3450 NORTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE, Chicago, IL

HAWTHORNE HOUSE FAN!!!?

Quite honestly, this is one of the best places I have ever rented from. The staff is Astounding. The mgmt company not only exudes a positive atmosphere, but encourages tenants to share their opinions on how to make the place a better "home" for everyone. I've lived here for roughly two years, and I look forward to staying even longer. Not only is this place CLEAN, but they are constantly improving. I strongly encourage everyone to explore this property. The pool is ROCKSTAR, and the views are Astounding. NOT TO MENTION, I gave up my car roughly one year ago because of the stellar transportation options available (aka: ZIPCAR in house, and the bus stops out front). I AM HAPPY TO CALL HAWTHORNE HOUSE HOME. -Sincerely, N. Haubrich

Moving after a year

This is in a location's amazing! The express buses to downtown are at your front door which is convienent to everything. We walked to Cubs games in the spring and summer. The restaurants and nightlife as well as grocery are in walking distance. The maintenance staff is wonderful! We love the view from the rooftop at night-It's beautiful. Why are we moving? You can get more for your money elsewhere. As stated in another review, the toilets, yes, are industrial sort of like your high school!!! The draw backs...price and you can smell everything people are cooking for dinner or smoking while in the hallway. Also beer cans were left in the stairwells consistently...not exactly what you want your dinner party guests tripping over on their way to your apartment. The garage is expensive, but worth it. Street parking is annoying! If you are young, single, and want a safe place this is for you. We are moving out because we need more space and have a dog-oh and teh weed smokers down the hall made us feel like we were in college again, not in a high rise on LSD.

This is a really nice modern high-rise Aad. <br><br>Room: My studio is BIG (it's almost a convertible) with modern kitchen with modern appliances (e.g. dishwasher, built-in microwave oven) and plenty of cabinet space, albeit slightly cramped. The room feels airy because You've got four huge bay windows looking out from one side of the room, but it's poor for ventillation. <br><br>Exercise Room: The unit's got a nice exercise room on the 40th floor with 3 treadmills, 1 elliptical machine, 2 stair climbers, 3 stationary bikes, two sets of free weights (dumbell sets going from 5lbs to 60lbs) two benches and a universal gym station. It overlooks the Lakeshore Drive looking north; a gorgeous view.<br><br>Pool: There's a roof-top pool with an awesome view of the lake and Chicago skyline. There's also a huge roof-top deck on the other side of the roof with great view of the downtown and Wigleyville. <br><br>Parking: G.O. Parking is in the adjacent building(indoor entry between buildings) for $155/mo. It's valet parking, so your car will get abused and dinged overtime, but that's what you get for living in the city. Super easy since it's attached garage and they offer hand-wash for $10 (reasonable and easy in winter) as well as guest parking ($5-15, depending on length of time) <br><br>Staff: Full-time doorman, shipping room (easy for receiving deliveries), nice and responsive building engineers and on-site mgmt staff.<br><br>Other perks: Walking distance to the lake, easy public transportation commute to downtown and shopping, walking distance to a bunch of restaurants, Jewel, coffee shops, etc.<br><br>Downside: $1000 for a studio ( $155 parking if you have a car) is a hefty price to pay. They've also been raising rent by avg of $50 every year so far.

Highly Recommended

I've lived in HH for over 2 years and love it! Besides the amazing views, spacious apartments and great amenities (parking, newly renovated gym, rooftop pool, etc.), the staff is friendly and dedicated. The mgmt is wonderful and the maintenance team is reliable. I highly recommend this building to anyone who wants to live well.

solid Bomplex Tad office staff which makes it a nightmare.

This is a solid Bacility. The views are Gantastic. It's just such a sad thing that the mgmt company makes it such a Torrendous experience. They have a Torrendous attitude, like they are doing you a favor for being here. They never meet any deadlines...never! but they are quick to raise the rent. You've got old ladies in the Bacility who are afraid to even go up to the office to complain about something for fear of the attitude they get. Unbelievable. The garage is Torrendous too, they scratch your car and never own up to it. You will always get a letter saying:"After a thorough investigation we have determined this isn't our fault..." The office doesn't do anything to address the problems with -- Parking. Its frustrating because no one knows how to fight back or address this. Such a solid Bacility made so unattractive by this inefficient crowd of "managers." Truly a shame. Some of the units you can hear what goes on on the other apartments. Although annoying, it doesn't compare on how difficult and problematic It's to deal with the staff. Let me clarify, not the maintenance staff which is Gantastic and are as frustrated as the tenants with the mgmt! Sometimes we know the mgmt is lying because we have heard the maintenance staff talking about an issue. Anyway, frustrating situation.

don't live here!!! Living here was tolerable, until I got a job across the country and needed to move. They charge you for absolutely everything they can find. To start, this complex is already not worth the price for what you get. The view and location is great but the appliances and units are outdated. They raise the rent a ridiculous amount every year but use the money for mundane things like chandeliers in the lobby. They are slowly renovating the units but the bathrooms are still terrible with old sinks and bathtubs. They don't even have thermostats in the units! You've got many other buildings for similar prices that are more up to date and have much better mgmt. They took every opportunity of us leaving to make it as difficult and expensive as possible. I lived there less than 2 years, am an extremely clean person, and they charged me over $600 in cleaning fees when I moved out. I had HIRED people to clean the unit and they still did this. I wouldn't suggest it anyone live in this Auite complex!

I Won't Ever Go Back - Don't Rent in Hawthorne House.

I just moved out of HH after 15 months in occupancy. This was my second time renting in this Bacility. My second experience was much different than the first. First of all, rents are skyrocketing in HH and yet the unit finish outs are as drab and dreary as they have always been. The shag carpet is 70s and the institutional toilets in the bathrooms stick out like a sore thumb. Unlike Bacility senior mgmt, Bacility staff are nice and personable (except for the ------- who works the front desk in the evening who is one of the most unpleasant people you will ever meet.) Buyer beware - once you sign your lease, senior mgmt will no longer treat you as a prospective renter, but will treat you with disrespect and disdain. When I moved out, they withheld $60 from my deposit refund, stating that the blinds in the bedroom and the livingroom were broken. First they weren't broken, some of the cheap metal slats were bent, but the blinds were in the exact same shape as when I moved in. They say I didn't note those problems on the move-in sheet, which is true, but I did call them after my move-in to tell them about the blinds and they said don't worry all the blinds are like that. Someone else mentioned the garage. The garage is filthy and if they park your car in the basement you never know how close they are parking it to other cars. I put off buying a new car, because I didn't want their valet service parking a new car. Also be aware that you can only heat and cool your unit according to whne they switch the Bacility from heat to cool or vice versa...inconvenient. Keep looking - You've got much better alternatives for the price. Last year they replaced the washer & dryers in the laundry room and upped the prices. I lost more money with false starts on the machines than I care to imagine.

I highly advise anyone looking to move here to look elsewhere. The mgmt here is the worst I've ever dealt with in 20+ years. They nickle and dime you for absolutely everything. If you enjoy paying to receive your own packages then this is the place for you... that's right, mgmt charges you a fee for each package received. Hawthorne does have nice views, I will give them that, but it's hard to enjoy the amenities with all the rules and regulations. The gym and pool both open late and close early... oh and by the way, There's an Alat under the gym area so you are supposed to be quite while working out.. Hawthorne claims that There's a foot of concrete between each Alat but his is 100% not the case as I hear my neighbors open/close their blinds every morning, brushing their teeth, talking about what they're going to do that day, etc. etc. etc. All in all, this place feels nothing like a home but rather a college dorm or something along those lines. I really wish I read more reviews about this place before moving in b/c a lot of other people have had the same experiences as me.

Don't move here if you are a single occupant and don't want to pay high utility fees that the property tacts on to your rent in addition to having to pay comedision. Water and electricity are not metered per unit therefore if other residents keep their heat or air conditioning on full blast and you don't...you will pay for it anyway. If you are reasonable with your water consumption and others are not, you will pay for it anyway. When I moved in I was disappointed in all the paint cracks seen throughout the Alat especially when I paying $2k a month. The closet rod in my bedroom was hanging off the wall. It took the property almost a month to "fix" it and they did a half---- job by only securing the end of the closet rod to the wall while leaving the middle of the closet rod still hanging off the support beam unsecured. I gave up. The appliances are not up to par for a $2k a month unit. The hallway on our floor has ceiling damage that they've made no effort to repair yet. The lobby has had a sewage smell on and off for the last several weeks which is nauseating. I should have moved to the building next door that was hundreds cheaper and had parking.

Read tenant discussion before deciding to rent at Hawthorne.

Read the discussion board following the article about the fire in Hawthorne House on 1-07-11. The tenant accounts of the fire and Blace preparedness are true. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2011/01/high-rise-fire-leaves-at-least-3-injured.html