I have lived at the La Reine for a little over one year and love it here! When looking for a home in the area (Chevy Chase DC), I found that the rents here were a little higher than other area buildings, but felt it was worth it for what I wanted. The building is from the 1920s and retains that charm inside and out. Great architecture, high ceilings, wood floors, glass door handles, French doors to the kitchen, etc. In addition to the charm, the building was redone not long ago, complete with
...new kitchens (solid surface counters, glass front cabinets, stainless appliances). The kitchens are very sweet and use space well. There is a small gym onsite (just a small fee to get the fob and then no charge) and the neighborhood is great for running if you prefer the outdoors. It's also close to a small commercial strip that is convenient: groceries, pharmacy, library, small historic movie theater, and a few restaurants. It is relatively quiet for DC, but I like that. Management was helpful during move-in and has been extremely responsive to maintenance requests (although there have been few). I have had NO pest issues, but keep my unit very clean. My unit is bright, breezy with the bay windows open, and sunny. The windows are newer and help with the street noise when closed. I haven't had significant issues with noise from other units, but may just have quiet neighbors. Generally, tenants seem to be the responsible and respectful type---I feel very safe and have had no issues. My only complaints come with an older building---heating system is old, cooling is through window units. The bathrooms are mostly original and could use updating (although clean, freshly painted when I moved in). With regard to location, Friendship Heights Metro is walkable (~.7 miles), but the roads to get there are dark/deserted at night, so I typically only walk to Metro during the day. There is a garage for a fee. I always find street parking, usually within a block or so, but sometimes I am 2 blocks away depending upon time of day. I renewed my lease and would recommend the building highly!! Beautiful historic building!
