I've been living here several months now. I did extensive research into nearby apartment complexes -- both the brand new ones, as well as some of the older ones -- and found that 2200 Columbia Pike was a good compromise in terms of apartment size, cleanliness / "newness", and price. There are definitely cheaper options nearby but the buildings tend to either be dirtier or with much smaller apartments. The newest complexes nearby are slightly more expensive and of course have much nicer amenities, but tend to have smaller apartment sizes. This building has an interesting mix of long-time residents (who pay much lower rent) and a much more diverse crowd of newer residents from the last five or six years (who pay higher, market-price rent).
I would give 2200 Columbia Pike a "3.5 stars" overall.
Pros
- apartments are quite spacious, especially compared to nearby apartments
- excellent parking lot
- 60 second walk to bus stops with high frequency of service
- great location. Blocks away from a large supermarket, gym, restaurants, bars, stores, and parks. If you have a car, you're close to multiple major highways (I-395, GW parkway, route 1, route 50) so it's a good location.
- small business center downstairs where you can do occasional print jobs
- front desk staff is very friendly IF you are courteous, respectful to them, and don't have "attitude." I love the maintenance staff -- great set of guys.
- fast elevators!
Cons
- a bit too pricey for what you're getting overall
- building staff are very strict about move-in regulations, rules, etc. (the overall property manager is in particular a very brusque lady)
- overall paint job, fixtures, are not particularly special. Nothing terrible, just look kind of older.
- no laundry facilities in apartment. The laundry room is not too bad ($1.50 for a wash) but I wish I had W/D inside for the price I pay.
- gym, while almost always free, has outdated equipment.
