Anti-Recommendations - Tunlaw Gardens, DC

Tunlaw Gardens, DC - 2007 reviews

1. My rent went from 1260 to 1900! For a one bedroom with a non-updated kitchen. Charles E Smith/Archstone is the worst rental company in the marketplace. Just say no!

2. Well, we moved here from a great place in Adams Morgan (The Washington House) b/c we loved the neighborhood and the building manager who showed us around. It was also a decent price for a two bedroom at $1625. Then, when our lease came around for renewal they raised it 25% YES, thats what I wrote, 25%! It was a more than $400 a month increase. Our neighbors across the hall were raised $500! Basically, our entire building is moving out. … The new building manager is pretty nice and for the most part knows what he is doing, but really have no power when it comes to dealing with residents. He has to run everything by the corporate office and they don't care about residents at all. When I complained about our rent being raised too much, they said they'd lower it $100, but thats still outrageous, so we are moving. The place is ok, but definitely not worth $2125! I'd expect that if I was living in a place with 24 hour door man and an elevator. And, good concierge service. The office closes at 6, so if you get home after then, forget about getting your packages. And, sometimes, they forget to notify you that you have a package, so we would just have to call a couple of times a week to see if something was there. … Our place has several issues that were never resolved. When we moved in the kitchen cabinets were hanging off the wall and it took them a while to fix it. Most of the radiators won't turn off, so just expect to be hot during the winter. We have had to turn the AC on occasionally, just to cool off. Tunlaw Gardens used to be a great place, but not anymore. I have no idea why they think they are worth such a rent increase. You'd think they'd have loyalty to their residents, I guess not!

3. You'll never be able to get the maintenance staff to fix anything. So either don't move here, or just resolve to live with leaky pipes, non-working shower heads, and the like.

4. The apartments themselves are fine. Nothing special. My apartment has its quirks. closet doors don't shut, bedroom doors don't shut, foggy mirrors. I can deal with this stuff. The real problem I have is that Charles E. Smith are thieves. There is no rhyme or reason to the way they mark-up rent every year. My rent has gone up every year since 2003. Specifically it has gone up 70, 200, 100. This is BS. I have heard similar issues with other tenants. It is aggravating. I want to stay but I always feel forced out. Charles E. Smith has no appreciation for good clients. In the future I will look for a smaller independent management company. A company that will not turn its back on good clients. I hate Charles E. Smith.