Hilldrup Moving And Storage

From start to finish, the team at Hilldrup was helpful, professional, and bent over backwards to make our complicated holiday move work for us. Robert gave us a quote and a bunch of important information. Kelly thought outside the box to find a way to make the timing work for us and kept us informed throughout the process. Our driver Giovanni made sure everything arrived in one piece — and did us a huge favor when our closing was delayed and all of our carefully constructed plans looked like they might not work. We’ll recommend this place to anyone planning a move. Cannot believe our good luck in choosing them!

Although the quantity of household goods moved was fairly small, my experience with Hilldrup Moving and Storage was excellent. Robert, who estimated the move, was very professional and accurate. He provided the quote the same evening. Kelly, the move coordinator, was outstanding. She answered my questions patiently and kept me well-​informed throughout the process. Even though the final delivery was a couple of days late, that was no big deal. Kelly kept me well-​informed throughout so I knew what to expect and I knew far enough ahead of time that I could adjust my schedule. The crew who did the packing and moving were fantastic — they were careful, methodical and pleasant. They arrived on-​time and finished quickly. They went out of their way to make the move from Maryland to Montana very pleasant. I would use Hildrup and United Van Lines again — without question.

I had an excellent experience with Hilldrup Moving & Storage out of Stafford VA. The team was Bryan, Brian and Alan. Very smart, experienced, personable men that take a lot of pride in their work. I don’t know about you but I love being around people who like what they do and care about the service they offer. They asked me all the right questions, took great care of my belongings and kept me informed along the way. As they protected my beloved art pieces I’m completely confident that absolutely no damage will happen to these pieces. And, my sofa looked like the Michelin man after they protected it. It was so interesting to see how they protected and packed each and every piece of furniture. Honestly, I was sorry to see them leave. The team delivered my belongings into Hilldrup’s storage crates in their facility until we move into our next home. I’m requesting the same team when have our belongings taken out of storage and delivered to our next home. An impressive experience.

I paid Hilldrup over $ 400 per month for more than two years to store my household goods. I bought into their «we take great care of your stuff» message and so I was willing to pay a little more money rather than go with more economical solutions. Unfortunately, when Hilldrup delivered my possessions to my new house, a desk and a few other items were broken. When we contacted Hilldrup, I was informed that I had signed agreed to their standard insurance coverage which included a $ 300 deductible. I can’t tell you how insane this is. What this means is that Hilldrup is able to damage or flat-​out steal up to $ 300 of your possessions with impunity. I paid over $ 10,000 over the course of two years to keep my possessions safe, and when they damaged my stuff, they tell me tough luck. First, do not use Hilldrup for your moving /​storage needs — plain and simple. You think you are paying more to have someone take good care of your stuff and that is just plain false. Second, make sure that when you sign the contract, that you are ensuring that THEY have insurance and are accountable for damage. Seriously, and this isn’t hyperbole, the policy that Hilldrup uses gives them impunity to damage or steal a portion of your possessions without being held accountable. Just find someone who will take their accountability more seriously.
BTW, I dedicate the one star to he people who actually unpacked my possessions — they were very friendly and professional… it is just too bad that their company is terrible.

Don’t use Hilldrup if you want to see your things again on the other side.
I’ve moved a lot in my life; this was the worst such experience I’ve ever had. Hilldrup moved only two items for me: a medium-​sized box and an upright piano. The job with the piano was decent, even if not to professional piano-​mover standards (some of the paint was chipped by time it arrived). However, Hilldrup lost the even more important item, a box full of valuable books, notes, personal letters, and other objects holding a huge amount of meaning for me, as well as significant monetary value.
Hilldrup’s movers showed up with the piano back in May and when I asked about the box, they added casually that they «couldn’t find it in the warehouse,» saying that someone would get in touch with me. After waiting weeks without hearing back, I finally found the right person to email, and spent the next few months having to elicit updates out of Hilldrup’s unapologetic and terse staff as they «ran a trace» on the box. (The trace results only just arrived in late October, more than five months after the delivery.) The move was only a four-​hour trip, so there can’t be many places the box could be, and if Hilldrup’s staff would only go look in the warehouse where it was stored I’m sure they could find it. Unfortunately that seems unlikely given the apparent lackadaisy plaguing the employees I’ve worked with so far.
I have yet to receive an apology.

AWFUL: Moving from Washington DC to UK with Hilldrup has been a disastrous experience. Numerous pieces of furniture damaged or even completely crashed (such as in the case of a 250 year old table, which has previously managed transport between 8 different duty stations, including Europa /​Bangladesh return, without a scratch). Our furniture in general was inappropriately and insufficiently wrapped and when the Hilldrup packers even stand on top of it afterwords (footprints allover boxes and wrapped items) it can surprise no one that the damages are so serious and numerous.
Be aware, that although you are promised by the Hilldrup representative that the clothes hanging in your closet (suits, jackets, dresses, skirts, shirts etc.)will be hung on poles in ‘wardrobe boxes’ then that is not what happens in reality. Also be aware, that when the packing exercise is over and you are asked by the packers ‘just to put your initials here and here’ you are supposed to notice that your clothes which is already packed and in the van, has not been packed as promised. I did not check but had I done so I would have seen that it had been packed in a ‘lay down wardrobe’ or something to that effect, which turns out to mean: suits, silk dresses, wool designer jackets, Max Mara coats etc, crammed into cardboard boxes, in big bundles, together with the hangers, jewelry boxes, shoes and smaller pieces of furniture. If English is not your mother tongue, then how are you supposed to even guess that a ‘lay down wardrobe’ is not a wardrobe? All of our clothes is so wrinkle that it will have to go to the dry cleaners. Its gonna cost us a fortune and Hilldrup states that we will have to cover the costs involved ourselves.
Also be aware that although you spend time and money on crates being produced for the safe (HAHA) transport of your antique paintings, as Hilldrup does not bother to add paper or other types of protection inside the crate, your antiques paintings are, not surprisingly, left to rattle around while crossing the Atlantic and again, not surprisingly, as a result, severely damaged.
Likewise, be aware that although the Hilldrup representative walks around with you in your home and takes note of what your most valuable decorative items are and subsequently tells you to gather them in a specific place so they will be given specific attention by the packers, then he is just joking with you. We did as instructed and gathered valuable antiques such as Murano glass, Asian teapots, etc. What we realized when we unpacked in UK was that Hilldrup had put all of these items in one regular cardboard box without any additional protection. As if it were cheap utensils from IKEA. Again, not surprisingly items were damaged/​destroyed.
The movers who unpacked in UK stated that they had never seen anything like it. My husband who prior to our joint moves also moved extensively (Iraq, Guinee, Haiti, Ethiopia etc)
has not either experienced such a careless and unprofessional packing and storage, –ever.

Moving via Hilldrup was such a pain, I would not recommend them to anyone. A view of what happened:
1. Moving from Chicago to NYC, had my shipment picked up on June 26.
2. I wasn’t told until 3 days before when my shipment would be delivered but was given a moving window of July 1 to July 16. With a new job it wasn’t great to have to tell me boss ahead of time «I need time off, I just don’t know when, but sometime in the next two weeks». I sounded like a fool.
3.Finally on July 10 (15 days since my stuff was picked up in Chicago; ridiculous that it took that long since its only a 15 hour drive!) I was told my stuff would be arriving. Problem was my stuff did not arrive, somebody else who had the same last name as me did. I can reason with this mix-​up, but the order number on my shipment started with a «4» and the other order started with a «9». This was someone purely being lazy and seeing the name on the box, and not the actual order number.
4. After demanding to be put in a hotel since I didn’t have a bed or anything to sleep on, I was told I can buy an air mattress, pillow, sheets, blanket, etc. up to $ 100. Between living in Chicago and now NYC, there is no chance $ 100 would cover that cost.
5. It took from July 10 to July 21 for them to find my stuff, and I was told it was in NYC all along, just that they picked up the wrong name but rest assured, my shipment was in NYC. Can you imagine how infuriating it was that it took 11 days for them to find my shipment, when it was in NYC all along? That too, it had been since June 26 that my items were picked up in Chicago!
6. Having already taken time off previously, I specifically requested the moving company come after 2 PM Tuesday afternoon as I had a busy morning and early afternoon with meetings. At lunch time, I got a call from my building saying my moving company was there, they showed up 1 hour and 45 minutes early! Embarrassingly, I had to cancel meetings at work to run to my apartment, I wasn’t making the best impression to my new boss/​team.
7. In the end, I was given $ 100 /​day since my move date ended for a total of $ 500 along with the reimbursement for my bedding in the interim. I sent a receipt of my bedding reimbursement on July 10 to Hilldrup and it took nearly 4 weeks for them to give me any details on why this wasn’t sent to me, only to find the mail had bounced back to them as they forgot to include my apartment number on the mail. This was so frustrating, especially since my $ 500 check had already arrived!
All in all, getting $ 600 back on a $ 2300 move (cost of air mattress included) nearly a full month after my pick up date is absolutely unacceptable. Once my moving window had passed on July 16, I told them I needed a hotel every night until my shipment arrived; I was told the $ 100 /​day could be used for this. Again, this is NYC where there is no chance you find a hotel for $ 100 a day. I live and work in midtown, I wasn’t going to travel 20+ miles to find a hotel that was within their budget. I would strongly consider finding other competing services instead of Hilldrup.
I will say the folks I worked with were very understanding and compassionate with the situation, but it still can’t make up for all the trouble I had to endure.

***Updated review
So this story started out lovely. Pete came out to give me a quote and he was awesome. Julie picked it up from there and she kept in constant communication scheduling a day for our move from Virginia to California. The movers were suppose to arrive between 11 – 1, but they didn’t get there until 5:00. Julie kept in great communication throughout the day. The packers and movers had a fabulous attitude and worked until 10:30 that night to load the truck. But be forewarned!!! Just because they pick up your stuff, it does not mean it will leave for your destination that day. My truck was still sitting in Virginia one week later! I called yesterday and sent an email and was told that my truck is still in virginia and julie was sorry for not communicating with me because she was on vacation. I was just told this morning that I should receive my shipment by August 8/​9, it was picked up on July 21^st! This is a huge issue for me because I have MY planned vacation with my kids to Canada scheduled for August 9^th! The story continues. I will update you on how this story turns out.
***So the update is that they could deliver it on the 10^th missing their contract day of August 6^th by four days. Of course I am out of the country now as of course I was expecting to have it by August 6^th. I was contacted by a manager named Mary who asked how she could make this better for me, which I thought was awesome. I told her I wanted to be compensated their delay rate for every day it was late as I have four children and had to make accommodations for them. When I called today she said they couldn’t do that, and that they would be able to offer half the amount. This is of course AFTER I pay the amount in full and THEN I will be compensated. This does not feel good to me. Nor did it feel good when Mary repeatedly kept asking the same questions over and over about what I purchased to create a make shift home for my family. Insinuating that I would have purchased these items anyway. I even bought another pair of scissors because when I chose not to and instead used a knife to cut the packaging off of an additional broom I had to buy, I cut my finger resulting in five stitches. Had my stuff been there, I would have had a broom, and many pairs of scissors.
I asked for an email confirming that they would pay this compensation, otherwise I have nothing in writing. I also said that I will not make payment until the truck arrives at the door. They will try to get you to pay up front. DO NOT do this.
Once they have your money, they have zero incentive to deliver. They have your stuff and your money. Clearly, I would not use Hildrup or United again. Not sure that any movers would be any better? The main thing about using ANY mover, is do not trust them. Protect yourself by not paying up front, keep emailing/​calling so they don’t forget about you and be prepared to not see your belongings for a month.
I will update once I receive all of my belongings.

The entire experience with Hilldrup was great! The estimator who came to my home was professional and very knowledgeable; Ann, my coordinator, was also professional, knowledgeable and answered all of my questions promptly and respectfully and with a very caring manner; the packers did an excellent job — nothing was broken or damaged. I was concerned about an antique mirror (over 100 yrs old), antique marble topped coffee table (70 yrs old). fine china and crystal — i didn’t need to worry. Hilldrup made sure everything was packed and/​or crated as needed, therefore, everything made the trip from Alexandria, VA to Austin, TX in perfect condition.
When I needed to get the marble top uncrated in Austin, Ann, from Hilldrup arranged it all and the third party vendor did an excellent job, as well.
I highly recommend Hilldrup to anyone making a move — they have a great team in place to handle everything!

3^rd cross continent move and Hilldrup Moving was great. Helped communicate between all agents, assisted with all aspects of the move, and the crew that transported and unloaded our home were excellent. Would be happy to use again.

I used Hilldrup in late July to arrive early August 2014 for my move from Alexandria, VA to Littleton, CO. I was order 164 and claims ticket U164−3012−4. Please note I am only reviewing the container move.
This was my first time using a moving company which was subcontracted under United Van Lines.
Pros:
+ The packing crew in Alexandria, VA arrived on-​time and brought the correct supplies to package my items.
+ Leslie Tanner was very helpful in answering all questions and ensuring I receive my damage claims refund in a timely fashion.
Cons:
— My TV was dropped in the hallway
— My furniture was not dis-​assembled (ex: my bookshelf has removable shelves but they were not removed) as a result my shelves were damaged during the move.
— I had water damage to a few pieces of furniture due to the move.
Overall, I would not recommend using Hilldrup.

The packers Kathy Jackson (and I forget the other ladies name) arrived about 8 am and worked continuously until 6PM. They wrapped everything better than best! Things have been really organized for the unpacking part. Boxes are labeled very well! They were both very polite and very professional. I asked them if they needed water or anything and they said «no». I did not realize until my husband told me that night that I should have bought lunch for them. I am sorry ladies that I did not know that. I am sure you were starving by the time you finished :(
The next day at 8am Tony Ford, Walt, Jeff and Dre arrived and started packing and never slowed down! It took them maybe 4 hours to get all of our stuff in the truck. And they were such a funny bunch. I was cracking up all day! Since I knew about the «lunch» thing by now I stopped and got them lunch and they were very happy about that :) Kathy even came by at the unpack and helped.
They put everything where I asked them too!
This is our 3^rd time using Hilldrup and we will always use them (hope to never move again) & recommend them to anyone who has a move to make! They take the pressure and stress off of us ~

We’ve moved across oceans and across the country, a total of seven times. We’re not newbies to the business. I researched a lot of local companies to do our latest move, from Northern Virginia to Austin, TX, and got three quotes. I chose Hilldrup because of positive customer reviews and a competitive quote.
What a disappointment. Now that the move is complete, we’ve got a whole stack of damaged furniture, more than we’ve ever had, combined, for any of our moves. I’m still waiting for one box to be delivered, which was left on the truck. No one contacted me to say that they had this leftover box in the truck and gee, am I missing anything? It was on me to track people down and keep on them to get it delivered.
Here are my major problems with Hilldrup moving, starting from the beginning of the move.
1) Packers and loaders are two different teams. They sent two guys to pack and they were slow as molasses. Having two different teams on the loading end meant everyone could point fingers at someone else for the crappy packing job.
2) The truck was packed poorly, with some of our stuff packed behind other people’s stuff and vice versa. The delivery team spent the day asking us, «Is this yours?» We were beyond annoyed and we knew that something was going to get left on that truck. Despite our best efforts (we scavanged our lawn mower off the truck at the last minute, and literally had to wave down the departing truck to take someone else’s stuff they had left on our lawn)
3) The amount of damage – unacceptable. The boxes were poorly packed, many were crushed in on top upon delivery. We submitted claims for nine items, damage adding up to around $ 3,500.
4) They used 3^rd party services to move our piano, and the «piano mover» they used on the Texas end knew NOTHING about pianos. He literally fooled around with the soundboard until he figured out how to unlock the keys, despite my protestations that if he doesn’t know for sure how to do it he should leave it.
5) They tout their professionalism as a plus, but I tell you I’ve never felt more like a number. They were professional, but I felt like no one really gave a crap about our stuff or how the move went. They just wanted to get our move off the books.
I definitely would not use Hilldrup movers again.
Update: The missing box? Shipped by Hilldrup via UPS and all the stuff was smashed to smitherines. It was packed like crap with barely any paper in a huge box full of glass and breakables.
The companies response? Contact UPS and make a claim on them. I have yet to receive an apology of any kind for their terrible performance. I’m downgrading their rating from two stars to one.
Final note: Our move was a few years ago now, but I realize I posted my original review in the wrong place. I’m correcting the mistake.

My husband and I just moved with Hilldrup United from Alexandria, VA to Charleston, SC. We chose United Hilldrup from the four companies we interviewed because they promised that they would be coordinating with us every step of the way to help us prepare for the move. This turned out not to be true as their «coordination» turns out to be mass emails that went into our spam folder. There was no follow up with their coordination department to make sure that we had received the emails so that we could better prepare for the move.
For instance, had I been better informed, I would have made sure that things I did not want packed were locked up safely so that the packers would not have access to these things. As it turned out, when the packers arrived and we did a walk through of our home, I pointed out one cabinet, I did not want them to touch. Little did I know I should have locked it up with a skull and cross bones on the outside.
By the time the packers got to this cabinet, they had forgotten what I had said and everything was packed inside including garage door openers that our tenants needed who were moving into our house, dog collars for the electric fence, and a manual for operating all the appliances in the house. We had to order new garage door openers and we have yet to find the dog collars to send back to our tenants.
The next day when our household goods were to be picked up and loaded on the moving van, the crew and truck arrived four hours late because of a mechanical malfunction of the truck. Once it did arrive, the driver assessed that a second truck was needed because of the amount of our household effects.
Because of the truck’s late arrival and the need to stay on schedule with loading everything that day as I had painters coming the next day, followed by carpet repair and cleaning the following day and then an entire house cleaning the third day, I became very upset with the coordination office and finally, I started receiving the «outstanding» service that we were promised and that one hears on their automated message ad nauseum when trying to reach someone at Hilldrup United.
The parting shot of the loading van was that part of our stone retaining wall in our driveway was knocked down by the truck which I did not discover until the next day. I had to have that repaired so that the driveway could be usable again.
Delivery in Charleston went off without a hitch until it was discovered that a crucial piece of hardware needed to set up our king size bed was missing. Hilldrup had contracted with a third party to disassemble the bed in Alexandria, VA and reassemble it in Charleston, SC as it was a Sleep Number Bed and apparently they don’t have the expertise to do that. Unfortunately, when this third part disassembled the bed in Alexandria, they left all the hardware attached to the frame of the bed and one of the crucial pieces became loose and was subsequently lost.
As this was covered under the contract, Hilldrup United wasted a day trying to locate the part and finally the next day, they contacted a local furniture repair company to come and repair the bed. When the technician, who was also the owner of this company came, to the house, he stated that the missing piece could have been purchased at Home Depot. He did repair the bed frame and set up our bed.
In summary, this was a less than stellar move and we feel like we were promised service that was not delivered. They certainly did not live up to their motto of delivering «outstanding service».

This is an update to my original post. Four words: BEST MOVING COMPANY EVER. Despite a rocky start during a very busy posting season, the seven guys who showed up got the packing and loading done in eight hours. They did a door to door move and arrived exactly when they said they would. It seems like other companies hire guys off the street corner by the liquor store when they need guys to unpack a truck upon arrival. Hilldrup had the same guys who picked up the HHG deliver the HHG. They were courteous, polite, and kind to my kids who wanted to help move things. I even found two of them playing football with my boys during the 30 min break they took to eat lunch. Best of all, nothing was broken. It was the best move we’ve ever had. I highly recommend them for any and all moves in the Northern VA/​DC Metro area. Nice work Chuck, Tim, and the rest of the guys! Thank you.

AWFUL! I have moved several times over the past few years and Hilldrup, although previously used and I was satisfied, was UNSATISFACTORY. The movers did an adequate job, but were definitely in a hurry to go home. So, at the end of the day you sign off the report that the boxes were delivered. The boxes were not unpacked, and if any boxes were missing, how would you know when there is an entire house full of them? So, I was missing an important item and other smaller items that were listed in boxes called ‘misc. garage’. I advised Hilldrup THE NEXT DAY the most expensive item was missing and I was sent a claim form. After filing a claim with Hilldrup ALL claims were denied; the big missing item and the ones they put in boxes they called misc. They stated «nothing was noted as missing» on the final form, so too bad, so sad. OK, so I got the bums rush and I fell for it. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER use Hilldrup again.
If you wish to, feel free, the movers themselves are fine, but corporately, outright denying claims of completely missing items is unacceptable.

I can’t speak to the storage or to long-​distance moves, but, for a local move, I can’t recommend Hilldrup enough. The movers I originally hired fell through at the last minute, so I only had three days to find and hire a new company to move me fifty-​some miles from Baltimore to Northern Virginia. I contacted Hilldrup Wednesday morning and was all set up in my new condo the Friday after – no problems whatsoever.
My contact at Hilldrup – Sandy – was courteous and professional. She took my last-​minute request in stride, reassured me that my plight was not exactly uncommon, and set all the wheels in motion. She scheduled a surveyor to come to my house early Thursday evening and the packers and movers came – on time! – Friday morning, all the way from Stafford, VA.
I had already done most of the packing on my own, so the packers checked a few boxes to make sure nothing would break, wrapped and packed my television, and took a quick look around my very narrow street to figure out where the moving truck could park when it arrived. They stayed until the truck arrived.
Dwight (the mover) and his associate (whose name I never learned) were polite and efficient. There was nowhere to park the truck out of the flow of traffic, so I watched for cars out the front window and, whenever one pulled up, one of the movers would run out, move the truck, and move it back. This happened three or four times over the course of two hours, but neither one complained. They also navigated my steep staircase with no problems and did absolutely no damage to any of my belongings (or to the house).
Once the house in Baltimore was packed up, Dwight made sure I knew they would have to stop at a weigh station along the way and thus would be a little bit behind me. They weren’t too far behind – they pulled up at the condo in VA perhaps only fifteen or twenty minutes after me and got to work! Again, they were very careful with my things and took care with the walls, floor, and door so nothing was scratched or left a mark. They even took a look at a dresser drawer I’d complained didn’t open and shut with ease (a preexisting problem) and figured out how to fix it!
The entire moving process (from when the packers arrived to when the moving truck left, but excluding the drive from MD to VA) took about four hours. A few hours after that, Sandy (my original POC) called me to make sure it had all run smoothly and according to plan. I had no complaints, and 10 days later am still very happy with the work they did. Hilldrup will definitely be the very first place I call the next time I plan to move!

I found Hilldrup thanks to Angie’s list and am so so very glad we did! We called for a quote and the appraiser came out as scheduled a day or two later. We had short notice that we were moving so needed to find a reliable company that could move us with only two weeks notice. We paid about $ 8000 to move from Fredericksburg VA to Seattle WA in the middle of winter.
She walked through the house detailing what was moving what wasn’t and answered our questions anout process and timing. About a day or two later we received a quote. One of the best things about Hilldrup is that their quotes are locked in as the maximum amount — it might be less but won’t be more which helped us for budgeting. It likely wasn’t the cheapest quote we could have gotten but we were impressed by their service and reviews on Angie’s List — and they could accommodate our schedule. I liked that we didn’t have to worry about hours worked, number of crew, etc thay took care of all that within the quote given.
On packing day two professionals, who at first we thought were supervisors, showed up on time and finished all the packing on time. (I will note here that my husband is a retired Marine with lots of cross-​country moving experience so we had done a lot to pre-​organize what moved from what did not –which helped.) I am an artist and part of what they were packing was my studio and a lifetime of work!
The moving truck showed up early the next day and the the local Hilldrup team showed up on time. Hilldrup is part of United Van Lines, so our driver and his truck were from Montana — same great service. They loaded up and off it went! The truck arrived as scheduled two weeks later. We got a call A day or two ahead of time letting us know our truck was coming.
The unloading was complex as we are on a tiny street and the truck was huge. Nonetheless, our Montana driver and the local Seattle United Van Lines team worked it out and had us moved in on time by parking the truck a couple of blocks away and getting a smaller truck to haul up to our apt building. We paid by cashier check for the agreed upon amount — there was no extra charge for the extra truck! These guys worked hard and got us set up and settled in our new home.
Everything arrived in great condition, with only one minor injury to a lamp. Given the obstacles, it’s rather extraordinary. The hilldrup packers put such care into their work and were so methodical — all of our china and glasses, the art work, all arrived safe and sound. It was labeled clearly which expedited our unpacking.
My only wish is that there were a rating higher than a 5 stars that I could give to Hilldrup.

A good mover is hard to find. When we first started searching for a respectable mover that won’t run off with our stuff or break everything for our move from Maryland to Massachusetts, I thought it would be impossible. Reviews are impossible to find and there seems to be a zillion companies out there!
I whole-​heartedly recommend Hilldrup — they are super nice and reliable! They first sent a guy who inventoried our stuff and gave us a binding estimate. He seems to know his stuff and did everything quickly. The estimate was reasonable — a bit higher than the sketchy ones online where you just give them a list of things ($ 2500 for Hilldrup, 1500 – 2000 for sketchy online places for a one bedroom place) .
The movers came, and were professional and friendly. They wrapped all of our furniture in pads and seemed careful with everything. They have a nice tagging system that makes sure you get all your stuff (nothing was lost!)
The service was amazing! The coordinating person, Heather, was super nice and took care of everything, even my frantic last-​minute call about parking permits (see below). Our driver/​mover guy went ABOVE AND BEYOND his call of duty when our couch wouldn’t fit into our stupid tiny service elevator. He and the other mover CARRIED the couch up TEN FLIGHTS OF STAIRS without us asking! Everything arrived in good shape minus this crappy desk that no one missed.
Things to note — if you live or will move to a small street, talk to them about this! The van they had coming was GIGANTIC. like 70ft long, and we had problems with this on our small street. Neighbors were upset. On the Massachusetts end, we were supposed to get permits taken care of for the van to park, which we didn’t realize until it was too late, so the giant van just illegally parked there for 3 hours, which didn’t end up being a problem.

You always hear horror stories about movers, so naturally I was very scared to hand over all my belongings to movers to ship from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, CA last summer.
I did my research and went to those who move best — diplomats at the State Department. I got a list of the 3 recommended movers from a family-​friend at State, and then researched all 3 online. I had 2 companies come over for estimates, and was most impressed by the detailed, specific approach of the Hilldrup representative. I found the trust & assurance I needed to feel comfortable about transporting my goods with them, and decided to hire them.
I was very impressed with their sticker inventory system (and had one of my own as back-​up to avoid anything being lost — and if it was, I wanted to know about it). I’ll admit, I also micro-​managed the move when the movers arrived at my apartment in VA to ensure they packed things properly, which they did. And I was overall very impressed with the way they packed & moved all my belongings.
Since I’m in my mid-​20s, much of my «furniture» is from IKEA, and Hilldrup informed me (as does IKEA if you read their product labels) that these items may not withstand the move very well. Luckily, everything did survive in good shape when it arrived in CA — even my IKEA and Target plywood-​style furniture. The only small thing that happened was there was a nick on the top of one of my plywood Target-​bought storage cabinets (but it was $ 20 at Target, and I was warned). The important thing is that NONE of my items were lost, and I was very happy about this (it was my biggest fear). One caveat, one of my tall stand-​alone lamps was missing, but again that was $ 30 at Target, and the least of my fears. The crucial thing was the boxes, and I found that ALL of mine were delivered safely in California. Also, none of my glassware was broken.
One thing — the movers shoved my mattress in an elevator that was too small for a mattress at my apartment in CA, so it was ruined by its delivery. I had a $ 500 deductible, and the cost to replace the mattress was $ 1,175 so Hilldrup did refund me the $ 675.
Other than these few minor issues, I had no major complaints. And given the complications of moving (the small truck that first collected my goods in VA, the transfer to the big United Van Lines truck x-​country, then the transfer to the small truck with the local moving company in SF), there is a lot of potential for lost items. Given my one minor lost lamp and one minor scrape on a plywood piece from Target, I was very happy. And the mattress thing — that was just stupidity on the part of the California based company. I let Hilldrup in DC know, and they refunded me with a new mattress, so I was happy.
One more positive for Hilldrup is that they timed my move correctly. A lot of movers give you this big 2-​week window as to when they’ll deliver your goods in the new city. This was another major reason I went with Hilldrup instead of the other company who did the estimate. Since I was driving x-​country leisurely in 9-​days (incl a 2-​day wknd break in CO), we were very concerned that my items would arrive in SF before we would. Hilldrup was able to work with us on timing to try their best to ensure this would not happen (though they make no guarantees on timing). The timing worked out perfectly, and my goods arrived the day after I did in SF.
Also, Hilldrup provides you a contact person whom you can call with any questions and to track your goods (and she even called to provide me with updates as we made our way across country in my car). I appreciated this.
Given the difficult nature of moving and all of its complications, and the horror stories I’ve heard elsewhere, I would definitely recommend Hilldrup!