Dorchester Apartments

Staff is extremely rude doesn’t matter if it’s property manager or maintenance staff. We have been here for almost 2 years and every single week is a new problem with water pipes and walls getting moldy as well as cracks in the ceiling. They apparently were doing “check ups” to all apartments to resolve small issues so they can fix it on time before it gets worst. Well that’s not the case. They ignore all your concerns and complaints and will have someone come in and look at something you complained about a month after you have complained. Our bathroom and tubs are constantly getting clogged and it’s not because of our fault. All we do is shower and use the restroom as needed. Every time we call they come in pissed accusing us it’s our fault when in reality this place is just very old and needs to be updated. DO NOT MOVE HERE!

Interactions with management are frequently unpleasant. They are nice when you want to move here, but act like they hated that you did! They can be rude. They talk down to you. They are constantly argumentative and defensive. It is really unpleasant living somewhere you don't feel welcome. It is a shame because otherwise I think the property is fine. Change management!

I was calling for my friend today and the front desk person was rude and said "we don't take surveys." I was just typing the info down for my friend. Because of the attitude this place provided, I won't recommend this place.

Pros: -Angelique in the office is very nice and helpful (at least when you first move in). -The grounds are pretty and well-maintained. The bunnies in the yard are cute. -The units (appliances, etc) are good quality for the price of rent, and utilities are included. Cons: -The parking lot is EXTREMELY narrow and difficult to park in, and the lack of assigned spots means that sometimes the lot is full and you have to park elsewhere if you get home late. -The pest control issues are what drove us out. It started with the cockroaches ("they're just waterbugs wandering in from the rain, they'll go back outside when the weather changes!"), then the spiders, then the beetles ("we've never encountered those before!"), then the rolly-pollies, then the centipedes. But really, it was the bed bugs that were the last straw ("All apartment complexes have these problems"). Six visits from the exterminator in the first two months of living there did not help, and the problem grew persistently worse. They essentially admitted they had no plans to fix the problem, and said that they could move us to a different unit, but since it would be on the first floor the problem probably wouldn't improve (weird if we were the only unit with serious pest problems as they told us). -Michael, the manager, to whom I attribute all the above quotes. He seems very nice and helpful on the surface until you realize that he's lying through his teeth about everything. He assured me that our (spotless) unit was astonishingly the only one encountering any pest problems. When I pointed out the online reviews mentioning bed bugs going back several months, he explained that when he said they had never experienced these problems before he meant that our UNIT had never had these problems before (?????). When I pointed out that bed bugs (and all other insects) can travel between units, he told me I was wrong and I could ask an exterminator if I didn't believe him (I asked an exterminator. Bed bugs COMMONLY travel between units and infest entire buildings). As a side note, he uses the Dorchester Apartments Twitter account as his personal Twitter and wrote a review of the staff (read: himself) on their Facebook page, which is just weird. I'm sad because this is a property with so much potential, but you can only wake up with bed bug bites and a cockroach next to your head so many times before a place becomes uninhabitable.

DONT MOVE HERE!! Do yourself a favor.I lived here for a year and half. I hated it so much I left in the middle of my second year contract. Where should I start...well first off the management, Mike is the manager and he is so rude and condescending I don’t know how he even has such a job. You would think he was a problem solver and peoples person because of his position? NO. He actually told me he didn’t know who I was because I needed to be let in to my apartment after locking myself out after living at Dorchester for 8 months. Not to mention I was charged for it. There were some men maitnance who would stare and give weird vibes when I would have my girlfriends over. But the final reason or the last straw was the mice. There were three at one time in my apartment. I even saw one climbing the wall one night. they say they “fixed” it but nope, I didn’t know a person who didn’t have one in their apartment it was insane so I left. The only good thing about this place was Bob and Edit across the street. Honestly there are many many properties in Arlington this is not worth the money. I hated my experience here. I wish I contacted corporate,I wonder if they know all the disrespect that’s going on.

There are BED BUGS issue. Families with small kids can not use the pool. The manager is very rude. Stay away!

I've lived in this apartment for about a year and absolutely love it. As with any place, there are pros and cons, but for me, the pros far outweigh the cons. Pros - Excellent price for the location. Wonderful neighborhood, within walking distance of lots of shops including a Giant grocery store, various restaurants, and a great cinema drafthouse. Free parking for up to 2 cars (pretty rare in this area). No rent for cats, and you can have up to 2 cats per apartment (unfortunately, no dogs are allowed; I have not looked into any other animals, like birds or fish). There's a nice pool with lifeguards on duty all summer that is free to use and allows 1 guest per tenant. Very quiet, despite being located directly on Columbia PIke, which is a pretty busy road. The grounds are very well maintained and look beautiful all year round. All utilities are included with the exception of internet, which is amazing for this area. Maintenance requests are dealt with very quickly (I have put in a few in the mornings and they are fixed by the afternoon). Management is very communicative about what is going on in the complex, such as exterminators coming in, events coming up, or repairs being made to the buildings or parking lots. Visitors can park for free during the day (they cannot stay parked overnight or they will be towed, or so I've heard). The apartments all have central AC and ceiling fans in the bedrooms, which is a huge plus during the summers. Cons - Laundry facilities are onsite, but cost money (not uncommon for the area, but annoying; as far as I know, there are no units with washer/dryer in them). The parking spots are very narrow, so if you drive a big car, people are going to ding the sides when getting into/out of their cars. No balconies in any of the apartments (some on the ground levels have little patio areas). I honestly love my apartment and am renewing my lease to stay for another year. The tenants seem to run a pretty wide gambit, with some college students, some families with young children, some senior citizens, and everything in-between. It seems like it fits the needs of just about everyone. I definitely recommend this place if your looking for a nice, quiet place within walking distance of a great community.

For the price you pay for an apartment in this part of Arlington I think it's very reasonable and the area is great. There's a fantastic restaurant/theater, some great pubs and and pretty killer burrito stand all nearby. The Pentagon and Pentagon City are both within walking distance and the bus system here is pretty reliable. The place itself is pretty nice and has a work out room so I save money from the gym. Honestly, it's really great and I highly recommend the place. Almost forgot, it has free parking.