Woodlands Manor - Calgary

Perfect bait and switch example - After taking the time off to go see the apartment I was told the advertised price was wrong and if the manager did not rent it out by the following day he would consider renting it out at the advertised price (the price was $200 more) - and yet they are still advertising the wrong

Minto's investment firm sucked in German investors to buy this place. Building is over 45 years old and is rotten - not maintained. Sewer pipes have broken under concrete and major excavations took place in 2013; you can't get rid of the stench. Roll a pencil in the 'dining' area and watch it roll away. The brick building has 'cracked' in half and floors are slanted. Humps in the concrete floor throw off your balance. 3 story wooden buildings are not sound proof at all; be prepared to be woken up - a lot! Police hold stakeouts in the parking lot and arrest drug dealers - 10 undercover cops haul thugs out by your bedroom window. Leasing staff are nice, but managers have been obnoxious; there are no straight answers, and as a renter you ARE the enemy to them. They pledge undying allegiance to Minto and squeeze you while providing no service. If your windows leak cold air in the winter - too bad. If your patio door has ice on it and you can't even open it in the winter - too bad. Apparently the windows and doors are so old they cannot get 'parts', including insulation strips to stop the cold air from leaking in. The water pipes cannot provide enough heat, you will be cold - guaranteed. Minto bought new stainless steel fridges and took out the rotting carpets and put in some kind of cheap vinyl wood look flooring - this is called "luxury". This only masks what is a tiny tiny kitchen with a small sink. If you walk to any of the many outside doors and jerk very hard on the handle they fly open. There is no security - Minto will not replace the locks and they are so old they cannot find parts to fix them. Anyone can just walk into a 'secure' building. Heck, during the day the cleaning staff that vacuum the carpets leave the main doors wide open so anyone at all can just stroll in without any problem. As for nightime, be prepared to have your buzzer sound off to wake you up. You will find some drunk that forgot their keys buzzing everyone to have someone let them into the building. Nice neighbours eh? Woodlands Manor is like a cheap floozie (male or female) with lots of makeup. Looks good in the distance but don't get too close. Oh yeah, if you absolutely have to move in, be aware that after your 1 year lease expires they increase the rent by $300 for month to month. SURPRISE! IMO, the rents of the 1 bedrooms are overpriced by $300, the 2 bedrooms by $450, the townhouses are overpriced by about $600. If you have to live in the slums, this is the place for you!

All the staff I dealt with was very friendly. However their advertising was very misleading. They have pictures on rentfaster of a beautifully renovated suite with a brand new gorgeous white kitchen but when you go to look in person the place they show you is a dump. Also terrible water pressure. This was a waste of our evening. Just be honest when you advertise, this wastes both our time.

I would give minto a -5. They are absolutely the worst place to rent an apartment from. My friend told minto she was going yo be 3 days late with her rent and the day before she went to pay yhe rent. Minto got the cops to remove her. She was told she has 30 days to move her stuff and minto is only giving her a few days a week and nothing on the weekend so she can rent a truck. She works monday to friday.

I'm leaving 5 stars because this place deserves better than the current "1.2". I lived in the central building. In the year 2015-2016, Minto seemed to be working hard on the quality of their service. Some older reviews complain that their service was lacking, so if that was once true they have certainly improved since then. Nothing seemed sub-par when I lived here. The unit I lived in was very soundproof. It has close proximity to Fish Creek and beautiful fields. The current maintenance staff are always courteous and efficient. The parking lot was very well maintained; they filled in some large potholes over the last year. I get the impression they pay attention to the things that need attention. At any rate, they operate as proper landlords, and I can't think of any complaints. I think you'd have a good time renting here.

We really like living here. The amount we pay for rent we think is a good deal. The only thing is some of the finishes around the apartment and minor repairs were done with minimal effort. Just enough to get the job done. So some of those don't look the greatest.

We have lived here for almost a year and plan to stay. We have never had an issue with our windows as they have been replaced before we moved in. Our apartment was fully renovated just prior to our move in. All new carpets in the bedrooms, easy to take care of laminate flooring in the rest of the suite, new appliances, wood burning fireplace and fresh paint. The rent is reasonable, the damage deposit was minimal, the building manager, office staff and maintenance people are all excellent. The parking lots and green areas are well maintained and they accept pets, which was a huge plus in my opinion.

I moved into Woodlands Manor with my late wife in the spring of 2011, and we were always very pleased to be here. We could not have been happier with the level of service we received from the Minto folks with whom we interacted, and it's why we kept renewing our lease. I've recommended Minto to any number of my friends over the years, and I'm pleased to do so here.