Arrivé Apartments — Local services in Seattle

Wish We Had Left Sooner

After two years at Arrive, my roommate and I finally moved out—and honestly, we hate ourselves for staying that long. Our new (and older) place is cleaner, quieter, safer, and managed by people who treat us like actual residents. Arrive felt like paying luxury prices for constant stress.

Safety? A joke.

We were chased by a houseless man with a pipe and brick. Saw a car robbery and police chase—guns drawn. Worst of all, witnessed a fatal shooting of a mother and her unborn child from our window.

We reported it all. Management never followed up. When we asked to move units (even downsizing), Cameron, the manager, said no—claiming “many people witnessed it” and they “can’t accommodate everyone.” Rent relief? Nope. They hide behind a daily price algorithm like they’re trading apartments on Nasdaq.

Then came the loudspeaker. The Martin across the street plays a high-pitched deterrent tone 24/7. Six months of sleep deprivation and disrupted work calls later—nothing changed. Multiple residents complained. Management claimed they “tried.” That’s all.

Amenities? Gone or sad.

Coffee shop: gone. Lobby/fireplace: taken over by the hotel. Rooftop: shut down over a year, reopened with bleached furniture and a cheap fireplace. Holiday events: “no guests” allowed. A fire inspector told me the capacity excuse was BS—they admitted wanted the space clear for a few wristbanded VIPs. The TVs are outdated and don’t sync, the shuffleboard sits untouched, and the overall decor looks like a clearance sale. They’ll fake interest in feedback, but nothing ever improves. Police sirens are the daily soundtrack.

By year two, it felt like we were living in the forgotten wing of a motel.

More problems:

-The entrance regularly smelled like urine. -Trash shoot clogs weekly. -Plants are not cared for. -The city building next door is sketchy. -The Warwick neighbor has a permanent houseless lady lives out on the sidewalk and gets aggressive, and screams at the intersection near the building. -Residents aren’t welcome in the leasing office—you can only email, and even then they’re often late or dismissive. They offer you a free drink like that makes up for it. It never does. -Drug use was clearly visible near the SIFF theater’s back door (which is the building's front door). -The gym was filthy, crowded, and barely maintained. I had to clean up for 20 minutes before every workout. -Cooking was a gamble—our smoke alarm would go off just for searing a burger. -Constant food and weed smells filled the hallway, leaked under our front door, and even into our bedroom. -Broken BBQs, loose and breachable front doors

The location might seem central at first glance—but it’s not. It’s Belltown, not the SLU Triangle. Don’t let the property lines fool you—you’re paying luxury Triangle prices for Belltown headaches.

Widespread resident rumors included:

-A shooting inside a unit. A ex staff member accessing private info and entering units while residents were away. Can’t confirm it, but the fear was real.

Parking? Absurd. \$300+/month for a corkscrew garage with 7–8 levels underground. Over-sized vehicles blocked the exit constantly. Meanwhile, hotel guests get empty near street-level spots.

To be fair, the front desk and maintenance staff were great with in-unit issues. And the rooftop view? Nice—when you’re allowed up there. But that’s where the praise ends.

Oh—and the final icing on the cake. We left the unit spotless. Immaculately clean. They didn’t use our security deposit—yet somehow, we still owe money. Why? A water overage charge. I won’t speculate, but it’s not like water management wasn’t already an issue in the building. Toilets regularly over-flush, and water heating and pressure was inconsistent. I’ve lived in Seattle for years and never had a bill so high it exceeded the deposit. That's a first—and a frustrating one.

Final thought: This isn’t a rant—it’s a warning. We stayed out of convenience. You don’t have to. If you’re considering moving here—don’t. You’ll regret it...

I wish I could post PROs and CONs without leaving a rating, but since I can't, I'm leaving 3 stars. List of the top 7 CONs and PROs below ordered by importance.

Summary: If you don't mind the constant loud sirens, want a downtown living experience, and can look past the many immoral parts of the lease, this is a great option for you to consider.

CONs:

1. The sirens! There is a huge fire station 2 blocks away and 4th Ave is one of the main streets they use. I once counted 3 independent incidents with sirens in 20 minutes. I couldn't sleep at night, and I couldn't think during the day. All I could hear was sirens - even when there weren't sirens, I could hear sirens in my head since it was perpetual.

2. Lease treats you like a criminal! There are grossly immoral (and likely unenforceable) provisions of the lease. For example, if the apartment is negligent and a guest of yours gets hurt and sues the apartment, you have to pay for all of the apartment's legal expenses even if the apartment complex is at 100% fault. Also, the bed bugs addendum is worded to make it sound like you're just itching to get those bed bugs in! After reading the lease, I felt so dirty that I had to take an extra-long shower. I'm used to some immoral provisions in large corporate apartment leases, but this one is the worst I've encountered. I considered not moving in on that alone.

3. I thought that going with an apartment complex not managed by a super large corporation would mean more flexibility and a more personal touch, but found that in fact I experienced less of these things than I'd experienced from mega corporations.

4. Elevators take forever! They're fast once you get in them, but I feel the number of elevators is undersized for the building.

5. Cheap attack in the closet! There are so many parts of the building and apartment that are great, but they appear to have had a cheap attack when it came to the closets.

6. They charge a cleaning fee for when you move out as part of their initial fees, but then charged me for cleaning the carpet after I moved out. I felt the other deposit deductions were more reasonable (albeit a little higher than what I'd call fair), but I took exception to the carpet cleaning fee since I had already paid for cleaning in advance. Not worth fighting, but that's why it feels unethical - I feel landlords count on tenants not wanting to fight these deposit deductions when they do this.

7. High density of homeless in the immediate area. Now this one doesn't both me at all (in fact, I've had some very interesting short conversations with some of the Seattle downtown homeless), but I mention this in case you are sensitive to the open drug use on the same block you live, the occasional screaming person who's having a rough time, etc. Downtowns come with this, but the density of homeless in the immediate area is particularly high.

PROs:

1. The staff is VERY friendly and will try to help any way they can. Really liked every person I interacted with.

2. Maintenance is good, friendly, and helpful. Their off-site maintenance is a little less helpful but still had a great experience overall.

3. Absolutely gorgeous kitchen with ample countertop and cabinet space - something most downtown apartments lack. Good appliances too - not just ones that look good, but ones that function very well.

4. The apartment in general is just very nice and modern. Laminate hard flooring (I think) in the living and kitchen areas, and carpet in the bedrooms. Really good flooring that looks nice. And I really prefer soft carpet in the bedrooms. Big windows. Etc.

5. High quality construction. For example, minimal noise from neighbors and no cheap attack on the wiring (especially the low-voltage wiring / ethernet).

6. Air conditioning that works - they don't just have it, it does actually work. Good functional thermostat and forced air system.

7. They keep the place...

I've been a renter in Seattle for over 10 years. I moved into Arrive as one of the first and stayed for two years. I looked at EVERY (and I mean quite literally every) building downtown before making the decision to move in. The only reason I moved is because an incredible house came onto the market which couldn't be passed up.

Often when looking for rental units there are a few common issues that come up 1) Buildings that advertise quality but lack it 2) Thin walls/loud neighbors 3) Issues with staff not being attentive to solving problems when they arise 4) Staff not giving deposits back when you leave.

None of these were the case with Arrive. I LOVED living in that building and felt constantly impressed by the team. Looking at the big picture holistically across a 2 year period both in isolation and in comparison against other buildings in the area, I can say this is the BEST a person could ask for. Sure, I had minor issues come up (who doesn't?) but each was handled well and respectfully.

During the wildfire season they literally changed my air filters within a few hours because my weak lungs were struggling. They also ran packages (air filters) up to my room when I needed them and couldn't leave my unit.

I'm a very high-maintenance renter. Any/every issue with the unit was resolved quickly and well by an incredible team of good-hearted folks.

I loved that there were umbrellas right inside the door so that I never had to bring a wet one into my space.

I had arguably the best view in Seattle (Lake Union + Space Needle + Puget Sound) so didn't use the roof amenities much but the 360 view is better than anything around. Why pay to go to the Fog Room rooftop when you can happy hour on the Arrive rooftop?

The location is unmatched. 2min to Dahlia Bakery. 5min to Urban Yoga Spa. 8min to Nordstrom.

I appreciated the small holiday gifts and frequent events put on by the Arrive team. I know that looking for a rental I'd not care a ton about getting a St. Patrick's day goodie bag or going on a building-wide scavenger hunt, but let me tell you that with COVID these thoughtful small moments created a stronger bond between neighbors and those who worked there which kept energy high. This especially important now.

The staff at Arrive (and I say "the staff" because it's multiple, multiple people) were generous in times of struggle, dedicated to keeping the building safe through COVID, and were very reasonable consistently.

Security in the building is incredible; I always felt safe. I made a few noise complaints against a few obnoxious folks who had no understanding that they were living in a shared space and security took care of it in seconds :).

I loved living above a hotel and eatery because when it's cold, rainy, windy, and there's no motivation to walk outdoors you can easily order food, coffee, tea without leaving.

I was nervous moving out because I left a lot of holes and messed up a wall. I thought "There's no way I'm getting any deposit back." I was open and honest instead of trying to hide these flaws and the response was very surprising. I got 98% of my deposit back!! Most other Seattle buildings would have taken it all...