The Berkshire

Dear Berkshire Roaches,
Hey. How’ve you been? I know, I’ve been gone for quite some time. It’ll be a year in just a couple of months.
But, well, I guess I just wanted you to know that I’ve been thinking about every one of you. I mean, you are, after all still in nearly every one of my dreams. That’s not an exaggeration, Berkshire Roaches. I mean, sure, you’re definitely in all of my nightmares — just as I remember you: big, multitudinous, fast, always a few in sight, occasionally in my food, leaving dead bodies everywhere. But you’ll be pleased to know that you also appear in so many of my other dreams as well. Just… there. Ever present.
I remember how you tried to follow me when I left. It was super sweet, really. When we moved into our new apartment and found your nests in our printer and in the cracks under our table. I do miss that printer. I remember the way you all scattered from the crevices into our new home and laid your eggs. Unfortunately, our new building is able to competently remove cockroaches — and let’s face it, the Berks is your HOME.
Hey, remember that time I was drinking my tea and found an egg sac in my mouth? Remember how I screamed and screamed even though I was on the phone with someone? How I broke down sobbing at work later because I recalled that smooth texture followed by sharp, horrific realization? Good times, my friends. Good times.
But don’t worry, Berkshire Roaches, I know that you’ll always be with me. You’ll be with me in the way my heart skips a beat every time I see something small move out of the corner of my eye. You’ll be with me in the way I am unable to stand in a kitchen for extended periods of time. You’ll be in my dreams, of course. And I know you’ll be with me in my nearly-​year-​old phobia of cockroaches.
It was all you, guys.
Thanks,
Jack V.

I live in Berks for 3 years. The managers are all very friendly and always willing to help you with anything. The common areas are clean and nicely decorated. I have never had an issue with any type of bugs and they monitor for them every week if it is needed. It is close to everything you would want: shopping, restaurants, metro, etc. The apartments themselves are quite large and there is a lot of natural light that comes in through the windows. The amenities are great, the fitness center is awesome, parking is free! This building is in the process of turn over, don’t pay attention to old reviews. I would recommend the Berkshire to anyone!

I been living here since October and i feel like copy/​paste Emily K.‘s review coz it is pretty much very accurate in describing the place and services. Its a really great deal that i luckily stumbled on, all the staff are amazing and the property manager Irina is wonderful and very attentive. So yeah, its definitely highly recommended :)

It is very close to the university. For those studying at AU, especially graduate students, you can save lots of time and nerves, wasted in a commute. My classmates who decided to live outside of Tenleytown to save money, ended up spending the same amount on the transportation and their rent, that I pay for a rent in Berkshire.

First off, the only problem I and my boyfriend have had in this complex has been the loud, messy, noisy and rude children who live in the building. I wholeheartedly agree with the fellow reviewer who stated that this building is just a transitional space for them.
It should also logically follow that the loudest reviews will be from these youths. These kids will also be the most likely to 1) not clean their apartments, therefore they will have cockroaches and bug problems 2) not know good customer service when they see it 3) be unable to recognize the value of the Berkshire institution (likely because they do not pay for their living, anyways).
Now, onto my review.
Our leasing agent is wonderful. We were handled with utmost respect. The initial meeting was an unscheduled apartment viewing and we were graciously shown available units. For us, the decision was simple– the rental rate and the service and amenities were perfect. It is in an optimal location, as both my boyfriend and I are pursuing degrees at American University. It is a ten minute walk to campus!
Concierge: They are wonderful people. We are always greeted when we walk in and out the front door. Whenever we have a package delivery they are prompt bringing it out– their cataloging system is impressive given the size of the building and number of deliveries they receive at the front.
Security: This is the A team. There is always security around– they are on TOP of dealing with noise complaints and the other various security needs. They also go door to door making sure everyone is out of the building during a fire alarm. They are great and they deserve pizza every Friday.
Leasing: Fantastic team. Treat them with respect and they treat you with respect.
Amenities: Nothing special to report, the laundry rooms have lots of machines in them and the only problem is sometimes kids forget their laundry in there for days… Again, that’s not a building problem, that is just kids needing to be more responsible. The gym is nice for cardio, and has a nice weights set. I wish the ceiling were higher because it’s a little claustrophobia inducing, but it’s a nice amenity with new equipment and it’s always spotless and sanitary. The wifi café is nice– the password can be obtained at the front desk before you go down there. The grocery store is also a nice benefit, if you’re ever in need of eggs and don’t want to go to the store it’s incredibly convenient. The owner is friendly and kind, as well.
Maintenance team: The cleaning crew is working around the clock! Whenever I’m leaving to work in the morning I always run into one or two team members vacuuming or cleaning windows– I’m being redundant here but they are on TOP of their responsibilities! And the maintenance team, they’re punctual and they are kind and they always do their best when it comes to the maintenance needs (we had to have a door fixed, a lightbulb replaced, a drain cleared out, all minor problems but they treated them with urgency).
I’ll probably update this review as I go, I intend to stay with the Berkshire throughout the term of my degree and maybe beyond that.
Sorry for the wall of text! I wish I could post a potato for tax but it wouldn’t make sense during a review of an apartment complex… But here’s a Mr. Potato Head!
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The perspective resident experience is subpar to other residences in the community. Not willing to compromise at all and sends the same email templates over and over. If it was not for American University a half of a mile away, this residence would have very few residents. My advice to management is to hire leasing agents who are professional, empathetic, and are willing to put the customer first. Compromise, negotiate, and at least pretend to care.

PLEASE NOTE THAT LIVING HERE REQUIRES A $ 475 NONREFUNDABLE APPLICATION FEE PER PERSON ON THE LEASE. Still want to live here? Keep reading.
The lobby might look nice but it’s incredibly misleading and the hallways are dark, dingy, dirty, and make you fear for your life. Weed smoke is quite prevalent in this building. The apartments themselves are also gross and make living in a cardboard box on the street very enticing. While the Berkshire rent might be cheaper than other places in DC, I definitely recommend you shell out an extra hundred or so and get an actual apartment.
Furthermore, the managing office is extremely incompetent and rude. It will take numerous phone calls to get anything done and once you get to the office in person, there is always a lengthy wait to speak to someone. Each of the staff members are unfriendly and unhelpful. I would like to point out that Irena in particular lacks any compassion and professionalism. Every encounter with her made me want to move out immediately, but unfortunately I signed a lease.
Good luck doing laundry. Unless you already have one of those cards for the machines, you won’t be able to get a new one. They’re unavailable and nobody that works at the Berkshire knows where to get one.
Despite security sitting in front of the lobby, this building doesn’t actually have security. Anyone can just walk in the front (you never have to use your keyfob) and the security guard will smile at you even if you’re secretly a murderer.
Lastly, this place allows people to live with pets. I wasn’t aware that MICE could be classified as pets but I definitely saw a few of them running down the halls of the 2^nd floor. Keep in mind that living here includes sharing the building with furry friends.
Basically, save yourself and do not live here.

If you don’t have to, don’t live here. I have been here for less than a week and I am already supremely disappointed. Yes, it it cheaper than a lot of places and yes, it’s in a good location if you are an AU student, but there are so many negatives as well. The cockroach problem is atrocious and disgusting. We find them in our sink, our beds and our toilets. The staff is also so incompetent and frankly do not care at all about the residents. There was no parking available for me, so I asked an employee where I can park and they pointed it out and said that they wouldn’t tow me if I park there. I come down later only to see that my car has been towed, right before I needed to go to work. I spoke to the lady at the front desk and said that no one is allowed to park there, I followed by explaining how an employee told me to park there, she was not much help. My mother then decided to call, since they weren’t taking me seriously, and Pollo the «manager» was out of the office and she was told to call back in an hour. She did, no answer. Then he was in an «emergency meeting.» So she emailed him and it’s been 4 days and still no response. They called the police on my car as well and so now we have to pay over 400 dollars in fees and tickets. Our closet doors are too big for the frame and literally do not close, the room smelled like straight up chemicals the first two months we had the place (we signed the lease but didn’t start staying here until recently), one of the stove ranges doesn’t work, the oven makes a loud pounding noise, the AC in the living room doesn’t work and an outlet doesn’t work. The list will probably go on the longer that I live here but for now I think that it is already a lengthy list. Needless to say, I do not plan on extending my lease here or EVER recommending it to anyone.
Also, the leasing office is terrible and are so unhelpful and try to rush you through the process.

If you are considering moving here, don’t. Easy as that. Berkshire management does not care about any of the residents here. They’ll be nice to you upon moving in, but as soon as you’re locked in your lease, they’ll completely ignore your concerns. My car was hit in the parking lot and the management showed zero concern and only repeated that the area was safe. My car damage begs to differ. The entire complex is filled with roaches, cheap appliances and horrible wood flooring. My roommate and I also smelled gas for weeks and complained to the management. They sent their staff with gas readers and said there was no gas. This repeated for weeks. Finally we called Washington Gas after getting severe migraines and they indeed confirmed that there was a huge gas leak. Berks finally agreed after speaking with Washington Gas that there was indeed a gas leak (you don’t say?!). I breathed gas for over a month regularly. I can only hope at this point that I didn’t lose a few years off my life for that. They renovated the gym and a mini store in the apartment at an aim to make it appear that the Berkshire is this nice and classy complex, but don’t let it fool you. The concierge is rude, the complex grounds are dirty, and they refuse to take complaints seriously. This is by far the worst apartment complex in NW DC. Oh, and your security deposit, good luck getting that back. They’ll put in fake charges just so they can keep that deposit. Run away as fast as you can, and don’t look back. (Btw, I have nightmares because of this place still, and I moved out a few months ago)

I spent the first 3+ years of my life here back in the 60ies on the 11^th floor. I love the building and remember seeing some bright start outside the small kitchen window. My Mom and I would recite Twinkle Twinkle little star while looking at it.
Sadly from the reviews it looks like they are not maintaining it well. I have good memories but I was 3!

Here is a quick rundown:
— As everybody else pointed out there are roaches and bugs. I had several in my apt.
— In the year I’ve been here the fire alarm went off falsely on several occasions, dragging me out of bed.
— The shower water in small spurts suddenly increases to what feels like 1000 degrees on its own everytime I shower. I hated it every single morning.
— I used the community room on one occasion and the deposit check I provided was cashed unjustly and the money was not given back for months. I received attitude while trying to get my money back.
— The parking is free but is often not available late at night and the spaces are very tight increasing the likelihood of your car getting scratched.
— Very loud, neighbors can easily be heard through the walls.
— I was not a fan of the nasty laundry room, but I’m not that mean to go into detail.
— Be very careful with what the office says to you, they are 100% business oriented and were not flexible with me. I felt zero sense of community when dealing with the office, they def made me feel like money was 100 times more important than working with the customer. Thoroughly read the «book» of a lease they have. I have never seen such a humongous legal document.
— It could be worse but overall I wouldn’t even recommend my worst enemy to live here. DC has so many housing options. I was easily able to find something better.

Pretty awful.
1. The roaches are a real problem. They’re impossible to kill and they are everywhere.
2. The leasing office is ridiculous. I actually ended up applying twice and signing a lease twice because the leasing office is so inept that they didn’t have me fill out the paperwork on the right size paper. Expensive and ridiculous.
3. The package situation is atrocious. It’s impossible to get the things you need in a timely manner and the staff is not helpful.
I lived here for a semester and then had to move out. Shitty apartment building.

Have had the absolute worst experience here and would never wish it upon anyone else. At the beginning of the lease, the rent system denied my bank account for online rent deposits and told me that the payment went through. 20 days later we got a notification saying they never received our payment, charged us a late fee and threatened to «take us to their attorneys.» Two months in a row they denied my account, didn’t tell me why, and charged us a late fee even though they gave us confirmation of the payment. For a week, I called and emailed daily to get into contact with the woman, Nadia Brice, who was in charge of rent. Every time I called she was «out» and claimed that she’d responded to every single one of my emails. I get her email blasts that go out to the entire Berkshire community, but I have never received a single email from her other than that. My roommate went to talk to them in person and Nadia physically came out of her office to say that she had to make an appointment to meet with her. When my roommate asked if she could make an appointment, Nadia said, «no.»
In August I went to go get a package and the guy at the front desk gave another resident the package key because he didn’t feel like retrieving the packages himself. As the resident was walking down the hall to get my package he kept saying, «I don’t even work here and they have me doing things for them.» A resident, who I don’t know and is in no way under contract with the Berks, knows my name, where I live, how to get my apartment key… Just really uncomfortable with that situation.
Today our apartment was broken into. We went to the manager’s office to report the break in, since you’d figure someone would want to know if their establishment had been broken into, and they told us to come back monday after we’d filed a police report. The cops who came later said that last year there’d been an issue with someone checking out the maintenance keys and breaking into peoples apartments. The fact that we were told to come back monday after multiple incidents happened where someone on their staff broke into residents’ apartments is infuriating.

PLEASE READ ENTIRE REVIEW IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THE BERKSHIRE
This place is atrocious. I needed a place to live in DC for 3 months for a temporary job. I sublet a studio in the Berkshire because the rent WAS reasonable (it will increase as soon as I leave) and the location is decent. I ignored the bad reviews and moved in. Of course, they were all accurate. I don’t know where to start so I’ll just go in chronological order:
1. Even before I moved in, the Berkshire management caused me problems. I needed to pay the $ 75 «application fee» for all new leases, even though I was not signing a lease and only living there 3 months. But, fine. I sent a check. They claimed they never received it so I overnighted a second check and they agreed to destroy the first check when and if they found it. Of course, they cashed both checks. It took me a month to get my money back.
2. The elevators close on you in a matter of seconds which made moving in and even coming home with groceries a nightmare.
3. The gym — ancient equipment in a tiny, low-​ceiling room. Every piece of equipment I tried to use was broken in some way making them unusable. I put in service requests for the gym, which were ignored.
4.There were frequent bugs, including roaches.
5. A week after moving in, I noticed an odd smell coming from the entry way. I opened the front closet which I never used and an unbearable mold smell came out and filled the apartment. I’m not exaggerating, it would actually make you gag. I put in a service request and the Berkshire finally came to address the problem a week later. They put an air freshener in the closet. I put in another service request explaining that an air freshener would not cure a severe mold problem. A week later they replaced the carpet in the closet and by that time had to purge the carpets in the rest of the apartment of the smell, which had spread.
6. Half of the electrical outlets in the apartment didn’t work. The one in the bathroom was covered in black soot and looked like a mini blast site.
7. The carpets were ripped and coming apart at the corners. You could literally pick up the carpet simply by squeezing it between two fingers and lifting lightly.
8. The AC went out twice in the middle of brutal DC summer.
9. The building management were tyrants about picking up your packages. You would get all manner of notifications that you absolutely needed to come get your packages right away. Then, infuriatingly, the building had an asinine policy prohibiting residents from picking up packages before 6:00pm even though they were sitting right there at the front office.
10. My mailbox lock was warped and would require about a minute of furious key-​jiggling every time until it opened. After a while I just stopped locking it and left the mailbox door swinging wide open.
11. The one thing I really liked about the building was I could park right outside my apartment in the outdoor spaces, FOB into the garage, and go up the elevator nearest to my apartment. Then, the building felt the need to crack down on unauthorized entry (what non-​residents would enter this place willfully?) so they cut off FOB entry everywhere but the lobby. So, I had to walk up a long hill to the lobby from the parking area every day to enter.
12. Laundry. Down the hall from an always dark and perpetually 1972 «community room» is a laundry facility. You get a card and need to load money onto the card using a machine that inexplicably does not take coins or singles. The machine would eat $ 10 bills and not load the money onto your card. The front desk tells you to call the machine company, which promised to send me a refund but never did. I called again — no refund again. I emailed and they sent me a laundry card which uselessly arrived as I was moving out.
13. In one week, both of my sinks clogged and filled with water. As usual, it took 2 rounds of service requests to have them fixed.
14. The building’s internet service, provided by the questionably existent «AccessMedia3,» topped out at 1.5 mbps. Watching a 2 minute YouTube video was a struggle.
15. The apt had large windows with beautiful park views. It would have been nice to look out of them if the blinds could open. But multiple times the blind strings came apart, forcing the blinds to remain closed in place blocking the entire view. One of the blind pieces fell off, however, causing a single stream of sunlight to fall directly on my bed which made sleeping-​in impossible. My multiple service requests were ignored.
16. The hallways reeked of marijuana.
17. There were often police cars/​ambulances apparently in crisis-​mode in the front driveway.
In sum, the Berkshire is an enormous, nightmarish lovechild of a college dorm and a retirement community. No one between 21 and 75 appears to live here. Perhaps management feels the groups that do live here deserve no consideration. Now think: if I had these issues in 3 months, imagine a year or more…

I’m a college student. I wouldn’t complain because it’s convenient and affordable. Yes, there are bug and roaches but they are manageable with roach traps (my roommate is brilliant. She brought these traps that attract the roach to some kind of poisonous food but I’m not sure of the name. I would suggest you try several kinds and see which one works for you). The bugs and roaches don’t come back when we have the traps replaced every 2 months. Just try to clean frequently and things will be just fine. The building can be a little confusing to navigate since there are different elevators to get to each part of the building. If you want to go from the west to the central area of the building… u gotta drag your lazy butt down to the lobby and walk to the other elevator to get to the other side…
Staff: they are nice. They try their best and I appreciate that. They are human so when they work long shifts or deal with unfriendly customers, it’s understandable they are not putting on the kind of smiles that say «I just got diamonds or gold for free!» They are quick to put in work orders when things need to get fixed (my case our toilet was clogged). George the front desk guy is always fun when you try to get to know him. I like the staff here. But again, that’s because I don’t expect them to be the most cheery people. If you expect amazing service that leaves you feeling like the most pampered resident, then this might not be the place for you.
Living condition: the apt building is obviously not the most modern building, BUT it’s fine for the price and convenience. I share a studio with a roommate and we don’t really get disturbed by noise or smell. It could be that we are easy going people and that we are often at school, but if you are a college student, you would be fine here. The sewage system is quite old so make sure you don’t flush too much toilet paper down the toilet… seriously… But besides that, stove, sink, shower, window… every works fine.
Security: it’s a safe area if you don’t try to stand outside in the middle of the night asking for trouble. It’s close by to AU and I have walked back at 3 am before during exam weeks, crossing fingers nothing would happen, and nothing happened. I would say I shouldn’t have done that. but generally, it’s a lit neighborhood with a short distance from AU (5 – 7 min walk) so just watch out and you should be fine. OR you can request a «walk» service from AU campus security and they will walk with you back to the apt building. I have done it at least twice this semester (they drove me 1 time).
Shopping: it’s convenient if you can spend 20 – 30 min to get to the grocery store since you have to either take a bus or walk to Tenleytown from here. My roommate often drive with friends down to Giant when it’s her turn to get the grocery. When it’s my turn, I ordered from Peapod (used the free trial: p) or I got grocery from Wholefoods in Tenleytown. It is more expensive but since I have such a packed schedule and can’t walk to Giant, it’s fine to pay a little more and save some time. Overall, not bad. Coffee shops are abundant closeby. AND they are renovating the little convenient store in the building… hopefully it’s better than before.
Laundry: It’s not a far walk from either side of the building. They upgraded and it’s now 1.75 per wash and per dry instead of 1.25… :(The machines work fine and I don’t lose clothes or any of those mixed up things that can happen on college campuses.
Hope this helps! I’m being quite honest here but that’s what I think. Others might have different experiences :) Good luck!

1. Poorly organized package service, staff at front desk have no clues what they should do to ensure fast, easy delivery to their residents. Package delivered 2, 3 or even 5 days ago still cannot be located by front desk staff, staff lack of sense of community and responsibility, very lazy at finding package, being rude sometimes. If they cannot do the package service then hire or open a package room to do the professional package service, like computerized package scanning/​email text notification to resident. Residents pay one day air shipping but the package will be delayed by front desk is not acceptable. Staff will refuse to find, or even look at the list if you ask for package, they will let you wait, wait and then when next shift is here, he/​she will let you wait again.
2. Poor pet control, rooms are full with roaches, flyers and is not possible to kill them at all. Pet control will arrive but do a little job, or just leave and said that the job was done. Emergency request was ignored several days by maintenance service. Very lazy and lack of experiences.
3. Very bad leasing office staffs, very rude. Not even look at you while you were talking, promised to you something and never do it. Lack of smile, lack of good attitude.
4. Poor security, security guard is not 24/​7, lack of door ID check, lack of vehicle ID check, very unsafe.
This is the worst apartment i’ve ever seen in my whole life, and everyday you have to deal with those lazy package people. If not for the good location, I will leave right away. Because this apartment is just like a dirty jail. Management treat their residents like prisoners.
Roaches everywhere, do not step in, this is no better than jail