I've lived here for about 7 mos now and while I'm happy to be living in a rent-controlled apartment, I certainly don't get much.
Management and Maintenance:
The building management is terrible-it's run by Waggaman Corp. There are dead roaches in the halls and stairwells constantly. Sometimes they clean it up, often they sit there for a week or more even if you've called to complain. I took to naming the two in the hallway near my apartment that were there for over a week, despite calls to the management office. The "resident" manager doesn't even live in the building. She's a crazy old lady who lives a couple miles away, so if you lock yourself out, prepare to pay her $20 CASH for her cab fare (which you have to call for her) and listen to her complain about having to let you in. In the wintertime, they don't clear the sidewalk or staircase in front of the building or parking lot in back until someone calls. I recently had to have some maintenance done in my unit and was told that it would be done within one or two business days of the work order being turned in that day. They said arrangements could be made to let the worker in since I couldn't leave work. I don't think anyone showed up until over a week later, but I wasn't notified that they were either coming or had been there (I discovered some things messed up and my apt wasn't locked the way I left it, though it was locked).
Apartment:
My apartment is a studio that is VERY small. The counter space in the kitchen is literally the size of a large cutting board. That's it! The air conditioning is thankfully a wall unit (that looks like a window unit) so I can control that myself. The heat is centrally controlled and the apartment can get pretty hot and stuffy when it's on. I keep the windows open most of the time which brings in a lot of street noise on weekends. I have a lot of closet space that makes up for lack of space everywhere else. The bathroom has literally one outlet-in the light above the sink. It only works if the light is on and it's not very big, so you're limited as to what you can plug in there. I've had two instances where I've gotten up in the morning and had no hot water and had to take a shower at work (and they weren't on days when the building had scheduled maintenance). If I tried to call, a plumber would have shown up a week later when the water was fine.
Location:
I like the neighborhood a lot and the location can't be beat. The surrounding streets are beautiful and leafy and neighborhood-y. The building is two or three blocks from Safeway and CVS and all the main shops on Columbia and just about 4 blocks from all of the Adams Morgan bars and restaurants on 18th St. You are about a 15 min walk from the Woodley Park Metro, or you can catch the 42 bus from the corner of Columbia and Ontario. There are lots of buses that leave from the intersection of Calvert and Adams Mill as well (at the bottom of Lanier Pl) and the Circulator just started running a route from Woodley Park metro through Adams Morgan to McPherson Square. You're also about a 15 min walk from Columbia Heights and the shopping mall with Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Best Buy. If you're not a fan of the Safeway (it's great for basics, bad for fresh stuff), there's a Super Giant near the Columbia Heights metro. If you're not carrying too many heavy bags, it's definitely walkable, and the circulator goes that way now, too.
Parking:
I don't own a car, but when I first moved in they said that you had to pay per spot and that they were all taken (there aren't very many). Street parking appears to be touch-and-go. DC parking enforcement always seem to be out patrolling, and you may need a permit to park on the street on weekdays.
Laundry:
There is a laundry room on the 1st floor-2 washers, 2 dryers. $1.50 each in quarters. Pretty standard.
If you're looking for a rent-controlled apartment and are willing to deal with a not-so-nice place, Summit House is for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

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