The Meyden — Local services in Bellevue

I moved in last December after comparing to multiple options in Bellevue downtown. 4 months later, I have to say that I am really happy with my decision. Below are the good things about this apartment complex:

Walkable. Restaurants, grocery stores, parks, water front are all within walking distance, with side walk and fewer traffic lights. It truly make the walk a relaxing stroll.

Accessible parking for visitors. This is a key factor for me. Almost all of the high rise apartments have very complex parking arrangements for guests or insufficient space available even for residents. I don’t want my friends not wanting to visit me just because I have a bad parking situation. Being able to always find a spot to park makes my friends happy, so I’m happy.

Smart space design. It is true that all apartments in this area are small and expensive. Therefore smart space design will make a huge difference when you live in there. Meyden apartment design has properly considered common use cases. For example, 90% of the cabinets in the kitchen are actually useable space, meaning you can put things all the way in and still get them out easily. There’s no dead storage space that makes you scratch your head and wonder what odd things could fit in there. The mobile kitchen island certainly is a big plus. With the island on wheels, you can place it anywhere you see fit.

In unit laundry units plus walk-in storage space. I’m able to put all my miscellaneous stuff in there, and make it a nice entrance closet.

Modern tech integration. From access keys/pad when you need to badge someone in to monthly billing, they adopted technology/apps that work so well. Everything is easy to install, set up and use on a daily basis. Having shared cost ( water, trash, sewerage) on the same bill with the monthly rent makes it easy for me to manage total cost.

Staff support. Meyden is a small apartment complex comparing to other buildings in Bellevue downtown. Having a group of designated professionals to handle your concerns, questions is probably the most valuable thing when you live here. Think about the staff to residents ratio. Then you’ll notice a big difference. Either it’s about a package delivery, something with another neighbor, facility or maintenance request, all of my inquiries got handled by a actual person who knows my name, and issues resolved within 1-2 days. The personal care and attention you receive is incredible and incomparable.

Neighbors. I do like my neighbors even though I only met very few, and mostly limited to small elevator talks. People live here are very considerate for others, keep things quiet. I don’t have better words to describe it, it’s just a feeling that I live in a place that makes me feel comfortable and relaxed.

At last, I do want to offer up my observation and thoughts on the previous resident being charged a large fee at move-out, including a countertop issue. I happened to be the next resident who signed the lease to take over that unit. As I was preparing for my move-in, the maintenance manager notified me that they discovered unexpected damage to the countertop that must be fixed. Since I really like the south facing unit, I told the maintenance manager that it would be ok with it’s something you can fix after I move in. They responded as this: 1) they can’t give the new resident a less than perfect unit, not to mention damages that would affect my daily usage of the space plus inconvenience for me and for repair contractors 2) the fix of the countertop requires a long wait due to labor and other constraints, that unit would be off the market for a couple months or longer. 3) they offered me a bigger/more expensive unit for the same price as an alternative.

My point is that there’s always another side of the same truth depending on your perspective. Meyden apartment is doing their best to balance interests between tenants, cost to run the business, staffing needs during COVID time. From my perspective, I appreciate how they honored their obligations to me as a...

I’ve been meaning to write a review for The Meyden for a while, because I remember I was pretty hesitant about moving here after seeing past reviews. But I need the world to know how great of a place this is, especially for someone like me who was moving from across the country and needed to sign a lease for a place without getting to see it in person. In short, the tour & application process was super easy and smooth, moving in and living there was great, I had a great experience parking my car in the garage, and upon move out I wasn’t charged any fees except a $200 cleaning fee.

First of all they showed me multiple units over video before I leased, sending me numerous pictures as well and answering questions promptly (almost always got replies shortly after emailing). I asked many questions about the various units and about the general leasing process as it was my first time & they were happy to help. The process of applying & getting approved was super quick, I believe I got approved a few hours after applying. Before I moved, I asked if I can ship a couple things to the apartment & they let me do that + also took all the boxes into my unit as they arrived to avoid them getting stolen. They also helped coordinate a way for me to get my keys at 11 pm, because I had a late flight into the city.

Upon moving in, I had absolutely no issues. If I needed something I could go down to the leasing office and ask and there was usually multiple people in the office during business hours willing to help. Or if I had a maintenance issue (I only had 1 or 2 minor things) they came and fixed that within hours of putting in the maintenance request. The fixtures and appliances are super high quality. Every single person I interacted with from the leasing staff to the maintenance crew to the property manager were just so so nice. Giustin, Zach, Jojo, Michael, everyone!! They also had regular events planned for residents that would get posted in the elevator but I didn’t end up going to those. The buildings gym is also open 24 hrs which was nice.

I also got parking for my car, and had absolutely no issues. I felt like my car was safe in the garage, and the parking spots are pretty wide, and the garage is also not too full so I didn’t even have to park beside another car. You get an assigned spot, and I didn’t like my original spot so I asked if I could change it and right away they gave me a new spot. The garage has a gate for additional security from the public parking, and is also well lit so felt safe being there at all times. It’s also really convenient that the garage has tons of public parking spots, because friends can just park in those for 3 hrs for free when visiting. And if they’re visiting overnight the leasing office will give you a pass to allow them to park there for a longer period.

Before moving out I asked if I could extend the lease by a couple days, and the property manager did that for me right away. I ended up needing to change it back to the original date, and he changed it back for me, no questions asked. Upon moving out I wasn’t charged any fees besides a cleaning fee ($200). But I did take lots of pics and make lots of notes during the move in inspection of any pre-existing wear and tear I saw, so I’m sure that helped for me to not get charged for anything I didn’t do. And they really encouraged being detailed in that move in form which was great.

Overall, highly recommend the Meyden!! I ended up moving out after a year to experience living in seattle, but if I was ever back in Bellevue...

The Meyden has the best management group and maintenance team I have ever lived/worked with. Just a few days ago, the apartment above me flooded (due to a negligent tenant, not the building) and water came down through my light fixture into my bathroom. The flooding caused water damage on the ceiling and needed to be fixed. The maintenance team (Joel and Greg) responded to my call at 7:00 am and were at my apartment by 9:00 am on Memorial Day assessing the issue. By the next day, they had already brought in a work crew to determine next steps.

Throughout this process, Joel and his team were extremely professional and courteous of my personal space, and overall very accommodating to me. I have two large dogs and one is aggressive with strangers. I need to go to work but I can’t leave them in the apartment and have people walking in when I am not there. I can’t take my other dog to a kennel because he has kidney disease and can no longer be vaccinated. My life is kind of a hot mess and I’m dependent on my apartment being a safe-haven for them. Management teams in the previous places I’ve lived just tell you “too bad” we need to get in there to work on the damage but the team here is super flexible (within reason, you need to meet them halfway which is more than fair). The communication is consistently solid. They called me to check on times when they could come in and followed through on next steps. I am so impressed. This type of professional communication is normally lacking or nonexistent in other places but The Meyden is nailing it. This really helped to stave off the stress that comes with living alone with large, moody dogs.

In addition to this, the new property manager, April, is phenomenal. I think she’s been with The Meyden for a month now and her interactions and communication style reflect a manager that has been running this place for years. Though the flooding wasn’t my fault, I am still responsible for my dogs, not The Meyden. I asked if she had another place I could keep my dogs while I am at work, since the repairs were most likely going to take another week. I honestly didn’t think they would help me since it’s not their responsibility and my contract specifically states they they are allowed to enter my apartment in emergency situations, but I asked anyway. April saw that I was feeling very stressed about this. Instead of saying “no, we can’t do that”, she checked with her boss and got sign-off to set me up in an empty unit so I could leave my dogs there while I go to work. She even called me that same day from her cell phone while she was working at the other apartment she manages to let me know. She didn’t have to do any of this! She was going above and beyond the base expectations of her job and I couldn't be more grateful.

So here’s the takeaway - Most places treat your apartment likes it’s a office space/business, where they can walk in and out and change things regardless of whether you like it or not - you are expendable to them. The Meyden treats your apartment like it’s YOUR HOME. Though they are still a business, they show great respect for your personal space and they covet responsible and respectful long-term renters. I highly...