I recently visited the Gopalan Grandeur apartments at Hoodi Circle with the intention of purchasing an apartment from a renowned builder. Had gone through the various reviews posted here but thought I would see for myself(how bad could it be;) My experience can be best summarized via the below points.
1) The first thing that struck me was the dark dirty yellow colour at the base of each apartment block as someone pointed out in one of the other reviews. The brochure showed something entirely different than the view which unfolded in front of my eyes.
2) The brochure showed the flats in a decent light brown/dark brown combination with greenery all around but what you see when you get there is light yellow/dark yellow combination which gives the feel of a sarkari colony.
3) There is concrete running all over the complex with little boxes of greenery thrown in here and there. There is no sign of palm trees anywhere. I read in one of the responses here that this has been done to allow easy access for fire engines but surely that can be done in a manner which keeps aesthetics in mind as well. After all I am sure other leading builders are just as concerned about the residents safety and their reputations but you don’t see such a sight in any of those.
4) The flat itself was very spacious(3BHK at 1925 sq ft) and had ample balconies. But one thing which I noticed immediately was that most of the walls of the flat were not straight but slightly slanting. This could be easily made out by the width of the tiles.at different points along the same wall. How tough can it be to make a straight wall! We were told that it was too late to fix this since the construction was mostly complete and even the tiles were in place.
5) There were cracks on some of the walls and seepage in some places leading me to suspect the construction quality as well.
6) The lifts we took to reach the apartment were filthy and had peeling paint and graffiti.
To summarize, the visit was a total waste of time and the apartment is not worth it for the price being asked by the builder(more than Rs 3200 per sq foot). I understand that the Resident’s association has taken over maintenance but I guess there is little even they can do to give the complex a facelift.
My advice would be too look at the other apartments in the vicinity and I am sure we can find a better deal. As for this apartment complex, I do hope that the builder takes note of these comments and improves the exteriors of the complex. After all, first impression is the last impression:)