UPTEN

Worst experience, we recommend you to carefully read all of the reviews and comments before you make a decision and end up in the same horrible position that many of us were.

Yes, many buildings have little issues here and there which we would have tolerated if only the issues were properly, respectfully and professionally dealt with by the management team. For us at least it is not so much about the issues and mistakes because things happen, but it is about how the issues and mistakes are handled by management that makes a difference. And as you can consistently read on many of the reviews, the treatment from the management team is absolutely awful for a "luxury" building. Not even on the cheapest building in downtown will the management care as little and act so unprofessional as the management do at Upten.

Such a horrible experience! Please be careful and do not get fooled by the fancy entrance, take your time and read through all of the comments from previous tenants before deciding to move in. Summer of 2020 was when we first moved in, the management, the building and amenities were absolutely wonderful and it was such a lovely experience.
After fall of 2021, the building along with the management just got worst and worst to the level of us counting the days to move out. The elevators were a nightmare 75% of the time. It would take us 15 to 25 minutes just to pick up our delivery from the lobby and bring it back to our apartment, our food would already be cold by the time we were back up. The BBQs were almost always dirty or some not working. We barely went down for coffee or hot chocolate but when we went the machine was either down or empty. The alarm system would go off after midnight at least once per month. We never really put a complaint about these things since we are not really the type of people to complain.

But it was when we had to deal with management that the whole experience completely came crashing down. Will not mention any names in specific but a lot of them are very unprofessional, rude and have a very bad customer service. I have been living in downtown Calgary for 12 years in 5 different buildings (this one being the most expensive) and never had I had such a horrible experience. They are so unorganized within their whole department. We even got sent to our email private and personal information from another tenant directly from the general manager.
It was absolutely ridiculous that it took them over 1 month for us to get our security deposit back, we even had to call Strategic directly because nobody would reply to our calls and emails. They also lost our deposit we made for the party room which was $250 and they were only wanting to give us $200 back and keep the remainder $50. We had to email them back multiple times to finally get the rest of our money back.

The only good thing is the concierge, they are so lovely and helpful all of the time and provide wonderful customer service. Maybe management should learn from them!

As you can unfortunately read from the comments you can see the similarity in the horrible Upten experience that most of us had to go through and hopefully we can save you from experiencing the same. We will definitely not be renting at Upten or at any other Strategic property ever again. Many other wonderful and better options for the same price in Calgary downtown.

Worst mistake of my life moving into this place. Had numerous other tenants warn me when I did the tour and I wish I listened.

- Elevators are constantly breaking, skipping floors and at times there is only one elevator for the entire building working for 38 floors
- The building has frequent leaks, the roof in the gym is still leaking and a part of the floor outside of the gym
- The nice mirrors in the picture in the lobby online have been missing for a while and the one that was installed recently had a scaffolding piece fall and it almost hit me + another tenant (the Receptionist even noticed it)
- The pet wash is under maintenance and has been for a long time (along with the garbage room access)
- Half of the hallways in the parkade have massive holes in the wall/damage
- The management staff is terrible, had to send the Assistant Manager my banking information 5 times before he got it right (sent me an eviction letter without even talking to me, then I had to remind him I sent him the bank info numerous times and over 2 months ago)
- The staff is also constantly turning over
- Even after all these issues the company won't let me terminate the lease without penalty, despite all of their short comings and issues with the building

My partner and I signed a 2 year lease at UpTEN and we will not be renewing. We are actually itching to leave. Sooo many better and more promising properties in this city. For starters, I will mention the positives in our experience. Generally, the 24 hour concierge team has been a pleasure to deal with and super friendly/helpful. I also do think, aesthetically, the suites are nice. This concludes the positives in my experience.

Cons
- My partner and I were promised 2 parking stalls, $150 each, monthly. We had access to the second stall for a whopping 2 months before they took it away with a week's notice so that the private lot owners (Diamond, at the time) could sell it to the public (non-residents) for more money. For almost 2 years, I have been stuck paying $275 for the second stall. Unacceptable. We rent a 2 bedroom unit and there is always ample parking spots. It's not as if there aren't enough spots for the tenants.
- Building is falling apart. Marble features falling down in the lobby, walls constantly being kicked in in the elevator bays, excessive condensation ruining the window sills in our unit, uneven floors, paint splatter all across our floors, etc. For the price we pay, you'd think the details would matter more.
- Fire alarms non-stop.
- Elevators always down. We live on the 14th floor. Some days I don't mind taking the stairs from P6, but after a long day, sometimes it's the last thing I want to do. Expect to wait upwards of 15 minutes to get an elevator.
- Mail system is a disaster. I have a lot of empathy for the concierges who have to deal with it, but this building was not made for the number of packages it has to receive and process.

DO NOT rent the guest suite for anyone you like. Awful awful. Filled with odd items that look like they were likely left behind in another suite. Half burned candles, no mattress cover on the $80 mattress on the bed with bedding and pillows that seriously are ready for the garbage. I’m a Property Manager myself and was appalled. Where the microwave should be is a gaping hole in the wall and no microwave. I booked for 2 nights, stayed for 1 night and of course was billed for both nights. Complete run around. Front desk will tell you to email mgmt and mgmt is difficult at best to get ahold of. Ratty dirty chairs on the balcony. Poor window coverings that do nothing to keep out light. Dirty looking towels. You’ve received fair warning DO NOT BOOK THE GUEST ROOM!

Do not rent here. I lived at Upten for a year and had a very poor experience. The elevators do not function properly, the fire alarm is faulty, and automatic doors in the parkade do not work and sometimes can’t even be opened. The parkade stalls are very small and there is no assigned parking besides the first level, and no free visitor parking.

I once had to wait 20 minutes for the elevator because I was moving some furniture and the stairs were not an option. There are 4 elevators total, but most of the time 2 or more are broken.

The fire alarm went off at least once a month in the middle of the night which is completely unacceptable for a newer building.

I consistently had issues with the heat and air conditioning in my unit as the thermostat would always read that there was an error and maintenance was required.

I also had an issue with the tenant beside me as they were smoking in their unit. Obviously, this was not Upten’s fault, however, the way in which management dealt with the situation was disappointing. I had to endure the last 2 months of my lease putting up with a constant smell of smoke in the hallway and sometimes in my unit. I woke up some mornings with a cough and sore throat and felt like nothing was being done to put a stop to it. Smoking is said not to be allowed in the building, but it is tolerated to some degree as management only issues warnings to avoid evictions.

It also took 2 months for me to get my security deposit back after being told it would be issued 10 business days after the move-out inspection. I had to send 10 follow up emails for them to finally send it back.

I waited weeks for an answer from them to the email, and when I received it, someone else had already rented an apartment

Very difficult in communication.
Unfortunately, I will choose another complex.

This place was the worst place I have ever lived in. The management team does not respond to emails, and actively avoids issues. The fire alarm went off multiple times per week, and the wait times for the elevator was upwards of 20 minutes. DO NOT LIVE HERE!

I lived in UPTEN for a year, this was my first home in Calgary. I had a great experience, everyone (from the leasing agents to the concierges) were so nice to me and my dog from the beginning.

I loved to location close to the train station and Stephen avenue. The amenities are another great asset, I used them a lot while working from home.

I enjoyed that the whole building is very pet friendly and I could make the most out of it with my dog.

I've lived at Upten for 11 month's now and I'm happy to say I'm moving this place is far from luxury living. I've been stuck in the elevator numerous time's. Maintenance to get anything done is atrocious it took over month to fix my toilet seat in my apartment. Because I'm assuming they used the cheapest possible plastic washer to hold the bolt down that holds seat on. I couldn't get into the parkade at night because it was too late at night. Took 1 month to figure out that but I'm still expected to pay 160$ for parking spot yeah makes sense. Management at Upten is lacking in customer service and knowledge. To me it seems they fake it until they make it or just guess. 1700$ a month isn't worth the garage in the hallways lack of management from Upten. Or just the constant inconvenience of living at this premier property. Still waiting for whoever to magically get back to me about move out inspection. Even though I've sent a couple email's. Finally booked the elevator for moving out after 10 email's and that person telling me times that we're booked and they didn't even help me talked to concierge and they told me complete opposite information vs office person. Straight garbage service try harder everyone at Upten this is embarrassing.

I didn't think i'd leave a 5 star review here because everything everyone else said here is true.

However, i just had a really good move-out experience, i believe this shows the PMs are actually improving based on people's feedbacks.
Also, during my last few month here at Upten, the firealarm issue didn't occur not even once. Elevators are still a bit slow but at least all of them are functional. Concierges are still amazing as always. So i'm pretty happy to see the changes despite i no longer live here anymore.

I have a really bad experience about the management team.

I emailed them more than a week ago regarding the parking spot in the ground floor.

Although I mentioned the urgency of reserving the parking spot in my email, they never replied it afterwards. I also tried to call them but their phone always forwarded to voicemail.

I am super frustrated and disappointed about how they manage the issues and communicate with residence. I don’t know who to talk with regarding my parking spot now.

Went to check out the apartment. Had a tour with the manager. Before leaving he mentioned that he will email me the floor plans for the available apartments and their price with all the details.
Never received any email from him. Texted him about my visit and hoping to receive his email but never got any response back.
Poor communication and customer care. Will never go back!