The apartment itself is a fair size for a one-bedroom. It has parquet wood floors, a walk-in closet in the living room, as well as a closet in the bedroom, next to the bathroom, and by the front door. The kitchen is very small (two people barely fit, and only if they are coordinating the cooking) and the appliances are very, very old. The apartment only has a small in-window air conditioning unit in the living room, which really doesn't do too much in DC summers. During the winter, the radiators
...constantly clang and bang and make noises throughout the day and night, off and on. (Just when you think you're going to sleep...BANG and you're awake again.) The building itself is very old and you are not supposed to take care of even very small things like a clogged drain, as it might damage the pipes. Instead, you have to call for a grumpy maintenance man to come fix it for you. They have about 10 washers and 10 dryers in the basement, though more often than not there is one person hogging about 4-5 of each machine and/or a couple of each machine that are out of service (though you don't know until you put your clothes in because they never put up a sign). The service elevator is the only one that goes all the way down into the basement and it is PAINFULLY slow. The staff keep the halls and common areas fairly clean, though it is clearly all very old and could definitely use a renovation (the red carpeting in the hallways always make me think of The Shining!). The staff at the Front Desk are mostly nice, but can be rude at times. The online portal to pay rent has never worked for me, which is very inconvenient. The landlord himself is almost always busy and never wants to talk to people when they ask--it took him weeks to confirm that he had switched the lease from my old roommate's name to my own. He can be quite rude and off-putting, but overall does not bother us.The location of this building, however, is excellent. It is blocks away from a brand new, large Giant grocery store, nice restaurants, and small shops. It is about a mile away from more nice restaurants and Whole Foods in either direction on Wisconsin Avenue, as well as about 2 miles from Georgetown and about 1.5 miles from Friendship Heights/Bethesda. It is situated right across from the National Cathedral and has many bus lines along Wisconsin Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, so that getting to public transport is hardly ever a problem.The location is the sole reason I have stayed for 3 years.
