The Clarendon

Current Resident 77619

Resident • 2023 - 2025

Terrible Apartment

I would NEVER recommend anyone move into The Clarendon. I’ve lived here for nearly two years, and it has been the most poorly managed building I’ve ever experienced. While the concierge and maintenance staff are friendly, the management team is consistently unprofessional, unresponsive, and neglectful. I’ve encountered multiple serious maintenance issues that were either ignored or dragged out due to management’s clear lack of interest in resolving them. Emails often go unanswered, and problems are allowed to linger for months. The A/C unit in my apartment was non-functional for most of a summer. Despite repeated assurances that the issue had been resolved, the system continued to fail. It wasn’t until a qualified professional finally inspected it that I learned it had been improperly installed from the start. I’ve seen other residents resort to propping open their doors and using fans to pull cool air from the hallway—clearly a widespread problem. I also experienced severe flooding in my bedroom. Management downplayed both the severity and the true cause of the issue, then failed to follow through with proper remediation despite multiple requests. Additionally, a leak in my living room ceiling was never fully addressed—paint damage remains to this day. Beyond the ongoing maintenance issues, resident concerns are routinely dismissed. I dealt with persistent noise issues from a neighboring unit that frequently threw loud parties and caused late-night disturbances (running through the halls screaming). Despite numerous complaints, management took no meaningful action. Living at The Clarendon has been a frustrating and disappointing experience. I strongly urge others to look elsewhere. I'd give it 0 stars if possible.

Current Resident 259983

Resident • 2018 - 2019

The apartments do not heat or cool properly. On multiple occasions we woke up to our living room being a toasty 45 degrees. Equity has not done anything to compensate for this or our ridiculously high electric bills to only have the apartment reach an internal temperature of 45 degrees. It took months for them to come up with a solution of saran wrapping our windows. Glad they finally figured it out once it got warm out... can't wait for the apartment to be a sauna in the summer.

Helenann21

Resident • 2017 - 2018

Incredibly noisy... frat party type atmosphere at times. Repeatedly woken up in the middle of the night on weekdays by drunken idiots playing loud music. Particularly bad if you overlook the pool. Building has awful sound proofing. I got out as soon as I could. Is a shame because the neighborhood is great and location can’t be beat.

Current Resident 34891

Resident • 2014 - 2015

I have lived in Clarendon for years and this is by far the worst building and my worst experience. It's so unfortunate to have this experience in such a wonderful neighborhood. First, the building is filthy; don't let the pristine lobby fool you; when I viewed the property I was too busy chatting with the leasing agent and looking at paperwork to truly look at the dirty condition of the building - the elevators are filthy, the hallways are filthy and the recycle room/trash room is a cesspool -- and because of all of this, the building has roaches -- huge roaches! They state "our building is near restaurants" as the excuse for the roaches, but I've lived above and beside restaurants in the Clarendon area for years and have never seen a roach in any of the buildings -- even in buildings not nearly as "nice" (or supposed to be) as The Clarendon. They claim to only spray the trash room area for roaches, unless you complain about seeing them elsewhere - then they'll spray that area the next time. The maintenance service/dept is awful; you have to follow up with them for weeks and weeks before them finally honoring what they're supposed to do/fix in your unit. A few of the concierges are nice enough, but the office staff/management seems to always be confused and is not helpful. The rent, parking fees, etc. are pricy; one would not expect to be living in a building like this and that is ran so poorly. I regret moving here. Stay away!!

Current Resident 742016

Resident • 2013

If I could rate this place below a 1 I would. I can't go into the absurdities I dealt with while living here because I don't have three hours, but I will try to sum it up. This apartment building is unsafe, the staff is rude, the residents might as well be 18 year old frat kids, music was always playing at the wee hours or the morning, the doorman was always asleep and let anyone by (not sure what he's paid for), fire alarms constantly. I have lived in Equity buildings before and was so impressed with their professionalism, but this place ruined that all for me. I wouldn't tell my worst enemy to live here.

Current Resident 179852

Resident • 2011 - 2013

I would not recommend this community to anyone. The prices are way too high for what you get. Since I moved in, mgmt has started charging for water, sewer, and trash removal. Like $2200 a month for a one bedroom doesn't cover trash removal? As condolence for the extra fees, mgmt said, "the fees are common, thanks for your cooperation". Mgmt uses the same line every time something in the community is broken, which is frequent. Since equity requires 60 days notice plus a $4,500 fee to break a lease, there really isn't much choice but to cooperate. Besides being overpriced, the apartments are poorly constructed. Water still leaks in when it rains hard despite mgmt repeated assurances that it has been fixed and I can frequently hear the people above me, those walking through the halls, and traffic/construction from outside. The only "amenity" is a small pool in the middle of a courtyard that is over-crowded because of the small size for the number of residents and 1/2 in the shade at any given time of the day. I wish I had done more research before moving into this apartment but only chose it because of its close proximity to the metro. Unfortunately, equity has been buying many of the apartment buildings in this area, but due to the poor experience with this community and mgmt, I will not rent from equity again.

SavoryChalk

Resident • 2013

My BF and I have been here for almost 2 months. It is clean and somewhat quiet. I believe the lofts located over the entrance tunnel may get an echo effect of street noise. I like the city noise, but it may be a bother to others. There are three things I've noticed that seem troublesome. 1. The elevators keep breaking down. (I would recommend Management should stop using ThyssenKrupp, being in the facilities Services industry, I have learned they are most of the time cut rate with all aspects) 2. The stacked Washer and Dryer: For the price of the apartment, I really would have expected the upgraded front loaders. They are so much more efficient. Though the Washer is very loud, it works. The dryer on the other hand absolutely stinks. It takes forever to dry. The duct from the 2 feet we can see in is clear and clean and the lint trap is clear. I notice it gets very hot in the unit but it does not ventilate well. Moisture builds up inside the unit badly. My guess is one of two things. The dryer duct is clogged somewhere down the line, or The unit is just a crappy old unit without much drying ability. I can't complain too much though because the electric and gas bill combined for 2 of us was only $40 for a month. 3. The double paned windows have no insulating effect. If they were argon filled at one time, they no longer are. Condensation runs down the 20" windows like a waterfall. The pools of water that build at the window base and floor have to be dried and sprayed with bleach about every 3 days. Now for the positive. The location is phenomenal. Access to everything I need within 1-10 blocks. The Equity Residential Staff are great. The maintenance techs have responded with immediately to the three requests. They are very courteous and respectful of property. --------------- have been more than inviting and welcoming. The concierge team are extremely professional and accommodating with package receipt, pick up and return. Overall I would recommend the property to friends and family. The three little annoyances could be much worse. If that's the only things I have to deal with in the coming months, I will be more than satisfied.

amandagayton

Resident • 2010 - 2013

I have lived in the Clarendon Apartments for three years. In short, after the new management "Equity" took over, The Clarendon Apartment is sub-par at best. I would not recommend living in this apartment to anyone. The location is great. However, it is NOT worth it. GO TO yelp.com and read the reviews! Luckily, new apartments are opening in the area. I advise waiting and looking at ALL the other options before I signed a lease. 1. Poor Service. Generally, when you pay a lot of money, you should receive superb service. That is not the case here. The management regardless of being in the wrong will NOT accept responsibility. One of many examples. I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee and the management incorrectly assigned me a compact parking spot Saturday afternoon. The management looked up the make and model of my car and knew I did not have a compact car. Nonetheless, because I was over the line they had my car towed this morning. A simple phone call would have saved me $150 to get my car back. I already pay $100 (in addition to almost $3,000 in rent) for a parking spot. Second example, regardless of whether you renew your lease for 3 plus years you have to pay to have your carpet cleaned. Generally, when you renew a lease an apartment cleans your carpet. 2. ------------, the manager, in particular is impossible. If you decide to live here You will figure it out. Unfortunately. She is generally the one who post in reply to all the horrible reviews under "---------------. You can contact her personally. -------@eqr.com I can promise you NOTHING was done to "fix" any of the issue. She was merely writing a CYA email. 3. Annual Rent Increase. At a minimum you should expect the rent to be raised $350/month each year. 4. Poor Insulation. I have lived in an apartment on the 12 floor and a loft on the 2nd floor. STAY AWAY from the apartment located in the short tower. That is, unless you enjoy hearing every conversation your neighbors have and vice versa.

Current Resident 46792

Resident • 2011 - 2012

Please do not live here. The owners are awful (Equity Residential) and pretty much unreachable. The staff is friendly but not helpful unless you send them 10 emails. Seems that there is not connection between the staff and the owners (Equity), yet Equity makes all the rules in the leasing contract. So if you have any issues with the way the lease is written, you're out of luck. You will not get to talk to any of the management about it and they will make empty threats about not abiding by the lease. I really wish I didn't waste my money on this place. DON'T LIVE HERE!!! ITS NOT WORTH IT and the "upgrades" to the apartments are extremely superficial.

Current Resident 355368

Resident • 2012

The two main leasing agents at The Clarendon, -------------------- are great (I moved out alittle while ago, so I'm not sure if they are still there). Ever since Equity Apartments purchased The Clarendon, the two main managers there have been awful. I know for a fact that I was told by one of them they would look into something with their Corporate Office and the manager never actually did it. I never really saw the newest manager on site (seems like she was never around) and was pretty disconnected from the tenants. The reason I am being so straight forward is because management should be a reflection of the building and in this case management is a poor reflection of the building. They seem to just care about the bottom line and not about the people. Seems like a big corporation where people are more concerned about moving up. The Pros: - Great Location, Clean, Quiet, Things get fixed within the same day The Cons: - Management is cheap. When the apartment building was not run by Equity, there would be awesome barbecues and pool parties sponsored by the building. This no longer happens. There is a huge common room which is completely under developed. All it is is one tv, a few couches and a couple table. If you look at any other building in Clarendon, the common rooms are pretty nice. The gym prior to the Equity management taking over was small, and Management said they would be making improvements. What did they do? Move a couple machines around and add a couple pieces of equipment. Didn't do much at all to be quite honest. - The trash chute was broken for months. Rather than fix it in a timely manner, management would just have the maintainece team empty the trash room on each floor on a daily basis. Well on the weekend, when there was no maintenance, it would really smell. - The cost is through the roof, and when Equity took over, they started charging for additional fees, such as Sewage. - Moving out was such a hassle. Ugh! If you're gonna pay so much, you should expect the best.

Current Resident 708861

Resident • 2010 - 2012

The Clarendon used to be a nice place to live until Equity purchased the building. Since then, they have reduced the office, cleaning and maintenance staff and have discontinued all of the little perks. In addition, prices have increases drastically and service has declined rapidly. The garage doors have been broken now for 2 months because Equity won't pay to have them fixed. At any hour of the night, anyone can drive or walk into the building! 2 months! And they have done nothing! Except of course to send emails saying they are taking care of it. It is shocking that they would compromise resident safety in order to save a few hundred dollars. And even worse, that it has to be made public in order for them to hopefully do something about it. It is truly a shame because there are nice people that work here in the office and maintenance staff, but they have no power to make any of the necessary changes.

ClarendonGuy28

Resident • 2010 - 2012

Def not renewing my lease

Let me start by saying that I typically don't write reviews (have only written a review once before about a restaurant), but I decided to write one now after a recent action by the management team. I've lived at the Clarendon for a year, and of course there are positives or people wouldn't live here. In my opinion however, it's definately not worth living here given the price. I recognize there are other building in Clarendon who demand the same price, but I have friends who live in these other building who I have visited and gotten feedback from and those building are definatley better. PROS: Great location (a block from the metro), modern building and generally clean. CONS: TODAY THEY DECIDED TO CHARGE EACH GUEST $5 FOR USING THE POOL. This is ridiculous in my opinion. I pay over $2000 for a 1 bedroom 1 bath in addition to another $100 for parking and then all the utilities are seperate and they recently are now making us pay for sewage. It's a slap in my face to have them make my friends pay $5 to use the pool when I invite them over. I have alot more to say about this building, and am going to wait till I move out (fairly soon) to write more, as I'm honestly worried management will know who I am because of certain occurences I plan on talking to and they may try and impose stupid fees on me (such as shampooing the carpets for cleaning EVENTHOUGH they are replacing the carpets and putting in hard wood floors). I'm posting this now because the $5 pool fee really annoyed me and they are nickle and diming tenants over anything and everything. There are plenty other building in Clarendon that are better than this place.

Current Resident 848194

Resident • 2010 - 2011

Are you kidding?

It seems like the things people hate about the new management all boil down to paying more money. If you can't afford it, maybe this isn't the place for you. I didn't love seeing my rent go up when my lease came up last Feb, but here's some news: IT WENT UP UNDER THE OLD MANAGEMENT. We'll be renewing it again in a couple months, and I will not be surprised if it goes up again. Old management - they weren't all that. No one here was authorized to made a "big" decision without calling the "real" management, but the new guy has plenty of authority. I was very sick of all the foot-dragging and excuses with repair of one (admittedly tricky) repair that Amanda (old management) stonewalled on, and the new management got it done. I could give you a list of other requests that the old management said no to, but new management has always been reasonable and responsive. They have been nothing but flexible, pleasant, and accommodating. And I would think that all these residents I see in the hallways with dogs now must be super happy; I don't even like dogs and the restrictions under the old management seemed stupid to me, given that - hello - we are RIGHT NEXT TO A DOG PARK. I have asked the concierge staff what they think of the new management and no one seems to have any complaints. So it's expensive to break a lease? That seems like a good business model to me. If your job requires you to be ready to move at any time, this may not be the place for you. The rent went up? Gee, what a surprise. We get a lot for our money here. It is quiet, convenient, spacious, comfortable, and beautiful, with big windows and lots of amenities. I knew this was an expensive place to live when I moved in, and agree with an earlier post - you get what you pay for.

Current Resident 467621

Resident • 2009 - 2011

Agree, terrible new Management

I'm echoing the same concerns that everyone else has already stated. I live in a one bedroom apartment that is $1715/month plus a $60/month parking space. The new management decided that my renewal needed to increase to $2000/month plus $100/month parking space plus a new trash fee plus requiring renters insurance and almost doubling the lease breaking penalty. The last management was incredible, but this new management isn't worth dealing with. Do yourself a favor and go find a home somewhere else!

Current Resident 477101

Resident • 2008

recommended with hesitation

Pros: Location, location, location; entire building including interior design, apts themselves, kitchens, bathrooms, closet space, pool, hallways Cons: Management; noise; parking garage, price On the cons, Equity is completely inflexible with regard to any minor changes in the terms of the lease - changing the end date by just a few days to accommodate various move-ins and Jewish holiday. I have been very disappointed by my interactions with Equity, since they took over the building's management from Clarke. The parking has been real problem. The ceilings were never sealed, so calcium deposits drip on all the cars. If the drips are not cleaned up using vinegar, they can stain the paint and ruin the finish on the cars. Also, noise seems to come in from the windows pretty easily but not from the neighbors. The building used to be a steal with very competitive rates. It now is above market prices in the neighborhood.

Current Resident 253580

Resident • 2007 - 2011

Agree regarding new management

I agre with the other reviewers regarding the new management. Received a renewal notice and my rent is going up 20% plus $50 in parking and they're now charging for trash. Speaking of trash... since they have taken over the garbage seems to be always jammed and the trash room full of old garbage. They have gotten rid of some of the old cleaning/maintenance staff, stopped the cookies and flooded the 3rd floor garage. I'm looking for somewhere else to live.

Notafan49

Prospect • Visited 2010 - 2011

YOU CAN DO BETTER!!!!

Look elsewhere. As nice as it is to the metro, there are so many other choices. The rent goes up and up and up. And , if you want to extend your lease expect to pay through the nose!!!! New management needs charm school on how to deal with people. Not a fan! New rentals are all over Clarendon. Check elsewhere!!!!! Glad we did!!!

ActiveDuty

Resident • 2007 - 2011

Horrible new management. Not worth your time or money.

As an active duty military member I have moved around a lot. This is the worst management I have encountered by a long mile. I have no ulterior motive in writing this review and have never posted a review of anything anywhere but feel it is my duty to explain my highly unfavorable experience and strongly encourage prospective renters to look elsewhere ... An upstanding resident for four years I simply needed to extend for six months. I pay $2700/month. The new property manager told me it would increase to $3572/month (up 32%) plus an increase for the parking space. This unexpected almost $1000 per month hike to stay in my home an additional six months seems exorbitantly high and quite frankly unreasonable. Not a cost I am able to absorb on a military salary. The property manager's answer: "That's the rate." Cold, disrespectful, unprofessional... I could go on. Don't even bother. Not worth your time or money when there are newer and better run options across the street.

pritchke

Resident • 2011

I have been so pleased with my decision to move here! The location is unbeatable. The only time I hear noise from all of the bars is Fri and Sat night, but that's expected - you live in the city! A few other pros: friendly front desk and leasing office, very clean common areas, thick walls (I rarely hear my neighbors), good appliances, respectful tenenants, free coffee in the lounge. Oh, and warm cookies several times a week at the front desk!! Sure, it's expensive, but I believe you get what you pay for. update: Disregard what I said about free coffee and warm cookies. They discontinued that about 1/2 way through my lease. :(

Current Resident 388934

Resident • 2009 - 2010

Terrible Management and internet service.

The Clarendon has amazing apartments half a block away from the metro. However, the management is very incompetent and rude. The building offers internet service, however don't expect to be able to use websites like YouTube, it's as slow as a 56K modem. If your apartment overlooks Wilson Blvd. expect loud noises from drunk people leaving the bars. There are a number of apartments in the Clarendon-Courthouse area worthwhile checking before you come here. The walls in the apartments are also extremely thin, expect to hear your neighbors.

Current Resident 517987

Resident • 2007 - 2010

I like it

I've lived in this building for three years and am sad to leave. I've really liked it here. The maintenance people are wonderful- very friendly and always do a good job. The front desk people are great (except for the older lady who works on weekends. Many of my guests have commented on how rude she is and I tend to agree) I don't interact with the management very often, but they've always been helpful whenever I have needed to talk to them. As a female living alone, I've always felt very safe here. And the building is very nice looking and always incredibly clean. My only complaint is that the pool only gets sun for a couple hours a day because it is located on the ground in the middle of the building. The pool is very popular in the summer and it can be difficult to get a chair. People often come down to the pool at 9am and leave their towel on a chair to save a spot, but don't return until noon. That's obnoxious, but not that big of a deal. I'm not one to interact with my neighbors much (we just smile at each other in the hallway) so I can't really speak to how the residents are overall, but they generally seem nice and a good mix of 20-somethings and young families.

WIP007

Resident • 2007 - 2010

Solid choice in Clarendon

Was here for about 2.5 years. The building is in great shape - having only been built in 2005. The maintenance staff was responsive to our rare maintenance requests and the common areas were well maintained. The apartments themselves were good. The only knock I can think of is the lack of ample closet space in a one bedroom apartment if there are two people there. With one person, you should be fine. The management staff did not add value to our experience, but they were knowledgeable when we had questions and seemed interested in making sure our issues were resolved. It is not cheap to live at The Clarendon, but you are paying for a great location. From most apartments, it will take you less than 5 minutes to get to the Clarendon Metro station's platform.

Current Resident 721283

Resident • 2008 - 2010

Worst Place

Rude staff, cockroaches, rent jumps, you name it. This building has it all. Sure, at first this place may seem like a bargain, but once you made the investment to move in, they'll keep raising the rent on you while not giving any service. The parking garage is small and overcrowded, people keep the doors open and dodgy types can be seen walking through the halls. We did not feel safe here. Apart from all this, the walls are very thin and half the tenants are students at one of the 3 universities that are just blocks away. Except noise and drunken people talking loudly in the hallways and knocking on the wrong doors. I have lived here for 3 years and we're finally moving out in April. I would recommend Ballston, you can get much better deals there. Stay away!

Current Resident 639129

Resident • 2006 - 2008

I liked the place a lot

I lived at "The Clarendon" (1200 N. Herndon St.) for a couple years (before I bought a condo in the Courthouse area) and I really liked it. I had a one bedroom with a nice "wood floored" balcony overlooking the pool. I'm a high maintenance kind of person, so I'm not sure why all the bad reviews. The only thing I can think of is that (a) some people legitimately might have bad experiences ... experience at any building are rarely uniform; (b) there's a self-selection issue ... the people who move here are looking for perfection, given the high rents and given that they chose the place because it looks amazingly high-end. In other words, expectations are too high. For what it's worth my view is that the kitchen appliances were amazing, the countertops look great, the maintenance staff were super-responsive, the walls were pretty thick, the front desk staff were friendly, the management was nice (and let me off once (but not twice) for late payment on my rent) and the location was great. When I threw parties there, all my friends were impressed with the building too. And even though the pool is small, it was nice lying by the pool or playing cards. It felt a bit resort-y, even. My one complaint -- and I don't know if this is still the case there -- is that they didn't have Comcast in the building ... they had DirectTV and had a DSL line for the internet. And as sucky as Comcast is -- they truly are terrible -- I prefer them to direcTV, and most importantly, I need a fast/reliable internet hookup ... and I couldn't properly get this DSL thing to work in my apartment. I know this seems like a small thing, but to me it was important. I didn't come on this site looking to write a review, but I was literally stunned when I saw the low scores for my former apartment. Again, I'm kinda high maintenance, am a professional/executive in my 30s, am used to "nice things" and this was the nicest building I've lived in. NOTE: At the time of posting, you have to click on "Clarendon 1021" (which is a different building entirely) to get to this listing which then says "Clarendon, 1200 N. Herndon." So I now wonder if the bad reviews are about Clarendon 1021, and somehow the 2 buildings' reviews got mixed together? (I don't know anything about "Clarendon 1021" as I never lived there.)

gggg444

Resident • 2009

Great location and Place to Live

The building is in the heart of Clarendon and only footsteps from the metro. Everytime we have had a maintenance issue they have fixed the problem and been more than helpful. The management and staff is always willing to lend a hand and will go out of their way if needed. I have been living there for a year and I can honestly say that I have had no big problems and have enjoyed the atmoshere and ebvironment at the Clarendon!