Stella Apartments — Local services in Landover

I just wanted to give an honest review of my experience living here to help other prospective residents make a decision. I’ve lived here for two months so far. Please see my review of the pros and cons of living here:

Pros: My initial impression of the apartment is that it is quiet and clean and the staff seem to know and care about their residents. This is especially true of Kash, the leasing professional and Nigel, the Assistant property manager. They are friendly and attentive and actively try to address resident concerns. I also feel that the community aspect of the building is a plus. They regularly have events for residents which isn’t something every apartment community does. I also really like the presence of police as a single woman. I’ve never felt in danger at night which is great! The location is a plus if you are regular commuter into DC like I am. The metro station is literally a 5-10 minute walk which is a major plus for me and what motivated me to move here.

Cons: Parking: If you are regularly relying on a vehicle or you have multiple cars you need to park…I wouldn’t move here. The parking garage is NOT owned by the building and managed by third party, meaning they will tow your car for any reason and at any time AND will not inform you that the car is gone. I was towed twice in the same week the first week I moved in. I had to fork over $350 in towing fees. I am appreciative that they reimbursed me for the towing through a rent credit, but I have never again really felt comfortable parking my car in that garage. I believe the property management is aware of the situation, but I haven’t seen anything done to improve signage in the garage or even inform residents when their car is being towed. I also feel uncomfortable having guests, there is nowhere for them to park except in that garage that regularly tows people. It actually feels like extortion. Also, I’ve had more than a few instances where my parking pass no longer works and I wasn’t able to exit or enter the garage. I had to call the garage manager over and over before he finally reset my pass and I was able to be let into the garage. Again, that garage sucks!

Building Construction: It’s a clean enough building, but the walls and floors are not well constructed. You will hear every footstep, conversations, sometimes I hear items being dropped in the middle of the night and it wakes me up. Luckily, the residents are relatively quiet. I’m not much of a pool person but I think it’s a little small. It’s great for small children but not really a place you can swim laps. I also feel the storage is lacking in some of the units. The two bedroom units don’t have a lot of storage in the kitchen which can be challenging if you have roommates.

Management: I mentioned that certain staff here are really helpful, but they are only there during the day. The staff leaves by 5 or 6 and there is no one that works at night except the emergency service. Also no staff on Sunday, so if you are planning to move in, you should move in during the week or Saturday.

Hopefully this review helped anyone trying to...

My tour with the property manager wasn’t the best, it took forever to get let in because he didn’t answer the Callbox. When I finally entered, he was disoriented and didn’t have keys.. he then proceeded to take a personal call while I was on the tour so I really didn’t get to ask a single question. I leased anyways because it was conveniently located. It is nearly impossible to get a response about any questions you have from management through email or phone. They switched management companies about halfway into my lease and since then, the cleanliness has gone downhill. The pool is open everyday, but you typically have to wait an additional 20 mins after opening to get in because the lifeguards like to take their sweet time. The sun only hits the courtyard about 2-3 hrs of the pool being open so if you want to get any sun, timeliness is imperative. We used to have a mart, which of course people took advantage of and stole items so rightfully so they took it out and said vending machines would be put in its place. It’s been months and not a single vending machine has been put in. This is disappointing to me because the mart was one of the selling points for me. The absolute worst part about living here is the parking. The garage is owned by a third party so residents have to park on level 6 or 7 even if you live on a different floor, unless you pay for a reserved space. So not only do I have to walk a city mile to get to the garage from my unit, but then I have to take the stairs or elevator to get to my car. Level 7 is also completely exposed to the elements, which is just bullshit. My car got towed because one of my registration sticker was missing. No warning, nothing. My registration was not expired and had I received a warning, that could have been communicated. So not only did I pay $81 per month to work, I had to pay an addition $130 to get my car from the tow company and pay for an Uber to get there, when I did nothing wrong. Oh and the biggest mention is that at least a car a week is being broken into. Constant glass throughout the garage. They have “security” but I don’t see them outside of daytime hours. If your lease ends any day other than the 31st, they will not pro rate your parking charges so even though I used the garage for only 19 days I am being forced to pay for the entire 31 such bullshit. I moved out in august and it took past the 45 days to get my deposit back because they mailed it to an address I didn’t provide. Then I was told that day that they would void it and resend. My leasing office got the check a couple weeks later. I held onto it and waited. When I followed up to confirm that the new check went out, I found out that they never actually canceled the initial check. It isn’t the worst place to live, but it is definitely declining as...

I had a great tour with Kash, the leasing consultant. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the leasing process feel smooth.

My actual move-in experience was disappointing and lacked proper follow-through. There was no link provided in advance to pay for keys or move-in essentials, and no follow-up communication on my actual move-in day. When I arrived around 4:30pm, the office was already closed (supposed to be closed at 6pm), which delayed my entire process. On top of that, my reserved parking spot wasn’t available. Parking is managed by a third party, and the on-site team is mostly hands-off, only providing the permit and keycard. This disconnect caused unnecessary back-and-forth and frustration. At a minimum, the on-site team should be providing a Parking sign-up link in the welcome email.

Additionally, while amenities are technically open until 10 PM, anything that requires staff assistance, like the courtyard TV or fireplaces, is only accessible while the office is open (closes 5–6pm). That should be clearly explained during the tour. It’s frustrating to have these features available but unusable after work hours.

The 24/7 fitness center is a plus, Edwin (Maintenance Supervisor), Nigel and MySoun* (Front Desk) have been wonderful and helpful. But I recommend asking detailed questions on your tour, especially about parking logistics, move-in process, and amenity access.

Lastly, I had an uncomfortable interaction with the property manager, Michael. He gave off dismissive energy, barely acknowledged me, and seemed inconvenienced by a few simple questions. What made it worse is that I had seen him in June, during a corporate tour, being overly friendly and upbeat. The energy shift was hard to ignore. Does corporate need to be on-site every day for him to even pretend to be welcoming to new residents? This was my very first interaction with him, and not once did he ask how I was settling in or how my experience had been so far. Instead, I was met with clear annoyance, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I’m hopeful things will improve with management they seem to be often unavailable and irritated. Again, Kash is always helpful, welcoming, and professional. I can already tell she's the glue between residents and staff and who to contact for any timely assistance.

While the move-in experience left a lot to be desired. My apartment is nice, has a great layout, and the location is good. Can't have it all.

Updating my review: things have improved,...