Kasa Alexandria Washington — Hotel in Alexandria

Kasa is a chain of apartment accommodations across the USA. We have in the past stayed at their Minneapolis Arrow Apartments in the University area thrice and found it an excellent experience and this one was no different.

Located in Alexandria in Washington DC (in a nice neighbourhood-felt very safe walking around even in the night) it is a bit away from the city but we had our own vehicle so could commute to the centre in 20 mins (public transport is longer - buses take an hour). All Kasa units come with a kitchen with cutlery, cooking utensils a cooking hob, dishwasher and a washer and dryer and this did not disappoint in that respect. The living room was very large and spacious and the 2 bedrooms with 2 separate bathrooms in this unit were decently sized. There were closets in both rooms for keeping bags. The units also come with an iron, etc. Everything was in line with what you expect of a Kasa (wish they could have more units at more places).

The lighting on this unit however, was a bit on the lower side and we would have liked the rooms to be brighter in the night. Also all units normally come with laundry and dishwasher pods but this one was slightly irregularly stocked. Also there was no place to keep the bags so they had to be on the floor which made things a bit inconvenient.

These are however very minor observations and Kasa provides superb value for money. We prefer these apartment type units with more space and the ability to make our own food and this met all our expectations and this would be a go to place for us even in the future. A definite for travellers who prefer apartment style units as against hotels.

Target and Amazon Fresh are a short drive away to stock up and there is paid overnight parking available in the building (at reasonable rates). There is also free parking possible across the main street (a few mins away). We discovered this a couple of days into our stay so parked in the building for 2 nights and 3 nights on the street.

Kasa is an excellent value proposition who want more conveniences than a hotel especially if the stay is 3-4 days-even better value for longer stays and we definitely...

#1) I believe these units have cameras and they are not disclosing that guests are being recorded without their knowledge. I suspect this is illegal. Company appears to be foreign-based and probably doesn’t care

#2) Building is nice and rooms are decent. Communication and check in information also ok though building entry code doesn’t work. You will not get refills of toiletries or any management of maintenance issues.

#3) BEWARE - there are noise sensors installed in every unit set to alert at 80 decibels. The units have no absorptive material - linoleum floors, small cheap rugs, no curtains etc so the echoing with even normal conversation is significant. Additionally, our unit’s sensor was next to exposed ducting that made noise when the AC is on. While out to dinner on our last night in town - therefore the unit was empty - I got repeated alerts that the noise sensor was going off. I was then told to call to acknowledge the alert, which I did with no available agents, sat on hold for multiple minutes before hanging up as I was out at dinner. Then got an alert saying I would be fined $500 if the alert continued to go off and I didn’t respond. Called again - dinner out is ruined at this point - finally reached someone who simply read a script on how the sensors work, ignoring my explanation the unit was empty and the sensor was likely malfunctioning. This representative eventually hung up on me. I then got an email threatening fines about the alerts. I called back again explaining the unit was empty and this issue was ruining our last evening of vacation despite responding by text and phone and enduring long wait times. I wanted this to be a good experience and initially was pleased, but these Big Brother sensors and their inability to manage potential malfunctions coupled with poor customer service was frankly pathetic and I will never use this company again

#4) I need to review all final billing but I suspect they engaged in fraudulent billing practices with buried and...

DO NOT CONSIDER FOR LONG TERM STAYS

My girlfriend and I booked an apartment here for 90 days to stay while we were in between leases. After closing out our current apartment, renting our storage locker, and getting everything settled, Kasa canceled our reservation. Mind you, they had no problem charging us over $8,000 for the stay up front, which we paid. Their customer support did tell us that they will refund us so we will see on that but they were not able to provide any reasoning as to why the reservation was canceled. They said that their algorithm canceled it and they are not able to see any of the data as to why it was canceled. Do not bank on staying here ever, there are far more reliable options and you may lose out on a ton of money due to their sketchy business practices. You have been warned!

Editing my review in response to Kasa's Reply (Original Review Above Remains the Same):

Kasa claims that their trust and safety team emailed me regarding the terms and conditions of the cancellation. This cannot be more untrue.

I did not receive a single email.

I had to call them three separate times before I was able to get in contact with someone.

Their "Trust and Safety team" did not provide any information as to why the request was cancelled nor any terms or conditions. They simply blamed it on their algorithm.

They claim that the reservation did not pass through their system successfully, however, charged my credit card $8,000.

But yes thank you so much for that refund Kasa. If only you can refund the thousands of dollars we are losing by being forced to stay in a hotel because you screwed us out of a reliable 3 month stay.

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