always super helpful! Maintenance requests also always get done within 24-48hrs which is amazing! Would recommend living here!!

I am writing this review so that future students will know what they are getting into when they sign a lease at the Lodges. Please save yourself the stress and money and live literally anywhere else (gateway lofts, volaris, landmark, the hub, houses leased by Hagan).

I truly thought I would have no issues living here but they just keep piling up with the management having no regard for the residents, who are mostly students trying to get through school.

On April 17th, my apartment and many others were having the floors changed, which was forced upon us by management and were given no choice if we wanted our apartments to undergo this change during the most stressful weeks of our lives – finals week. They forced us to basically pack up our whole apartments as if we were moving out. I personally had 2 exams that week and had no time for the stress that management was putting on me, but basically had no other choice. The worst part was that the day that my specific apartment was to be done a tornado happened and there was severe rain and hail. All my belongings were outside in the rain. When I called the lodges to see how they were rectifying this they said that the construction men were putting our stuff under tents, but when I looked at my ring camera all my appliances were sitting outside. Then when I could finally come back to my apartment at 8pm, the apartment was covered in FILTH – dirt and mud everywhere, my furniture in completely different spots, nails all over the floor, walls scratched, glue residue all over the floor. This was the night before I was supposed to take a final exam. I had no one to help me clean or put everything back. The amount of stress I felt was extreme and the Lodges did not care that students were being put under this. They did not offer any compensation for students or a cleaning service. They probably did this so that students would be forced to clean their apartments before moving out right after finals weeks and then the Lodges would not have to pay for a more in-depth clean before the new residents move in. This was corporate greed at its best and I cannot convey how the stress impacted me and my studying in those days.

I believe you would never want to live here, especially if you plan to move in during the last year before graduation. Their subletting scheme is incredibly unreasonable; not only does it require you to pay an additional $300, but it also charges the applicant an extra $250. Furthermore, they make the move-in and move-out process extremely inconvenient under the guise of policy, often turning all your plans to rubbish. They take an extra $550 from you and then come up with the most convenient option for them, not you. This makes it very difficult to sublet for the extra months after graduation. Also, although they have their own bus service, the cessation of this service during the summer term can make it very difficult to get around if you don't have a car, as there are no nearby bus stops. I should also mention the flooring project I've read about in reviews, where they just threw people’s belongings around, leaving the whole apartment a mess. I had to rewash all my clothes, bedding, and dishes to get everything clean again. Honestly, this has been the worst apartment I've lived in during my college years. Moreover, it's much more expensive than other apartments around the school. Although their staff are friendly, their policies and management really aren't that great.

Installed new flooring just 3 days before final exam week, a time when college students are already under stress. Given that the majority of the residents are college students, this decision was extremely inconsiderate. Residents were asked to pack up all their belongings, only to have them moved outside where they were left exposed to the rain! Not to mention, we also were expected to be out of the apartment the whole day with no sort of rent compensation!!

Nathan gave me an amazing tour at The Lodges of East Lansing! He was so friendly and knowledgeable, making sure I understood everything about the apartments and the area. His enthusiasm made the tour enjoyable, and he even shared tips about nearby places to check out. If you're considering living at The Lodges, definitely ask for a tour with Nathan—he's fantastic!