Apartment Review for The Reserve At Eisenhower - Alexandria, VA

We've lived here for over a year now. At first, the Property Managers were HORRIBLE. I mean, the place wasn't painted (though they knew we were painting ourselves) at all. And the pool? We moved in Feb. so it took us 3 months to figure out it was only 4 ft. deep!

The current manager is a bit better, but we've had a broken icemaker since we've moved in. Shoddy repairs too (the aluminum hose connecting our dryer to vent? instead of replacing the tubing, they TAPED IT! Talk about letting the lint fly!). We've had issues with other amenities as well (heat/AC, dishwasher). But those were taken care of.

We've got noisy neighbors. And, nothing is done about them. Because we live in the garden apartments, you get kids waking you up at all hours of the morning, and BBQ'ing/Drinking adults at all hours of the night -- especially in the nicer weather when you just want to sleep with the windows OPEN!

The Police Shooting Range is right nearby and they shoot at any time from 7a-8p. The echo extends all the way to our apartment, even through closed windows. It's annoying! There is also a high population of military personel living here.

We got our bike stolen from the garage last September -- despite it being chained and locked to the bike rack the Reserve provides. We hear that they will be adding more racks soon.

The hallways can use some updating as well and hear they will be starting on that "soon." Also, all the windows are on ONE SIDE of the apartment (2 bedroom, 2 living room and the patio door) -- and there are none in the hallway. Not to mention the paint is dark and lighting insufficient, so it can get a bit suffocating.

The apartments themselves are very nice though. Washer/dryer, ceiling fans, you can paint it whatever color you want too! We've got a balcony, which is nice. The kitchen is roomy (we're in the Arrington, without loft) and we made the small area with the columns into a den/office/library! We haven't been up to the basketball court or tennis court yet but plan to do so this summer. The pool *is* nice, despite only being 4 ft. It gets busy at times...but not during the week! There is a lifeguard on duty during pool hours (11a-8p) per VA law.

There is enough parking, especially now that they are enforcing towing. The upkeep of the grounds is nice (despite a few residents refusing to curb their dogs!). There are BBQ grills in the common areas that are cleaned daily.

We've never had a bug issue either, which is a huge plus in this area. It's metro accessible (they also run a shuttle to and from Van Dorn and Eisenhower -- though the hours are weird) and while on a street with really nothing around, it's also right off 495! We also got a deal on pet rent ($0 for our 2 cats), deposit ($0), and got our rent to stay the same this year -- the housing market was in our favor. Although $1400 *IS* expensive. Not to mention utilities. Luckily, we live in an inside corner and don't have to put the heat on much but it does get steamy in winter! We pay about $150 in utils (washer/dryer, dishwasher, heat/AC, electric and water) not including cable/phone...