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Residents in apartments connected to Ritz-Carlton, Denver: We've been without hot water for months

Who's responsible for water issues? It's murky
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Editor's note: Contact7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need our call center could address, or have a story idea for our investigative team to pursue, please email us at contact7@thedenverchannel.com or call (720) 462-7777. Find more Contact7 stories here.

DENVER — You work hard, save your money and move into the "ritziest" apartment you can afford only to have cold water dumped on your high-rise dreams.

That's what viewer Chris Johnson (not his real name) tells Contact7 he's going through with The Apartments at Denver Place.

Residents there appear to be caught in a power struggle involving one of the swankiest hotels in town, the Ritz Carlton,Denver.

Johnson has a good job, lives close to his work and has an apartment with a stunning view.

"I pay over $1,500 per month," he said.

But that cost and the views can be deceiving.

"Because there's never any hot water," Johnson said.

He says his $1,500 a month for what is marketed as a luxury high rise can't even buy a hot shower.

"Since July, I've probably had 10 hot showers," Johnson said.

Johnson’s email inbox from management confirms the problem. More than 60 subject lines reading, "Water update,” "Hot water outage," "Water back on,” "Water will be off tomorrow," and the list goes on.

The emails date back to August 2017.

"I can't remember when the last time was my mirror in the bathroom actually fogged up," Johnson said.

And he's not alone.

Review after review on Google Reviews roasts the apartment building.

"If you are lucky and there is water, it's certainly not warm enough to take a shower," one review reads.

RL writes, "You know what's great for $1700/month... zero water dawn-dusk."

And Danielle writes, "...we are told to just expect 'peak shower times' to not have hot water. As part of the Ritz Carlton, I expected way more out of this place."

That's right. The apartments occupy the same building as the Ritz Carlton, Denver, just on different floors.

Denver7 reached out to the leasing office and Waterton - the property management company for Denver Place.

"We continue to work on our residents' behalf," a spokeswoman for Waterton said. "We don't manage the common area interest, which includes the hot water supply."

Continuing our search for answers - we reached out to the Ritz. It put the blame back on Waterton.

“The Ritz-Carlton, Denver does not operate the Denver Place Apartments,” said Kimberly Pomerantz with the Ritz-Carlton, Denver.

Johnson just wants real answers.

“Because I felt the situation wasn't getting any better and no one cared,” he said. “And I felt like maybe they're too comfortable and set in their ways."

Denver7 is committed to finding out who's truly responsible here.

"Especially with winter coming,” Johnson said. “It's definitely concerning."