Dorchester Towers Apartments

This is a great apartment for the value! I have been here for a little bit over three years and have zero complaints. Staff is friendly, accommodating, and reliable. It is within walking distance to a shopping center with everything you need. A gem in Arlington for sure!

is disappointing what a HORRIBLE experience we have had with Dorchester Apartments. We have had 36 mice in the last year and a half. We have had THOUSANDS of cockroaches. Let me be clear, these are pictures of mice and cockroaches below that we've seen in the last TWO DAYS. I've lived other places in Northern Virginia and have dealt with routine pests before, never have I seen situations like what we have experienced at Dorchester Apartments. We have had mice crawling on us, we have had cockroaches fall in our food. We have had mice squeaking all night long while we were trying to sleep. We've pulled dead mice off of our sheets. We have had 5 pest control agencies investigate our apartment, the first 4 were through Dorchester, the last told us that there were CLEAR HOLES in our wall that they should have fixed a long time ago. We are very clean people. We have air-tight containers, we have a roomba, and we clean weekly. At this moment we have rat poop next to a hole near our radiator and no one has come to pick this up, despite us sending pictures specifying where the issue was. This doesn't even include the fact that our ceiling has caved in during our time here. After two years of being nice, and waiting, and being patient, and allowing Dorchester Apartments to take whatever measures they wanted. They have given us ZERO financial compensation for our problem. We are a teacher and a medical student. It feels like they have taken advantage of our kindness and expect us to pay for this "luxury apartment" with zero respect to the stress and difficulties we've had living here. Don't be dubbed by the prices, I wish that we had never moved into this apartment.

I really had no issues living here. I was happy to be quiet and keep to myself as I have stress problems. I dont even know any of my neighbors. I have bugs, and some maintenance issues and always tried to be professional with them when i did see them in person and over emails. This place was better then my last place that is why I never complained. I never complained about the maintenance issues to them. Heck I never even saw them as I work and volunteer all the time and am usually not home.I put out my own traps for mice and ants as i did not want to be a bother. I did have to call them for the mouse though as it threw my stress level out of wack and was not having luck catching it, but other then that few contacts with mgt, and what I did they seemed to be positive. I paid my rent a month ahead of time and thought everything was going good till tonight. They sent me a letter saying "they were not renewing my lease and want me out by the end of the month". The only thing I can think of is someone complained about the garbage truck and we had a police officer here questioning us. I explained to the police I am hardly home and have white noise machine that drowns out the sound when I am home while i am sleeping so it does not bother me. I have never heard anything back about what happened with that issue as it did not involve me.I had no problems with any of my neighbors (i did not know any of them)/no previous written complaints by management except one neighbor who seemed to have a slamming issue and I sent professional emails just asking if things were ok with my neighbor as I was concerned. The reason I was concerned is residents were coming to my door/leaving notes on my door, and asking me if I was the cause of some noise that I did not here. If this is how they treat someone who causes no problems, then I feel it is my duty to warn people that even if you play by the rules here they will throw you out. I am totally at a loss as to what I did, but sounds like I am being blamed for something I did not do, and they did not even bother to question me about it. If you live her just hope you dont get caught up in some apt issue, as I did nothing wrong and seem to be paying the price. If you look at the other review to there was an army guy who was never home either and they kicked him out. I liked the people in the office and the maintenance people were great, until they stabbed me in the back out of left field, without telling me what I did.

Moved in in September and the apartment was infested with ants. They even made it into my bed which is far from the kitchen. When I called the woman in the rental office hung up on me. So I don't cook, take my garbage out every day and wait until my lease is up.

Perhaps that works for you but it doesn't for me. I feel bad for the mailman who has to stand there breathing it in while he shoves mail in the boxes.

Have been here for a few months and so far so good. Anything that wasn't right with our apartment was an easy work order and fixed promptly (leaky faucet, shower head making crazy noises, we did have bugs but they sprayed it). Building is older but still love our 2br/1ba with lots of space for our money. Easy walk to bus stops, restaurants, bars and accessible when you need to drive. I would recommend!

I've been in my apartment for over 3.5 years, and have been generally satisfied with my experience, with some caveats. PROS: - good sized apartments with lots of closet space - potential for excellent DC views (fireworks!) if you get an apartment on an upper floor facing the right direction - really nice rooftop garden (see above re excelllent views) - great for cat owners (no deposit/rent/fees) - even though it's not near a Metro stop, it's still on a couple of major bus lines and relatively convenient if you use transit to commute - walkable to lots of restaurants, bars, CVS, grocery store, etc. - walls are pretty thick, so not too much noise from neighbors - rose garden that's available to residents (I know it's an odd amenity, but I've really enjoyed the ability to get fresh, free flowers) NEUTRAL: - I've made maybe 4 service calls since I've lived there. Two were answered immediately and fixed the first time (mice and plumbing), and two were answered promptly but not really fixed (shower issues). The important stuff got attended to right away, but lesser items are hit or miss. - The employees that work at the management office are friendly, but not terribly helpful. Sometimes it takes a couple of conversations to get the answers that you need. - It's an older building, so the hallway/entrances are a bit outdated, the kitchens are a bit outdated, no in-unit washer/dryers, etc. It's all serviceable and fine for the price, just not as shiny and fancy as some other places around town. CONS: - The elevator at the 2005 entrance breaks on a regular basis, which is where most of the parking is for the building. - As an older building, the forced air is only warm in the winter and only cold in the summer. Only once since I've been living there has the management turned on the heat by the Virginia-mandated October 15th deadline, usually it's when they feel like it and/or get too many complaints. - Not really within the power of the building management, but the post office that services the building is pretty bad. I've had at least one package never show up; was supposed to have mail held for two weeks but they only held it for one day; etc. The front office does not do package delivery, so you're taking a chance getting something delivered to your apartment. - There were roaches when I first moved in, but I haven't seen them in a while. With any older building, I would expect there to be some bugs and this one isn't an exception.

I love Dorchester Towers for its midentury quirkiness. Built in 1961, the landscaping is impeccable. Fabulous lobby with original trees-and-birds mural, amazing rooftop garden with mature trees, meditation lawn, fountains, wrought iron furniture and monument views, huge pool, tennis courts, rose garden (we're encouraged to pick!), high ceilings, solid construction--sound does not travel. Big balcony with view of Nats Park, National Harbor ferris wheel, and the Potomac. Nick, Darlene, and Robert on staff are unfailingly helpful and I love my neighbors. Plus express bus downtown to work in DC, restaurants, bars, library, church within walking distance--I plan to retire here. 100 more square feet for much less per month than my former building in north Arlington.

This apartment complex is affordable, great location, and spacious! These apartments are roomy. There is a lovely rooftop garden, where on clear days, one can see all the Washington, D.C. monuments! The staff are friendly and helpful. The location is convenient to Clarendon, Old Town Alexandria, and the beltway.

Great location. Easy to NOVA or anywhere in DC. Inexpensive. Friendly staff. Large units, recently renovated. Good maintenance. Lacks a gym. Nice pool. Fantastic roof top garden. More tenants than parking spaces. Street parking can be hard to come by.

During my 11 Years stay at Dorchester Towers Apartments. I found that the location was very convenient and just minutes away from the Nations Capital.The staff was very helpful and I would recommend Dorchester Towers Apartments to anyone looking for an Apartment Home.