Olympus

Management changes every year, from bad to worse. The building is old, so the ongoing projects to renovate and upgrade the building will impede your ability to be happy at the property. From hot water, to parking garages, windows, elevators, you are constantly inconvenienced and management doesn't care what hoops you have to jump through to get through your day. I have had zoom events in my apartment and the renovation downstairs was so loud, that eventually I had to discontinue having those meetings. This went on for 6 months and affected my livelihood. You barely get a sorry from management and never an apology, never! There are new buildings in the area that don't require renovation with great management teams that care about your well being.

Reasonably nice location however the property and service are now severely lacking. Building is showing its age and upkeep of public spaces and lobby are lacking. Street-level entry ways are frequently dirty as are elevators. Security is an issue; numerous on-site storage thefts, unauthorized garage entry with some theft, and non-residents accessing secure areas. While management can't be accountable for the city's crime and homeless issues, they are responsible for adjusting security when needed, which they have been very slow to do, and their resolutions have been largely inadequate/effective. The leasing team seems to change like the weather in Seattle, and community leadership/management is pretty much hands-off; you're on your own, including calls and emails to Equity Residential corporate. Some concierge agents are friendly, others seem bothered by residents; they are essentially door greeters with no other "real" concierge duties. Highly transient resident population, fueled by short-term leases of Amazon and other tech folks, so look elsewhere if you want to get to know your neighbors - these folks don't want to know you. Community amenities are severely lacking compared to other properties, which furthers the case against their premium rent pricing. These issues are a reflection of the parent company, Equity Residential - just check out the reviews for their other properties in Seattle. It's a shame - was once great.

I moved into Olympus Apartments in July 2020 and I have always faced issues with the services provided by the apartment. One of the elevators in my tower is off/under maintenance for many months and the second one just stopped working many times. I have lost multiple packages from the locker room which is always open to everyone. There were issues with the parking lot and multiple break-ins (for which we pay a considerable amount every month).My apartment had roaches problems and even after 5 pest control treatment, it still had issues. And whenever I talked with concierge people or leasing people or the manager, they are always rude to me and refuse to talk about problems saying "we are not responsible for the building". If you are planning to move you will be frustrated because of these issues.

My wife and I were tenants at Olympus 1 starting in 2019 to the start of 2021. The property suited our needs for location, fitness center, community space, concierge, security, and accommodations. The concierge team was spectacular and tenured until a new property manager came onboard in 2020. Gradually the entire concierge team turned over and it’s been a revolving door ever since. The maintains team is very good. Sales has also turned over several times. The sales team could be good, but they lacks leadership from the property manager. The amenities, especially the fitness center, was shutdown in March 2020 with COVID and never reopened. Rents were not adjusted for the reduced amenities. We did not press the subject more than to ask to rent some equipment which was denied. Communication between management and tenant is spotty and often requires prompting. Requests are typically denied, so we gave up bothering management and simply lowered our expectations. The building has had several break ins and thefts, but not improvement to surveillance has been made. We had our storage locker broken in twice. Do not expect to get your security deposit returned at the conclusion of your lease term. They have fees such as $100+ sewer charges, $80 carpet cleaning charges (after we professionally cleaned the carpets), $200 maid charges (even though we left the unit spotless), etc. They care more about nickel and dimeing tenants than making tenants feel valued and it comes from the top. I would recommend Savannah, she is cheerful and friendly, and all the gentlemen in maintenance. There appears to be a great deal of turnover of tenants at Olympus, availability is on the rise, and rents are going down. If they simply take care of there tenants from the top down, they would probably drive occupancy and rental prices more.

I lived at the Olympus for a year and half - it is without question one of the best places to live in Seattle. The apartments are very well maintained and the facilities are fantastic. The seating areas are great if you have a large party and the courtyard between the buildings is really serene. The Olympic Sculpture Park is literally your backyard - i've spent many summer evenings watching stunning sunsets at the park. All the people in the community are super friendly. Belltown and Pike's place is so easily accessible. What sets the place apart is the staff - they are friendly, professional and very social. Cliff, Felipe and the leasing staff are alway super helpful. The concierge director Lexi organized so many fantastic events - game nights, trivia nights and holiday parties. Lexi and her staff set a high bar for professionalism and friendliness. The maintenance staff are always on time and any work they've had to do in my apartment has been impeccable. It is easy to make friends here with the other residents and staff. If you are moving to Seattle, this is a no brainer.

My roommate and I lived at Olympus for 2 years. We had some negative experiences-I warn anyone to PLEASE look anywhere but Equity Apartments (I have rented 3 other apartments in Seattle from other companies-all amazing). Here is a list of some of the things that went wrong: -The elevators are broken frequently. -Our ice maker and shower never worked properly. We put in service requests and they never were able to fix it. -We had a security scare inside the apartment garage and emailed the leasing staff about it. We never received a response after emailing twice. -We had a water leakage from the apartment above one night around 3 am. I had bathroom water throughout my room (including my bed) and my dresser had permanent damage. I never received an update about the situation until I called Equity themselves (after emailing and calling Olympus for 36 hours). I had to go to upper management just to receive a response. -I had an Olympus staff member walk into my apartment while I was there trying to give a tour before I moved out. -When we were moving out, we had miscommunication regarding the end of our lease. We asked for it to end 11 days earlier so we would not have to pay for December. We thought that was a fair concession after the issues above and never negotiating for anything else. We had it in writing, but we were still charged for the December rent. We were told the wording of the email did not state that, even though it was a follow-up from a verbal conversation. I advise that if you do rent at Olympus and negotiate anything, please get it in writing that explicitly states what the agreement is (I would even have them sign it). I am only writing this because there are so many options in Seattle, I would not support a company like Equity. They are greedy and do not care about their residents. For the Olympus, it is dated and feels 20 years older than it is. There are many new apartments in the same price range that are much better value for your money in terms of service and the actual apartment. Also a lot of new apartments have a lot of concessions or room to negotiate, so please consider those. Thanks!

Olympus is awesome if you're lucky enough to score one of the penthouses or get an apartment in the West Tower with an unobstructed view of Puget Sound/Rainier/Olympic Mountains. The sculpture park is right next door which is perfect for walking dogs and exercising (plus general Seattle people watching which is always interesting). The staff puts together a decent number of (fun) events which makes me feel like management really cares. Rent increases are pretty strange and high.. they base their pricing off of the Chicago rental market as that's where Equity's headquarters are located, so be aware if you plan to re-sign your lease after one year. The amenities are so-so. The gym is pretty basic but functional, although they recently got rid of the sauna/jacuzzi. Some units could definitely use some work but I've been told they are undergoing upgrades. Staff is really nice and friendly, but you do have to put yourself out there for them to learn who you are/your name - even if you are in one of the most expensive units. Overall, I recommend the Olympus if you're looking for a quiet, clean building in a great location!

My only regret is that Seattle weather is not Seattle weather right now. Sunny & 90...this is not good without AC. However, our location is perfect. We are close enough to walk to everything, but we are not saturated with tourists. We have an awesome gym in our building. Plus, our concierge service is amazing. This is a great complex, we even have a book-sharing area. Also, we are currently collecting school supplies for the upcoming semester.

You get what you pay for! The location is great, right next to the sculpture park. It is a quiet, relaxing apartment building that is well-kept with polite neighbors and feels very safe. But note that Water, Trash Removal, Sewer is definitely not "Free" at all (as stated on the apartments.com page) - its just billed separately & W/S is sub-metered. Office staff are nice, the place is always clean and maintained & they organize a lot of community events. Many units have great views but can be hot (no a/c below floor 10, nothing fans & curtains can't fix) and all have washer/dryers in unit. The Alaskan Way train noise is a non-issue for me, don't even notice it and consider it a nice trade-off for the view & location.