The Tides

Elite '09

11

189

Jeanne J.

Chicago, IL

11/5/2009

The only 3 great things about this building:
1. It's location
         a. Amazing views of Lake Michigan, Grant Park, the Chicago river, etc. etc.
         b. Close proximity the city's main attractions - theaters, Pritzker, Navy Pier, the Art Insitute, the Loop, Michigan Ave, etc. etc.
2. The Park at Lake Shore East at its doors (a wonderful space with a dog park and children's play area)
3. An $80 utility package and a powerful air/heat system that keeps everyone so toasty during the cold winter.

For all the negative comments to come, these 3 qualities make me a fan of The Tides relative to all other buildings, maybe, though it might be just A-OK in luxury Lakeshore East standards.

Everything else about The Tides is either average, or subpar, for the luxury building it boasts to be - yes, in unit washer/dryer, a kitchen island, tile kitchens and bathrooms, floor to ceiling windows, 24 hour concierge, blah blah blah. The WORST part of this building, is that the amenities really just plainly suck.

This 51 story building has only 4 working elevators = traffic in the bank.
The 1 pool is outdoors, and teeny tiny tiny tiny.
I could have sworn that I saw only 1 BBQ grill out there as well.
Their "home office" has only 4-5 computers, all of which are incredibly, incredibly slow and old.
Which reminds me, included in the utility package is wireless internet that crawls.
The printer is often out of paper.
The game room has a pool table with 3 cue sticks, 2 of which are literally broken, and a single one that, though functional, is beat up. If you want to play a game with any person besides yourself, you have to share the one back and forth.
The fitness room is pretty nice. But of all the TV's in these rooms, none have HD - having HD boxes must total out to less than $100 more a month or maybe less than $1 per resident. Make the utility package $81 and let us enjoy quality TV.
The free coffee offered in the Sky Garden is often without cups to utilize.
The maintenance people can sometimes be annoying, inserting themselves into conversations with unnecessary comments.
I awaited 2 packages in the mail, and no package slips would show up in my mail box. I was told that, though the tracking on USPS and UPS both said that the deliveries had been made, that sometimes these sites mess up. I found them when I asked if I could sift through the boxes in the receiving room myself.
I lived here for a month before I got annoyed with constantly seeing the last tenant's name in my mailbox. We asked 3 times to have it changed before I went to the management office to ask for the tiny card that I ended up inserting myself.

Lastly, though they don't ask for a security deposit, expect to pay a $450 move-in fee, and a $650 pet fee if you have one. Unassigned parking is $245 a month, a useless 3x3x3 storage unit is $200 for the year, though you'll only get one if you're lucky enough to get through the waiting list, and street parking for any guests is paid either at the $3.50/hour Chicago meter rate (everyday, 2 hr limit), or even more in the garage.

In short: It is MUCH MUCH MUCH more worth it to be on a lower floor or to pay a little extra, and live next door at the Aqua.

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