Serenity Place at Dorsey Ridge

Disappointing
Serenity place is not as expected. I was new to the area and chose a place close to work but will definitely not be renewing the lease. The information I was given when looking at Serenity Place was misleading. I would not have rented if I’d known the truth.
Pros: maintenance is timely and friendly, concierge is great and location is convenient. Office staff is friendly but getting issues resolved is hit or miss. It has a feeling of safety and the property is well maintained/​clean. Pool area is nice.
Cons: 1. Noise is a big issue. You can definitely hear neighbors above you and even on higher floors you can hear neighbors music or dogs barking. Not the quiet enjoyment I was guaranteed. Other neighbors have stated they have the same problem.
2. Garage is not monitored. My vehicle has been vandalized/​hit three times. Management is aware but no actions have been taken that I’m aware of to address the issue.
3. There is a huge fee to pay rent online. It would cost over $ 55 and for the amount of rent paid it should be complimentary. This is a new policy just implemented. Thats nickel and dimming residents.
4. The community is gated but the system to remotely give guests access does not work. It’s a huge hassle walking outside to get a guest in and just ridiculous for a «newer» community.
5. Apartments are upgraded but lack basic features like coat and linen closets. Storage is a huge issue but they will rent you a storage locker.
6. Apartments are small for the price.
7. A lot of staff turnover. I would not recommend.

First, overall impression. Very good. I read a few of the reviews and some sounded like typical apartment issues. Any apartment. You can hear the person above you? I’ve lived in a few and heard noises above me in every one. And this one seems less than the others.
The facilities are kept very clean. And the staff is excellent. My leasing agent was Jessica. She bent over backwards to work around my weird schedule which was just crazy at the time. Some businesses are great before they get your money but they’ve been just as good after. And when I don’t know who to ask about something, I can always call Jessica. She gets it done. I can’t speak to others experiences but mine has been nothing but positive.
Susan, the concierge is also a pleasure. Prompt with letting me know about packages and dry cleaning showing up. I really have no complaints. I would rent here again.

We have lived at Dorsey for almost 2 years now and due to building a family and needing more space we are moving once our lease is up in a month. Our experience here has been a good one.
The concierge is always super nice to us. Luckily we didn’t have to go through management to often except for one instance where my bike was taken from our bottom floor patio (without being locked up). I was upset but seeing how it was my own fault for not locking it up I wasn’t going to place blame on the management. When I went to the office the lady was more then ok to call the cops so I could file a report but no need bc the bike was literally right outside the office. We concluded it was a kid pulling a prank.
As far as maintenance, I have encountered a few times where I need my filter changed or my facet looked at and I have met two gentlemen that were beyond nice and understanding. The only complaint I have about maintenance is they randomly come in to change cabinets or light fixtures. Dorsey gives you a letter a few days in advance to this, however working the night schedule I do and needing to sleep during the day I have to admit I was a little annoyed.
The complaints I have are little and petty. I do not like how we pay a decent price to live here and cannot use the common areas for gatherings until after the offices close due to needing to show future residents the area. The bamboo flooring, very pretty, but it’s lifting. The walls and doors are very thin. If you have neighbors you’ll definitely hear most things they do. The fire alarms in and out of the apartments are VERY sensitive. The address isn’t always on gps so it’s difficult to explain your exact location if you’re new to the area (which we were). The walls have cracked where the plastering was added but all these issues just seem to be structural and corporate complaints.
If you’re looking to move into Dorsey I say go for it. They have treated us kind and fair and even offered us a very nice deal and upgrade for us to stay but unfortunately we want to rent a house. Good luck.

So update: I was supposed to move in end of October but due to a situation at my old place I needed to move in earlier. I thought it would be a problem since it was last minute. I emailed Alexis and by the end of the day she had everything straight and ready for me to go the next day to move in. Now understand my apartment was lucky enough to be ready. So this might not happen for everyone.
My move in process was awesome. Now I have lived in my place for about a week. Yes there is a fresh air system or something that you can’t turn off. Mine is not loud but makes a little rattle sound that something might be lose. I will be putting a ticket in for that. No biggie.
I did put a ticket in for my drain in the shower being clogged. I put it in Sunday and they were out to fix it Monday. I wish I remembered the guy’s name who came and helped me. He was very nice. He even said that he didn’t think my water was getting hot enough and turned up my water heater. The concierge lady is extremely nice and helpful! Only thing that I really don’t like is they fob they give you to get in and out. It’s the size of an ID and just very inconvenient I wish it was smaller. But other than that really love my new home. And NO I don’t work for the company so these other reviews saying that is the only reason why they have high ratings that’s untrue! I will give them 4 stars for the stinking fob is annoying but really staff and place is 5 stars EASILY !!!

My husband and I have been at Dorsey Ridge for almost a year, we are moving out when our lease is up next month. A couple of things — don’t pay extra for parking in the garage. They don’t enforce (they tell you they do), in fact you could park cars here with expired tags, no Dorsey ridge sticker, and flat tires for months and they don’t do anything. We reported 2 abandon cars that hadn’t moved for months, it took months before anything was done. We paid the extra $ 75 for parking a 2^nd vehicle and displayed our tag as required. We are out $ 900 because we followed the rules, unlike many tenants. Not a lot of cars have stickers. U can easily enter the parking garage with your building door entry or a cell phone. At times it is hard to find a parking spot in the garage on the 2^nd floor due to all the visitors, tenants that don’t pay, hummers and big commercial trucks that take 2 spaces. We didn’t find the office staff very friendly but love Susan at the concierge desk and Russ in maintenance. While we were on vacation (out of town) a vendor entered our apt without notification, set off the alarm, you would think someone would have called. Another vendor entered and left the door unlocked — twice. I could probably go on but the main reason we are leaving is because of the parking. The office staff admitted they were more interested in filling apartments than dealing with those that didn’t pay to park. Nice thing to learn $ 900 later.

I literally have mouse traps set in a $ 1600 per month apartment after mouse droppings on top of my fridge. Can we say a waste of $ lol. Now I know mice can be anywhere. I expect it in a building in downtown Baltimore that was built in 1975. In a so called «luxury» building built somewhere around 2012 in the burbs… I’m just amazed at the luxury here. I implore anyone thinking about moving here to truly talk to residents who live here and to tour all floors of the building. The dirty carpet in hallways alone is enough to convince you not to pay $ 1600 a month. I just think I can find much better for the buck. I would prefer better living conditions over a monthly newsletter and random free movie nights with free appetizers. I’m paying to live comfortably. Again, I live on the fourth floor, and as we speak, I have mouse traps set in a $ 1600 per month «luxury» apt after seeing mouse droppings on top of my fridge. This just wasn’t my idea of luxury out in the county. The problem is the people who work here have to sell a poor product. Just sad. Please save your money… so pest control has been to my apartment several times… I think it’s interesting that they come to collect the droppings found in the vent above my fridge and on top of the fridge but go up in the attic and try to reassure me, «hey buddy, nothing’s there.» News flash folks if we are still collecting droppings after you’ve been up there 3 times already, ummm there’s something there those droppings aren’t coming from air. I have heard the rodent crawling in the ceiling over my bathroom and my bedroom while I am sleeping. The pest control guy tells me man be glad they can’t come in here. There are no entry points. Ummm paying $ 1700 per month and I gotta listen to a critter crawl above me is just as unsettling as it being in here. Finally, they claim they are putting something down in the attic do if there’s something up there it’ll die, but it will take a few days. I’ve been told that three times now over the course of about 2 weeks… how long does it take that powder substance or whatever to die? Geesh… so yea I’ve taken audio recordings of the critter to them, but I guess they want to believe I’m making this stuff up, as I was told no one else around you hears anything. Again, they have collected droppings off the top of my fridge and from the inside of the vent above my fridge every time they have come, so no, I’m not making anything up. You just don’t care to acknowledge that. They appear to be nice and trying to help you, but it’s all a ploy to get you to remove negative reviews such as this, but take the focus off reviews and focus on delivering good service, and the reviews will come. Telling me mice a are just the way of the land doesn’t solve the issue. As I’ve said time and again, they need to go ahead and take the luxury sign down and make this a regular apartment. After all, once the casino officially ruins this area as decent, these apartments will not go for even $ 1500 a month, so they better fool people now in staying here to pay for the property while they can. In the meantime, I’m looking to June 30! I’ll start packing in April.

Let’s try this again. I wrote a review when I moved out in the beginning of 2013, and unfortunately it was deleted. Just an FYI, from one online marketing professional to another, you never EVER delete social media posts from customers.
Now, onto the review. I was unfortunately one of the first people to move into this «great» «new» «luxury» complex. The list of incidents and issues I experienced is so long it would take me all night to write. Here is an abbreviated list of cons.
1. The office staff is horrible. Absolutely horrible, inconsiderate, and unhelpful. The only remotely good staff they had left quickly (Amanda).
2. The air conditioning is the loudest I have ever experienced (and expensive)! A two bedroom apartment would run me upwards of 100/​month on circulation. I now own a townhouse twice the size, and my BGE bill is under 90 bucks a month.
3. The fire alarms are a complete joke. They go off for no reason, at all hours of the night. Want to make a grilled cheese? Well, make sure you open the balcony door and have a chair and towel ready to «fan» the fire alarm. Want to be woken up at 3am? No problem! That great experience happened in the dead of winter in ²⁰¹²⁄₂₀₁₃. The entire apartment complex was evacuated, as fire trucks came, for a false alarm. Yes, one false alarm in someone’s (staff’s) apartment required us all to evacuate at 3am for over an hour, in the snow. Nothing like being woken up by a fireman pounding on your door, yelling at you.
4. The security deposit (for apartment and pets) is pretty hefty. Staff makes it sound great because it accrues interest during your lease. So you’ll get your money back and more? How promising! Not so fast. We didn’t get one dime back. Why? Because of «damages.» Granted, there was a hole in the wall that would cost maybe 50 bucks to fix. However, we were also required to pay to fix «nail/​screw holes, carpeting, and other charges.» What? It is Maryland state law that after every tenant, an apartment complex must repaint and recarpet.
5. This may sound stupid, but it is. No mats outside your door because they are a «fire hazard.» The most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
I broke my lease early. I wouldn’t recommend this apartment complex to my worst enemy. Way too expensive for the worst service I have ever received. If you are still considering renting an apartment here, I would suggest going to the apartment and talking to some of the people that live there. When I lived there, my neighbors and I all shared the same views.

My wife and I can’t say we agree with anyone’s review here completely. We haven’t had all of the problems as discussed by others, however, I will say that I wouldn’t want to stay here for more than a year too.
The rent that they stated was what was given to us at signing. 1.5 months off. They actually went ahead and gave us an additional incentive which we won’t say, but it was nice.
Keith B. says that the entry system is flawed and that if you’re number 200, the guest has to scroll to 200 times to get to your number after hitting the pound sign, which simply isn’t true. My number is in the 300s and my guests have no problems hitting pound then my number. It goes straight to my cell after 2 rings and I just hit 9 and they’re in. My complaint is that I have to use the fob to enter/​exit the gates as the office doesn’t have anymore remotes to hand out. I called to request one and the representative said, «Okay… but it’s going to take awhile…» in a tone like she was hinting –good luck buddy, you probably ain’t gettin one during the 11 months you got left up in this piece… Mmmmhmmm.- End Scene.
The HVAC isn’t any louder or quieter than any system I’ve experienced in an apartment building. Besides, it’s an apartment, so it’s going to generate some db within relatively small area. There are different apartment layouts for this place, so depending on which sqft you pick, the HVAC may be louder due to placement.
Our system doesn’t kick on as frequently as stated as Keith, but it does do that fresh-​air cycling once in a while, but it doesn’t stay on long. One time, it stayed on for 3 minutes, and another less than 30 seconds. I have to agree that this part is dumb. Good thing it’s not running the condenser, or the electric bill would be insane due to BGE’s rates, which are definitely higher than PEPCO’s.
For my own complaints, I’d have to say that the staff isn’t too friendly. I had a problem with them from the get-​go. I use a credit monitoring program which blocks certain events from happening to my credit unless I turn it off or approve it, so when I applied and she ran my credit, she had problems pulling my report, so she called me and assumed to me over the phone that my credit was bad and was the reason why I didn’t go with another apartment 40 miles away. No, I didn’t go with that apartment BECAUSE it was 40 miles away. I took it personal. Pretty heated and I wanted to not move in here because of this.
They seem like they’re always too busy for you. We had some issues with the apartment when we moved in and so maintenance came to address them. They had to use a vacuum cleaner to clean up their mess, but when they turned it on, it blew out an insane amount of drywall dust or the like. They went into the hallway to clean/​fix it but it still did the same when they brought it back in. Had to wipe everything. This was a fail.
The front doors to the apartments are so thin. You can very easily hear the person on the other side, whether in or out. I’m so very glad that there’s no one living directly across right now and I’m hoping that it won’t happen anytime soon.
I came from an Archstone Apartment complex and I prefer them much much much better. I give this place 2 stars because it is indeed, «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» Counting.

To add…
Leasing office will give out your alarm code to anyone that needs to get in or change a light fixture without notice, even if you said to wait or not enter.
You cannot turn the freshair system off, only lower the interval.
Fire Alarm constantly goes off, last night we were outside for an hour and a half…
Evictions: I agree as state below, throwing mattresses/​couches/​clothes on the curb for 4 days is just trashy for what we pay here.
I will not be renewing my lease.

This has absolutely been the worst experience since I have lived in Maryland. If you want a property that lies to you, does not take ownership for their mistakes, and never fixes the problems that you ask them to fix then this would be the right place for you. I have had a knocking noise in my ceiling for the past 4 months and the issue still hasn’t been resolved. I was once told by one of the maintenance guys that I should learn to sleep with my tv on if I wanted any peace. They eventually opened the ceiling and found that the pipes that are running through the ceiling are falling down onto a wood plank because when my neighbor above me runs hot water it causes the pipes to fall down and tap. Instead of them fixing the entire ceiling and solving the problem they just fixed the one spot which didn’t do much of anything. They offered me to move to another apartment at my own expense because this was my problem not theirs. Also our wood floors have been coming up for months and they finally fixed it after 5 months. This property is absolutely horrible and I wouldn’t recommend it my worst enemy!!! Stay Away!!!

I second Meghan’s review …
It is not all bad:
— Coming from the south it was incredibly challenging in finding a place with a balcony.
— I like the stainless steel fridge.
— Also a full sized washer-​dryer, which again was challenging in finding a place that offered it.
— Lastly I love the concierge service and I have used it a couple of times for various events.
Overall I am leaving once my lease is up:
— I was lied to in the beginning. The apartment that I wanted had a 1.5 month free offer. When I expressed interest it was changed to 1 month. I choose another apartment that had a 1.5 month free offer.
— I was lied to again in the move-​in. My apartment was not cleaned. The manager told me they cleaned it and that it became dirty during the move-​in. When I showed the manager the apartment she said they didn’t have time to clean it.
— As Meghan stated the «Fresh Air» /​«Humidifier» /​«Energy– efficient» AC systems kicks on CONSTANTLY. It is loud and drives me nuts. My utility bill is usually $ 80 — $ 110. NEVER had I had utility bills this high.
— The apartments are pretty sound proof in regards to the highway. I can barely hear it. You can hear your neighbors but it doesn’t bother me a whole lot.
— I’m not sure how apartments work in this area. Usually I’m used to living month-​to-​month once a lease ends. They do not have this option. Your only two options is to sign a 1 year lease or leave. I found this out after giving them my security deposit.
Overall I’m leaving due to the AC system. There is something terribly wrong with it and management refuses to acknowledged it. They say their apartments are brand new and that the problem is with me. I will give them credit. They tried to take care of it and some of the people there are fantastic. However my head explodes when my AC turns on 20 times in an hour. It even turns on when it’s OFF…

Random fire alarms go off at random times. Service requests are ignored and a bunch of follow up is needed. Gates which should be locked past a certain time random are not. Must give physical proof for issues such as this, or people in the leasing office question whether you are telling the truth. Clubhouse is not available 24 hours.