Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Yes
ARO - Midtown West Luxury Rentals in New York
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New York, New York County, New York, US
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Comments (56)
Great location and beautiful from the outside. Lovely lounge rooms and large playroom.Peter the maintenance man was super scary but was able to get something for me and I am thankful for that.
ARO is, by far, one of the most attractive luxury buildings in the city. There are so many great qualities to highlight, including floor-to-ceiling windows, the views, superior appliances, location, but my favorite? The rooftop pool! It’s gorgeous, and I like that the membership is capped, so that it never gets crowded. Also, Michael, the leasing manager, is knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful.
This place deserves 0 stars but 1 star is the minimum.Leasing office/agent: Though streeteasy listings look nice, the leasing office is non-responsive and incredibly rude. The agent Michael is also very arrogant and does not respect potential tenants whatsoever.Apartments themselves: Looks nice but the good looks are all the veneer as everything will quickly break down. For instance, the flooring and cabinetry is all wood veneer that will quickly break down. Insane amenity fees.Management copy pastes reviews in response to 1 star reviews, how about the building examines from inside why they are getting all these horrible reviews. Stay away from Aro!
Lived here for a year and a half so far and its been a good place to weather the pandemic.Management in general is a bit obtuse, but theres a lot of great people working here. I was surprised to see other reviews railing on Michael the leasing agent since he was super nice to me. There was another leasing agent who gave me weird vibes though back then.The apartments are pretty good. Some of the views are wonderful. My unit is so sunny that Im annoyed they didnt include blackout curtains (the built-in solar shades are not thick enough to enable proper sleep). Some of the layouts are a bit small and awkward but I actually really like my layout after living here for a while.Noise hast been an issue for me here. I cant hear my neighbors in their apartments whatsoever, except for the occasional sound of a window closing or someone rolling their shades down. I can hear if anyone is talking in the corridor but that doesnt happen often.Some of the finishes are pretty good while others arent so good. The floors in particular dent and stain super easily, but apparently this is a known issue and theyre not charging tenants for it on move out (crossing my fingers...). The appliances are alright. I wish there was a garbage disposal and a vented fan above the stove, but hey, this aint a condo building.Too many elevators were out for a while last week which was annoying but they got it fixed.I wish they had a rooftop deck included in the basic amenity package rather than an upcharge.The location is alright. Midtown is not a neighborhoody feel, but this is one of the better parts of Midtown (though 8th Avenue sucks) and you have easy access to Hells Kitchen just a few hundred feet away. Its a reasonably short walk to Central Park which was a godsend during the pandemic.It doesnt really have a true luxury feel (in terms of finishes and service) that fancier buildings might, but its definitely good enough for me and Im happy to call it home.
EDIT: Management has replied to my review, which is very funny of them considering they never pick up the phone at the leasing office. Once again do not come to Aro.. all the 5 star reviews are written by staff.Echoing previous reviews. Stay far away! Don’t waste your time like how I wasted mine!!!!!!!! I saw bad reviews but wanted to check building out and give it benefit of the doubt because it’s beautiful from the outside. The leasing agent Michael is so rude and does not reply to emails and calls. He was 1.5 hours late for our scheduled tour and did not provide any explanation for the lateness which is also an issue on behalf of the leasing office that they don’t have enough people staffed to give tours. Michael never returned my emails or calls for over a week. Don’t waste your time here.
This is a terribly managed building. It definitely is not worth what you pay, and would not describe it as luxury building. Many far superior options in the city. The building does not provide the basic level of service provided by buildings in this price range. To be honest, staff can be quite rude and disdainful. Concierge, lobby, maintenance, doormen dont provide the services these functions typically offer. Feels like a weird mismatch in expectations of people who work in the building, and the standard function of these jobs in other buildings in the city. The furnishings inside the building are incredibly cheap, and already falling apart. Amenity areas you pay for are randomly locked, and a year in, still missing furniture. The leasing process isnt terribly transparent. Ask questions, but to be honest, just avoid.
The building has so much potential but I dont think the management company knows how to run a luxury building. I mean, it feels like they dont have enough cleaning crew...stuff is looking beat up after only a short time living here. Also I cant believe they charge so much to access the rooftop! its nuts! I love my apartment but like the windows never get cleaned and I cant reach to do it myself. front desk staff is nice, especially Vanessa and Tammy. Overall, though its a pretty building just doesnt have the staff or managers to make it feel luxury. id be happy to edit my review once stuff is cleaned up, though.
Leasing manager Michael is the most terrible real estate agent I have seen , probably the most arrogant and rudest person I have met in quite a while. My clients were so offended after the tour and they will not consider this building. I personally will not work with this building anymore, also I will try my best to not have my colleagues or my clients to rent in this building, as long as this mfker still works here.
Wish I could write no stars… I reserved a parking space here for a broadway show with spot hero, and when I came to pick up the car they charged me again for the reservation and when I told them afterwards that I already paid with spot hero, he told me it was not their problem and I had to call Spot hero… The manager or supervisor on duty was awful. Rude, yelled at us, overall worst experience at a garage in nyc. DO NOT PARK HERE! They are looking to overcharge or doible charge. Should be ashamed.
Go somewhere else!!I first was concerned about all the horrible reviews but decided to give it a try, the apartment was nice, the building is beautiful, but let’s start with the leasing office, Do they get trained to be a mess? No coordination, the first time I went they told me one thing, the second time a completely different approach, the guy giving us the tour, I think his name was michael was very arrogant, we asked for options to be approved and they told us they would accept it, the requirements to rent here are literally to be a millionaire club which is fine, but this building with cheap cabinets, cheap wooden floor, cheap appliance isn’t all that except a good location, the amenities are not free, they charge you nickel and dime to use everything, and don’t get me started with the price to use the rooftop pool, see it for yourself, a pool that is closed half a year and the summer hours are before sunsetNot sure if the owner is aware of how terrible their staff is, maybe they are unhappy, the front desk people are the most cold unfriendly I’ve seen, I’ve lived in luxury for a long time but this place deserves to have all the horrible reviews they have cause everything is wrong with AroGo somewhere else for your money, most people regret living here, read all the reviews and see for yourself
This is the worst managed building I have ever lived in.1) Evening Door staff is rude and rarely looks up from his phone and cant be bothered to open the door when your hands are full. Security is non-existent.2) Windows have not been cleaned once in the 7 months Ive lived here, and have been begging management for months to get this addressed as they are now so dirty from construction, I can no longer see out them when the sun shines.3) The noise and smell transference between units is really bad. (All conversations and sounds are clear as day and are completely audible which makes it not feel private). My unit constantly smells like burnt meat thanks to neighbor cooking and insufficient exhaust/ poor HVAC design.4) The unit finishes appear nice at first but are not holding up since they are cheap materials. The wood floors are peeling up and clearly arent real hardwood as it said on the marketing material.5) The amenity spaces that you have to pay for in addition to your rent, are a waste of money. The lounges still do not have sufficient furniture for anything useful and is often unavailable because they are renting it out for a private event (Which is BS considering you are paying to use this and are then unable to). The outdoor patio with the grill has ONE outdoor table for the entire building near the grills.YOU CAN DO MUCH BETTER WITH OTHER AMPLE LUXURY PROPERTIES, look elsewhere.
FIRE MICHAEL. EVERYONE HATES HIM. Do this beautiful building and construction justice and hire only kind and attentive staff who actually want to help people get houses, not shoo them away. Respond to emails and do your job right. Listen to the constructive critism people are telling you and dont just read this review and go F that guy, IMPROVE.
When I was on the tour with the leasing agent Michael, I asked him what’s the pricing of a certain apartment and he told me to go on street easy and check for myself. Also he was absolutely rude to my broker, he said in front of her face that anybody who understands how to use StreetEasy would not use a broker. I feel sorry that this gorgeous building is managed by such a lousy person.
I have to be honest, the building is very nice and seems to be designed efficiently and well done. I was going to lease an apartment here and recently put a security deposit down. As I was getting through the process I started to deal with the leasing manager Michael, who was incredibly unpleasant. There were things promised to me (in email) that were later retracted and so on. Having worked in the commercial real estate industry for years and dealt with numerous leasing agents, I have never dealt with this. I would save your time and look elsewhere as they are a new building which has learning curves on how to deal with a luxury product and the type of service that goes with that.
The owner of the building is either unaware or does not care about the building management. This aloofness goes unchecked every day and has not changed since. I would like to recommend prospective tenants other luxury buildings:- For more luxury, I recommend Sky Residence (605 W 42nd St)- For better pricing, you can take a look at Mercedes House (550 W 54th St) or Via (625 W 57th)- For better location, I would choose Mima (450 W 42nd St)They generally takes days not hours to respond to any complaint or noises, neighbors, etc. They are slow to act and make you feel like a second rate citizen. They will make the whole process of your stay a living nightmare - dissatisfaction guaranteed.Another clear cut example is just see the below responses from management where they copy and paste their response to tenants grievances! You can expect this sort of treatment to residents, if not worse.
My boyfriend and I viewed 5 luxury buildings in midtown west near both our offices.This is the only one of the buildings that has its own tenant website.ARO SucksI lived in a bad building 3 years ago and we created a Twitter page b/c it was quick and free way to get the word out. For these residents to buy a domain and build their own website, is a Giant Red Flag!We heard 2 different tenants complaining at front desk during 7 minute wait for our broker, Michael, who seemed nice. First tenant about filthy windows and second about mucky water out of kitchen faucet remaining for a 2nd day straight.As we toured the gym 2 guys working out were questioning why gym still had drop cloths, ladders, and men working 4 months after they were being charged full price for membership?Inside of apartment looked ok (truth be told windows were dirty though)When Michael took us to rooftop, we paused at corner to admire view. One tenants guest? (Im assuming) told her friend to get back the extra thousands of dollars paid to access a roof deck that always kicks you out before sunset.We spent 30 minutes touring Aro and literally heard upset people complaining from roof top to bottom lobby.No wonder building is still half empty...Sorry Michael doesnt have a better project to sell.
I recently moved into the ARO this month. It was a challenging move as I was simultaneously moving my global headquarters. Yahira and the team at ARO promised me a 3/1 move-in date which was critical for me to logistically meet my other deadlines.Not only did they deliver on time, they have been very prompt to respond to any request or inquiry made since I have occupied the space. The staff at the building is very helpful and pleasant to deal with as well.The building is brand-new and my apartment overseas the NYC skyline. I love my Manhattan apartment and would highly recommend the ARO to other future residents.
A stunningly beautiful place to live in the heart of Mid-Town manhattan. The building is clean and well maintained, the location is amazing, and the building people are friendly. Love it!
ARO is an absolute NIGHTMARE! The management is arrogant, rude, and completely disrespectful. They ignore all emails and correspondences. My experience with ARO has been an absolute horror story and everyone in the LEASING OFFICE should be fired for their inhumane, hateful, and prejudice attitude.Look elsewhere, such as Sky, Silver Towers, or many other Midtown West or Hudson Yards options if you want the location. They offer BETTER units, amenities, and overall service!
The management company Algin are the rudest people, they express NO concern for residents or the maintenance issues we have. I cant believe with the money people pay here, that we get treated so poorly. Staff at the front is very nice, amenities are nice and the physical architecture is pretty (although lots of unfinished stuff from construction, rat traps exposed on the terrace, broken doors). But, everyone has a chip on their shoulder in any management position. If I were a prospective tenant, I would move on and find a building with mgmt who gives a damn.
I went to the OH during the weekdays with my international client with very flexible budget, she wanted to rent for a year while she is looking for a condo to purchase. First, we were greeted by a leasing agent who seemed perplexed to see us there. From our way to the leasing office, she kept on mentioning about requirement and why my client is not qualified to rent there (I ‘ve already done my research before hand and my clients were willing work with building requirements to rectify the issue). In 11 years in luxury real estate, I never had a leasing agent treating my client this way. I finally had to tell her to stop belittling my customers and just show the apartment. When we left the building, my client told me this building can’t pay her enough to live there. It’s sad how fast you can loose business through bad sales tactics.
The leasing office staff were rude and insulting with nearly every comment or answer to a question. For the life of me I do not understand how they would not know that their behavior was unprofessional and unkind.Our showing of the building today was handled by Ada Azarya. She seemed to be very unhappy to show us the amenities and the apartment, moving quickly through the space and impatiently talking about the application requirements to make sure that we knew it would be a waste of her time to show us the units we signed up to see!
AVOID ARO! Poorly managed, poorly maintained (Took 9 months to get clean windows from the original construction) and delusional lease renewal rates. Some design issues included: A/C never functioned properly, exhaust smell issues due to poor HVAC design, paper thin walls, cheap design finishes that dont hold up, the list goes on. Friendly building door staff was the only positive. We moved out after having a terrible experience living here, followed by delusional proposed renewal lease rates, that presumed the same pre-pandemic, pre-covid rental market. TOO MANY other options at this price range, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere- were much happier again living elsewhere!
My team members have been trying to reach out to this building for one or two months. Michael and Yahira, neither of them replied a single word. It’s just disrespectful at this point.Also I was scrolling down the comments and realized that only 1/5 of the comments are positive but this building still get a 3.3 rating. I wonder how much they paid google for this.
Phenomenal building. Visited multiple locations in Manhattan and ARO is by far the best. Yahira at the leasing office helped us through out the whole process. She showed us the apartment multiple times before we committed to it and was always available to answer all our questions. We are looking forward to move into our brand new apartment!
We moved toARO at the beginning of February. I am really surprised to read negative reviews, this building is phenomenal ! I lived in many international cities in Europe and USA, owned and rented, this is the best experience I am having . Service is incredible , stuff friendly and always ready to help. Very well managed. . We couldn’t ask better. :)
Don’t waste your time with leasing agent Michael McGibney. Wasted hours of our time over weeks after verbally approving our offer and then ghosting us through call and email. Extremely unprofessional and rude since we met him for our tour, which he was thirty minutes late and unapologetic for. Stay away at all costs... 0/5
The ARO leasing office is by far one of the rudest I have ever worked with. I was one of the first followers to tour and was looked *up and down* when entering the leasing office. I was scolded by the agent for asking a simple question! The building is overpriced and in the middle of Times Square. If this is any example of how the building will be run, I would look elsewhere. Disappointing. I ended up renting elsewhere even though the rent was higher.
The entire staff at Aro has been exceptional (beginning with Yahira in the leasing office to Bradley at the concierge desk to the building manager). All of the amenities are coming online sooner than I expected and, given the progress that has been made over the past month, I expect the building to be fully operational by the end of next month. It’s an exciting time.
Gorgeous building! Awesome finishes! Phenomenal location! Love the 40,000 square feet of common spaces! Thoroughly enjoyed working with Yahira! She was patient, accommodating at each of our many visits prior to signing, and a pleasure to do business with through the stressful leasing process! Would highly recommend ARO!!
The leasing office NEVER respond to my calls, msgs and emails. If you never pick up the phone or reply to submitted inquiry during office hour, why put the number and form on your website?
This building is a construction nightmare. Move here if you want to pay $4000+ per month to be woken up by perpetual loud construction every day with no peace or quiet enjoyment of your luxury apartment, and if you want to deal with the rudest, most unapologetic upper management staff who doesn’t care about its original tenants who have lived here through and put up with the weeks of broken elevators, broken A/C, horrible scaffolding blocking and causing a flooded entrance, etc. etc. It’s shameful and such a disappointment to deal with so many incessant problems in a brand new, luxury high rise. And when you think the worst is over, then they start up on a new construction project where you get abruptly jolted out of bed every morning with more drilling, sawing and hammering, so loud that it sounds like your ceiling is caving in. I had high hopes that the experience here would improve after the first 6 months of issue after issue but unfortunately it seems to be just one thing after another with no reprieve. I look forward to the day that my alarm clock isn’t drilling and jackhammering and that I can wake up when I choose to.
Was excited about this place, but Yahira at the leasing office is rude and unprofessional. Not only was I forced to reschedule multiple appointments because they weren’t ready to show the building, but the rudeness with which these cancellations were handled was even worse. Waste of time. If this is any indication to how poorly run this building will be, good luck with the headaches future tenants. Hard pass
Ill admit that my experience with Yajaira was the complete opposite of user AM, stated above. Its a brand new building, so its expected to have some delays. Born and raised in Brooklyn, this is pretty normal. You just need a little patience, thats all. Welcome to NYC, AM. :)
One of the best building I ever lived in! The rooftop Pool is amazing! and the view is incredible.
Wow I just got out of the building and the lady was not so much rude but seemed to hate her job. Wasn’t talkative, horrible sales person. The apartment she showed me was not ready but kept saying it was going to be even though it clearly wouldn’t be ready by next week. No thanks
I never lived on the westside before, but this is a great building in a perfect locationThe property agent answered every question and even had some great suggestions about the neighborhood. Rani was a pro and its a first class operation all the way
I love living here - in the center of everything, great views, awesome amenities, tons of spaces to hang out at and just a walk away from bars.
“The Most Unprofessional and Unorganized Place I’ve Ever Worked For”
Reached out to leasing office more than 10 times via call and email and never once did they bother to reply.
Wonderful building - very sociable and tons of amenities and spaces to keep busy!
Very pleasant leasing experience - Yahira was great - and have moved into the building since.
Yah, pretty fortunate to have secured a unit here. Expensive, but the quality is irrefutable. Great place!
Issues were fixed the next day after filling the online request form.
Love it!!!! 5 star property.
EDIT: I just renewed our lease for another year and we are beyond excited to stay at the ARO. Beyond what I mentioned below regarding how amazing the leasing team has been throughout our time here, I have to give a big shoutout to the rest of the ARO team. First, Bradley and Shelley, who manage all the tenant amenities make living here like being on a vacation. They are so sweet, so helpful, and always go above and beyond to make living here a truly unforgettable experience. Additionally, the entire front door staff is top class. Always welcoming us in after a day of work with warm smiles and excitement. We are always in the best mood coming home because of you! Beyond the beauty and luxury of living in this building, it’s really the staff that make us want to stay forever. Please never change. Everyone who works here deserves a raise!! Best building to live in all of Manhattan!Beautiful building, and even nicer staff. Michael was one of the kindest and most helpful leasing agents we’ve worked with. He went out of his way to help and guide us every step of the process! Cannot say enough nice things about him!
Total reviews rating 3.1
56 Reviews for ARO - Midtown West Luxury Rentals 2023:
Review №1
2022-07-02I wish I could give ZERO STARS because this building is a complete nightmare. The concierge is sweet but they allow any and everyone up to your apartment without confirmation. You would think that being a luxury building that it would be well managed and secure but it is by far the worse. The owner should really consider making some big changes to not only the management but security in this building. The management is extremely unprofessional and rude. They never reply to emails or calls. Also, they are overcharging for every little thing. To enjoy the roof you have to pay 2,500 extra a year (this is not included in rent). What’s hilarious is that they’ve included top notch security to access the pool with fingerprint access along with a person there to make sure you’re on the list but when it comes to sending random people up to your apartment they don’t care. I find that extremely odd.Overall it’s a nightmare.
Review №2
2021-07-16I love living at ARO. I am not a staff member and have no incentive leaving this review. I don’t understand why people say leasing isn’t responsive. Michael replied to my emails super promptly. He is so patient and so friendly. Maria at the main office is very professional. This is a very high end building. The cost is commensurate with the level of service and the world class architecture you are living in. The finishes and the infrastructure in this building are at the level of a top level condominium. And I want to mention Bradley, the head concierge who has an I credibly difficult job dealing with hundreds of us crazy people! He is just an absolutely wonderful person. Unlimited kindness and best sense of humour from him. A pleasure saying hello to him in the morning and sometimes having a cocktail at night. I will be here for a long time.
Review №3
2022-06-15LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR YOUR NEXT APARTMENT!I’m staying here in corporate housing for a few months, and I considered ARO for my permanent home. Here’s why I chose to look elsewhere:1) Access to the rooftop costs $2500 a year per person (not per apartment), and that price doesn’t include guests!! If you want to bring a guest, you have to pay $75/guest for a day pass. There is staff at the rooftop that enforces these restrictions. You can’t access any part of the rooftop without paying this fee.2) Even if you pay for the rooftop, you still have to pay for the gym, which is $125/month with a minimum 1 year commitment. I asked the leasing office if they were waiving the fee during the time the gym was closed due to the pandemic, and they said no.3) The leasing agent seemed uninterested during the tour. Besides pricing, I wasn’t given any info about the apartments during the walkthrough. I had to ask questions about basic things that should have been explained during the tour.
Review №4
2022-01-21I liked living in Aro. Mainly because my unit had a balcony where I would have brunch. The building staff is lovely, they were always so nice to me and my dog. Michael and Maria in the leasing office seems to be overwhelmed by their workload. So if you contact them later in the afternoon, you wont get a response. Its better to email them again in the morning to make sure they read your email. Personally, Michael was better in replying to my emails promptly than Maria.I personally had great neighbors and the only downside was noise level (which was moderate but the noise travelled down a rectangular column in the living room from unit upstairs) and ventilation problem whenever downstairs unit cooked something with strong aroma or burned their fish lol. Just know the walls are bit thin since its a rental building not a condo.
Review №5
2022-05-04I moved to NYC a year ago and I chose ARO because of it’s location and aesthetics. One year later, I am seriously considering staying at ARO for the rest of my college years. I want to especially mention Bradley because he is the most passionate, friendly staff you can ever imagine living in an apartment. He is literally the soul of ARO. He and other staff makes living here so pleasurable and warm. Chose ARO if you want the best living experience in NYC.
Review №6
2022-07-02Look elsewhere to live. This building is deceiving. Looks pretty and secure but it’s NOT SAFE. My apartment has been burglarized twice and the security let the robbers walk out the front door with all of my belongings. The management is extremely unprofessional. Took over a week to fix my door since the breakthrough. I’ve written several emails and I’ve made several calls and they do nothing. JUST DISGUSTING the way these people are with their tenants. Would make sense with the amount of money we pay here every month for rent that management would secure their tenants especially after being burglarized with at least fixing the door that was broken the same day or the next. If not figure out the best next option however they treat us as if we do not matter and they’ll get to us when it’s convenient for them. Such a shame. And to think concierge would call to make sure you give consent to each person they allow up to your apartment but it’s the complete opposite. At one point I actually loved living here. But after experiencing this and being treated like this I wouldn’t even give this building a star. If I could give a negative star I would. It’s just horrible. So save your self some time and the headache. Unless you want all of your belongings walking out the main lobby DONT MOVE HERE!
Review №7
2022-05-12Made an appointment with Michael. Just as all the other feedback he didn’t show up or have courtesy to email me before I left work and I had to email him to ask where he was. I asked front staff if we could see anything in the building and they said Michael is busy and he is the sole person who can show the apt building. zero luxury feel to this building with staff, glad I dodged the bullet and didn’t have to interact with him or live here.
Review №8
2022-07-02Don’t bother thinking to move here and make this your home. My floor has been smelling like dog urine for over 6 months now. I’ve made several complaints to management, concierge and maintenance to send someone to come clean the carpet so I could at least breathe and not feel like I want to throw up every time the elevator opens to my floor but they never do anything. So now I feel like I live in a dirty building.To top it off this building is NOT SAFE. Pleaseeeee buy yourself minimum 2 security cameras that sends you alerts if someone enters your apartment and get it installed right away if you live here. These people are letting burglaries happen left and right here and treating it as if it’s normal which is scary.
Review №9
2022-05-21If you don’t want your personal life and business to be made a mockery of, do not live here. Employees tend to expose resident’s private lives and gossip and laughing amongst each other as well as calling the residents cheap on times of gratuity on December.
Review №10
2021-08-21The ARO one of the best rental buildings in Manhattan. I’ve been a real estate salesperson for over 18 years, so I’ve seen a lot of buildings and met a lot of leasing managers when helping clients rent apartments. I can attest to what a great building it is and to the high service level of the staff.Mike McGibney, the leasing manager at ARO, is by far one of the most professional and helpful leasing managers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with in all my years in the real estate business. Mike went beyond the call of duty to help clients of mine secure apartments at the ARO. I was so impressed by him, the building and the service level of the staff, I decided to move to the ARO myself! I highly recommend the ARO!