<p>Anyone else has or lived in the Castilian before??? their magmt. is not giving me a good first impression. I turned my lease into them on 17th of december. and then after Christmas my room was still not decided yet. I got my room assignment today on the 21st floor. today. </p>
<p>Their excuse was that I made the wrong date for the payment to be due on my lease. However, I corrected the date by emailing one of their agents last week. Only when I got on the phone with them today did they correct the date on my lease. </p>
<p>When I called into their managemt. on Monday (this week), the agent told me that their manager who assigns the rooms was gone for the week on vacation. However, he magically sends me an email today with my room number.</p>
<p>Yesterday, the same manager sent me an email saying that he does not have my room assigned because I have not returned my lease.</p>
<p>When I asked the same agent who told me Monday why the manager returned today, she replied "he came to work randomly" and that she doesn't have access to the upper-echelon management's work schedules. </p>
<p>And by the way, I am still waiting on the high up manager to sign my lease so that I get my lease returned. according to the agent I talked to Monday, they will do that next week since they are "on break" this week. </p>
<p>So I will have to wait two more weeks for the lease to be returned to me. Total, this process took me a month.</p>
<p>My question is: is this normal and should I be concerned for where I am living next semester? Is this how the Castilian handles their customers? I thought the new management company took over improved their act.</p>
<p>I don’t live in the Castillian but I have been inside and have a friend who lives in there. Personally, he told me it wasn’t that bad and that it was better than some of the dorms on campus and its the same cost (I think) as living in Jester or Simkins.</p>
<p>Thank you Iambored for your reply. I was looking for anyone who has dealt with Castilian management who can comment on whether how they handled my case was normal. I have searched in the forums, but can only find someone saying they screwed his or her move-in date. (that is, after the management company has changed. Yes, I know about the previous issues and the heating… they said the heating system is newly replaced.)</p>
<p>Thank you Churchy. not cooperative was what I was talking about in my situation. okay, I guess the Castilian’s management is this then. Humph… I’ll choose somewhere else to live next semester.</p>
<p>When I checked out the Castillian, the management seem disorganized, they had rented out EVERY room in the building so they didn’t have a single room to show, and there were signs everywhere in the garage warning about possible car break-ins and how the Castillian is not responsible. It’s better than living in a dorm, but it still sucks.</p>
<p>I went to the Castillian on January 2nd and I found them to be very helpful. I guess I went when it wasn’t very busy, but the leasing professional was there and she gave me a tour and filled me with a lot of useful information and was very friendly and outgoing. She answered all of my questions (I had a lot) with thorough answers. I found the whole thing to be very effective and made my trip to Austin worthwhile.</p>
<p>You two seem to have the answers…I haven’t figured out how to email you directly…what is so bad about campus housing that people say living off campus is better? We are thinking the honors dorms or Duren or San Jacinto.</p>
<p>Also, we have not sent in our tuition deposit (sent in housing deposit in October) because son was accepted to Plan II…waiting to hear from Dean’s Scholars/Turing…does sending in the tuition deposit up the chances of getting desired dorm?</p>
<p>Okay foolforitaly,
I am a transfer student so I got assigned to the supplemental housing, which means that you share a room with at least three or more students. So I did not apply in advance and said screw it with UT housing. </p>
<p>But then I was left with choices like Dobie castilian or towers. Castilian was the only dorm with single rooms. closest to natural sciences buildings. that’s why I choose Castilian.</p>
<p>Dobie only had one room for male students, and it was shared with another guy.</p>
<p>But UT housing should be at least okay, but when I toured Jester, Jester East was the side with the communal baths in it. and the hand dryer was broken when my dad used the restroom. </p>
<p>off campus housing is not that expensive. </p>
<p>That should give you some reasons why I am off campus.</p>
<p>My d is in her second year in the honors dorms and loves it. I do not know why people push the off campus housing as a better option; I see it as a reasonable option for those who don’t get rooms on campus.</p>
<p>On campus is very convenient. San Jac and Duren are lovely. (Espensive, but lovely!) D took a summer class the summer between H.S. and college and lived in Kinsolving; very nice. And of course she stayed in Jester for orientation, and Jester was fine.</p>
<p>I lived in Scottish Rite Dorm all four years. I guess technically it is off-campus, but I never realized that! This was back in the early 80s, so I don’t have any knowledge/opinion of whether on- or off-campus is better.</p>
<p>In post #9, I was just alluding to the fact that some of us thought that longhorndude must have been employed by the Castillian last year, because he was SUCH a vocal proponent of the dorm, and never seemed to post on any other subjects.</p>