Brio — Local services in Bellevue

I’ve been away from brio since earlier this year in a much quieter, nicer part of town. I moved in some months before UDR took it over and it was actually somewhat respectable then. Amenities were free to residents and needn’t be reserved. Fast forward to my final 2 months here, and I was tormented by a couple dysfunctionally drunk and drug-addicted neighbors on the 11th floor who, when they weren’t skipping town, leaving their dogs for dead for several days with no food or water so they’d howl and cry by the door non-stop, were up at all hours of the night fighting and slamming their front door and physically abusing their pets. This place acts like they’re pet-friendly/conscious. They’re not, my neighbors’ place sounded like a puppy mill. They had to threaten these neighbors with eviction only after ignoring several of my complaints and the fact that I’d made several calls to the police. Someone high up (who I shall not name) comped me a few hundred on my penultimate month’s rent to compensate me for damages because I walked into her office on a sick one and on about 3 hours of sleep, but they reabsorbed it when I moved out with a bunch of hidden fees and a cleaning fee. Mind you, when I moved into the unit, the grout on the shower floor was stained fluorescent yellow like somebody used it as a urinal, there a broken wine glass under the bathroom sink, fingerprints all over, and boot prints on the floor from wall to wall. I had to literally scour it before moving in. What nerve to charge me a cleaning fee considering how I received it. The premium you’re paying is just to live on the edge of the city of Bellevue, and believe me when I say it is CHEAPLY constructed from bones to exterior. You’ll smell your neighbors pot smoke and be a party to their nighttime company, music, children, or dogs. If you live on the upper floors and 2 elevators they have lose function, guess who’s walking down potentially 20+ flights of stairs? You could do a lot better for the price of this place and I implore you to look further. I posted a pretty gnarly review once before and told them I’d take it down if they answered my concerns, and they inevitably did, but I so too inevitably paid the aforementioned fees, so I’m back once again to have the final word. UDR, you are hugely unprofessional, and very much a gang of corrupt corporate...

Me and my standard golden doodle lived in a studio apartment on the 22nd floor. I moved out after a year but here are the pros and cons I saw during my life here:

Apartment: Pro: apartment is very clean and everything is functional, the maintenance team is amazing, which is a huge pro. Parking right underneath the building makes is very easy to stay dry in WA. The unit has moisture detection devices under the sink and washer. Con: The noise coming from outside when windows are open are too much, that was one of the big reasons I moved (keep in mind I was on the 22nd floor) construction is constantly happening around so dust buildup is a real thing. There are a lot of charges that will get added to your monthly bill other than your rent, like parking, sewage… Another con is that being on the 22nd floor I feel like I spent half my life waiting for the elevator. They keep going out of service and the wait gets very long. The power also went out for 2 days so me and my dog had to walk 22 floors up and down. The air conditioning fan is almost always on and it’s automatic to keep the moisture low, there is a pro with that, that you will not have mold. The con is that the our gets so dry in the unit that gets annoying. I was ok with that though since I never had mold. Also grabbed shoot is always locked because someone left the door open, which means neighbors put their garbage in the shoot room, so that gets nasty. Wasn’t a bug issue for me. I kept it in my apartment till the door opened up.

Amenities: Pro: There are very cool facilities like the pool, dog wash and pee area, gathering area, gym… Con: the dog pee area smells horrible, puddles of pee under the stones so it splashes when the stone tilts as you walk on them, so my dog didn’t even pee there. But there is a nice park near there to go to. Also the areas like the theater or gathering areas are very expensive to rent out and I personally never used them(also dogs are not allowed anywhere except the dog wash are)

All in all, It’s a decent place to live but biggest cons for me where the noise and the constant issues with the elevator. I would not recommend since you can get much better prices in other buildings...

Update 1: I've dropped my review score because of significant issues since I originally wrote the review. For one, the elevators and front gate have consistently had problems that cause inconvenience. Right now the parking gate is being worked on so no cars can enter or leave the garage for half the day. Additionally, the amenity areas have become pay-to-use. In other words, in order to utilize the sport court, sky lounge, etc, you need to pay enormous hourly fees.

Update 2: I just received my lease renewal and the price went up $510, an increase of over 25%, despite the same room layout on two of the higher floors being currently offered at a much lower price. That is absolutely unacceptable and in most states would be illegal due to rent increase limits.

Update 3: All units will have water and Internet unavailable between 3:00pm and 2:00am next week. This sort of inconvenience is common at Brio and is part of the reason I've begun planning to get out of here.

Update 4: I just had a package stolen yesterday that was a gift. This is very upsetting and when talking about the issue with a friend who also lives at Brio, apparently package theft is common, and I've attached a photo of ripped open stolen packages in the stairwell I came across. Beware.

Original review: I've had an outstanding experience signing with Brio. Michael from the leasing office was outgoing with providing a tour of several units in addition to amenities. While I arrived skeptical as to whether or not I would sign, within one hour I committed to a unit. The amenities, unit layouts, finishes, and polished experience sold me within minutes. Additionally, the leasing office has gone to great lengths to make signing and move-in hassle free. I'm glad Brio has arrived to usher competition to downtown Bellevue's...