Crystal House — Attraction in Washington

I'm moving out once my lease is up. Overall, the day-to-day staff that you interact with (concierge, maintenance) are perfectly nice people and get their job done. I've not had the problem of having packages stolen (don't know how that works considering packages are delivered straight to the concierge). I've not had issues with mice or bugs, like some reviewers have (my guess: if you're closer to the ground or a certain part of the building, you'll have more of those problems).

The negative or annoying I've experienced: I've lived in CH both in a studio and a two bedroom with a roommate. There's way too much variability in the appliances. My oven in my tiny studio was great, but my current one will set off the smoke detector (without smoke - I presume carbon monoxide ?) If you put the oven at 400 degrees or higher. The counter space in the studios are so tiny to be almost unusable, and the one I lived in had no drawers.

The HUGE problem with living here is the AC. To their credit, it's not CH's fault that Virginia has state laws that requires them switch to heating/cooling at certain times of the year, and for 1-3 weeks a year it's downright uncomfortable, especially in the Spring. Having said that, there's no incentive for anyone to be moderate in their AC use - your bill is determined by the total building energy bill divided by the number of rent paying tenants. I don't know if it was inflation or what, but I don't think this was always the case as my power bill jumped big time in the summer/fall or 2022, relative to 2021.

There are good things about living here, and I'll list them. They're the reason I'm not giving it 1 star. It's close to metro. You can feasibly live car free here (I have). Restaurant row is great, and as long as you're using starry or fios (not Xfinity), you can WFH comfortably. This is a great apartment if you're just breaking into the area as young working professional.

But.

It's going downhill, it's probably not worth what you're paying. Whenever there's a weird technical problem, especially one that's predictable, management doesn't care to work with you. They're currently breaking in a new payment portal and they keep saying it's working or you can do this and that, when you can't. My toilet broke during this, and I couldn't submit a maintenance request. And I told them for a week beforehand that nothing is working and they didn't really care to work with me or instead patronize me with false information.

In short, Amazon bought and donated to the county some committed affordable housing to offset their effect on the market in the neighborhood. That's great! But the recent property management transition basically implies that they don't care about the wellbeing of this property anymore. I've lived here 3 years and haven't been late on rent and that means nothing to them.

It's as if the leasing office and management has no idea how to deal with something outside of the routine. It's infuriating. Talk to me like an adult, not a child. I obviously have the ability to pay and I understand obstacles, but I don't want to carry around a $1000 cashier check in a neighborhood that just this week had some teenagers rob people by whole foods. To be clear, I feel safe in the neighborhood, but like DMV crime right now, it's not at a historically high rate but it's randomness can make you paranoid.

So yeah, if rent was $300-500 cheaper (as it was during the pandemic when I moved in - my studio was about $1500 and now is probably around $1800), i would say you're getting what you're paying for. But between variability of appliances and pest control (not that I've had to deal with it), an increasingly apathetic management that treats tenants like children, and a building that definitely shows its age, I'm not sure if it is.

You can find better quality apartments for similar (albeit more expensive) prices in the same neighborhood. CH is a couple hundred dollars/month cheaper in price but probably $1000/month...

Crystal house review

TL; DR Crystal House is an excellent place to live. 10/10 would rent again.

Background: Below is a comprehensive review of my 2 year stay. I would like to preface that this is my experience and that other residents may have differing experiences or situations that would provide conflicting reviews.

LEASING: Like many young professionals, I had gotten a job in DC. However, I didn’t want to live in DC because of the crazy expenses (and I wanted my vote to count). On the other hand, I didn’t want to live too far from the DC area. Crystal City was the perfect compromise. A college friend who had also moved to DC and lived at Crystal House recommended the place. After my first tour, I was sold.

Scott Kelly, the leasing specialist, was very attentive. He took note of my preferences and tailored the tour to highlight aspects that I wanted to have. The leasing office is conveniently open seven days a week - perfect for people who have various commitments. They were also extremely flexible with my move in dates, even going so far as to line up with my previous complex’s move out date so I wouldn’t have to double pay rent for two different places.

PRICE: One of the largest concerns for me is rent. I was quite surprised of the total rent. Rent is decent compared to the DC area as well as other complexes in the Crystal City area. Utilities (with the exception of wifi/cable) are all bundled in one cost with rent so paying it is extremely hassle-free from the resident portal. Parking, depending on what option you get (surface, garage, covered), is not too overly expensive.

AMENITIES: Crystal House has a wide range of amenities; I will break down further below.

-Concierge: Yes, their concierge is actually 24 hours. For both buildings. The concierge has always been very helpful and friendly with me whenever I have requests.

If you have a delivery, you’ll get an email. You’ll go to the front desk and they’ll verify who you are with your apartment number and ID before you sign for the package. With package thieves and porch pirates, this is a safe alternative. The concierge will be there to unlock doors (we have fobs and not actual keys so if you leave your apartment without it you have to have someone unlock for you).

Concierge makes it easier for you to move. They check out carts and dollies all the time. There is a separate cargo elevator from the main elevators in each building for your convenience.

-Maintenance: The maintenance folks have been very easy to work with. You submit a request over the online portal and someone will fix or address your issue relatively soon. They are attentive and responsive and almost all issues are resolved within 24-48 hours. If not, you can always go to the leasing office and they will send someone right away.

-Parking: There are three types of parking - surfaces , garage, and underground. Each one in increasing cost. I opted for surface parking and have not had significant trouble finding parking. On the other hand, the surface level parking is EXTREMELY spacious. A major concern I had before moving over here was the scant options for parking. Crystal House completely mitigates those concerns.

-Gym/Yoga room: I did not use the Yoga room but I did use the gym often. It’s not a very spacious gym but it gets the job done.

-Swimming Pool: They have a pretty convenient swimming pool, located between both buildings. It is manned when it is open.

COVID-19: Crystal House has done an excellent job with mitigating COVID-19. They have limited riders in elevators, plexiglass for concierge, social distancing requirements, and signs requiring residents to wear masks.

In summation, I was very pleased with my stay. I wished I could have stayed longer and I will definitely consider leasing if I am ever coming back to the area. I want to pass an extended thanks to everyone in the leasing office and concierge who helped to make my experience at Crystal...

I’m writing to express my concern regarding the clogged bathroom in our unit. It has been 5 to 6 days since the issue began, and despite visiting the leasing office to report it, no one has come to fix it yet. It’s been 6 days now , When I followed up again, I was told this is not considered an emergency because there is a second bathroom in the unit. However, I would like to clarify that we are two separate roommates, not a family, and we value our privacy. The apartment was rented as a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with the understanding that each tenant would have access to a private bathroom. Sharing a single bathroom for this long is not only inconvenient but also uncomfortable—especially during late hours when we are sleeping and when we may need to use the restroom and don’t want to disturb each other. What might not seem like an emergency technically still deeply affects our quality of life , peace and right to privacy. I was told day before yesterday “ on Thursday “ that “it is not an emergency but still the maintenance will come today to fix it , it’s been 6 days now no one has showed up till now and it’s Saturday . I kindly request that this issue be treated with more urgency and respect . The delay has been disappointing and, frankly, feels very disrespectful the way management has treated, given how long we’ve waited and the impact it’s having on our daily routine. I’ve been living in this apartment since 2023, and I’ve never had a problem like this before. The previous management team was helpful, respectful, and cooperative. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the current management. The way this situation has been handled feels very disrespectful and dismissive. I’m disappointed that our concerns are not being heard or addressed with the urgency they deserve. I am paying for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit, and it is not acceptable to be told that having only one working bathroom is fine for several days. This issue has occurred multiple times now, and while I don’t know if other tenants are experiencing the same, I want to express that, from my perspective, the current management’s response has been extremely disappointing and unprofessional. Over the past two years, the management at this building has significantly deteriorated. It’s become clear that they are neither attentive to residents’ concerns nor professional in handling issues. This is now my third year living here. In 2023, when problems arose, the administration was responsive and provided timely solutions. However, things changed after I moved to a different unit last year. Since then, I’ve encountered multiple issues, none of which were resolved despite several attempts to get help. I had hoped that the situation would improve this year, but unfortunately, it has only gotten worse. The current management’s lack of accountability and poor communication are unacceptable. A clear example of this is my current issue—when I followed up on it, the leasing manager told me it’s not considered an emergency and that I simply have to wait until they choose to address it. This level of disregard for residents’ well-being is deeply disappointing and disrespect.

I’ve read many comments, and the common response from the management team is that there’s now a new company in charge, operating under the name Avenida 5. However, that’s not the only issue. Some of the same people—particularly the managers—are still working under this new company, and they are the ones responsible for providing solutions and assisting residents. Unfortunately, they continue to demonstrate a lack of professionalism. At this point, I imagine my roommate won’t be able to use her bathroom until the administrative manager decides to send maintenance, or until the leasing manager feels it’s the “appropriate” time to address the maintenance needs of...