We moved here in May of 08. My husband got a job on Base so we were unfamiliar with the area. Since we have 2 kids we wanted to really investigate where we were moving. Compared to other places around here, Abberly Crest is the best. However, I wish we would have thought to look in Calvert County too. The schools are better and we could have rented a house cheaper for what we pay here. We have a 3 BR 2 BA 2nd floor apt. for over $1400/mo. I'll start with the things we like.

We love the pool and the grounds are kept clean. The playground is also nice. Overall everyone is friendly and minds their own business. Also, the maintenance staff are well mannered and are quick to respond. We just had a question about the HVAC controls and they came by the next morning, despite the fact that we told them they didn't have to rush over. The person I like dealing with in the office is Ariel. She has always been nice and accommodating. Kim is also friendly. Another review mentioned hearing their neighbors cell phone on vibrate, I think that is an exaggeration. We cannot hear our neighbors talking or the kids for that matter. our whole building pretty much has kids. I have excellent hearing too. We also like the layout of the apartment and the bathrooms have a lot of space for an apartment bathroom. We also like the storage room in the apartment. The living room is very spacious as well. The walk in closets are also a bonus.

Now for the things we dislike. My husband and I nicknamed the lifeguards the "pool Nazis". They don't even give you a chance to put your stuff down on a chair before they are up your a#$ with the frickin clipboard to sign in. Also, they have all these pool rules for safety, but the life guards are so busy flirting with each other and texting on phones that I don't know how they can do their jobs. However, as a parent I wouldn't just let my kids go wild and not watch them anyway. Also, they invite people who don't live here to the pool. Maybe they are allowed to though. We live right next to the construction. We were told when we first signed the lease that construction was going to end by June 08. (when we moved in, in May we knew that wasn't going to happen) Then after I had our 2nd daughter we were told by February it would be done. We'll see about that. I am very understanding and try not to complain about things but, it is no nerve racking after awhile. Especially when their jack hammering on a Saturday at 8:30AM. IT'S A SATURDAY!!!!! Oh and I know not to ever ask about it again because the response I get is, "we know how it is, we live here too". The people in the office DO NOT live in the building we do. That seems to be the response for everything actually. Around the time I had my daughter, I was going on no sleep. (like most people do with newborns)I kept switching rooms to try and sleep and it felt like the noise was following me. After I fell asleep in my daughter's room, an hour later I was woken up to a truck blowing it's horn outside the window. Obviously the truck didn't get the memo about using the other entrance. There are signs posted that the construction vehicles are to use the other entrance, not the main entrance. All day I can see trucks and other construction traffic go in and out the main entrance. DO THEY NOT SEE THAT IN THE OFFICE'''' Maybe my definition of construction vehicles is different. Also in the afternoon at quitting time, the vehicles from the construction site drive very fast out of the complex. They leave around the time that the kids start coming home from school. I was on the phone one afternoon and I watched a pickup truck speed out of the fence area and NOT even slow down when a boy was crossing the street. I am just irritated with it and feel that they are in a residential neighborhood working with lots of kids around and they should be more respectful. The construction of the apartments themselves I thought would be better then what they are. The back 2 bedrooms get very cold sometimes despite the fact that the heat is on 75. We have to keep the heat turned up to get the warm air back there which does make our bill pretty high for an apartment. I recommend getting those child safety things that you can put in the outlets to keep the air from coming in. I think they are a bit overpriced. Oh, and the utility bills are insanely high. I come from another state so maybe, all of MD is just like this, but I've never had to pay a monthly water bill before moving here. I used to pay quarterly. What we pay for water now monthly averages to be more then what we used to pay quarterly. We moved from a 3 BR 2 BA condo and only paid $150/quarterly. The apartment features look great when you walk through the apartment on their little tour. However, after moving in, we are realizing the flat paint sucks. Don't ever use a Mr. Clean magic eraser. My daughter knocked a broom over that I had leaning against the entry way wall and it left a long black mark. If you just bump against the wall with anything it leaves a mark. it may just be our apartment, maybe they didn't put enough coats of paint on. Also the cabinets have gaps and they are not painted like we thought. They are actually just a plastic material glues on. Since we live in a 2nd floor apartment it gets hot sometimes in the kitchen and I believe the heat is what is making our one cabinet peel off on the bottom. Just look at things carefully if you decide to rent here. take your time when going through the walk through the day you move in. We regret not taking more time, the maintenance guy did ours and he was rushing us big time. Now I am afraid we will be charged for things that weren't painted or fixed when we move out.

I do think it will be better after all the construction is done. If you are a single person please remember It is apartment living after all. There are a lot of kids and as a parent we cannot tell our kids to tip toe around so you don't hear anything. There is a "quiet time" rule between 7AM and 10PM. Overall this isn't a bad place to live and it is safer then most other neighborhoods around here. We do enjoy living here when it is all said and done.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/26/2009
"Oh then you have the coyote vans that drive like their fleeing for the border too." Wow, you are a bigoted piece of trash. God help you and the children that you raise. Additionally, I appreciate the diligence of the "pool Nazis" that you whine about because it keeps people that don't belong at the pool OUT. Seems to me that you're a racist who loves to complain about not being pampered.
From: Mama_Mia08	Date: 01/29/2009
I know the cosmetic features of Phase II are definitely better. Phase I apartments have White cabinets, light carpet, and White appliances, etc. The phase II apartments have all darker features. I wish we could move to a newer apartment. I haven't seen any floor plans with 3 BR for II. I live in phase I and the carpeting is not as stain resistant as I had in my previous apartments so that alone is worth the money to have the darker carpeting. We have 2 kids though. It cost us about $150 to have the carpets cleaned just in the general living areas. As they were building phase II I did watch them here and there just because I was curious to see how sound they are. To me, it seems as if they are just regular buildings. (I grew up in a house that was built from ground up, so I do know a thing or 2) However, that is how they build things now so overall I would say they are normal. Once they started actually building them they went up very quickly. Our average monthly utility bills for our 3 BR are $100 for electric, $65 for gas, and $70 for water.
From: JJ_603	Date: 01/31/2009
Thanks for the response. I looked at a Phase II today. I only need a 1 bedroom, so I went on the waiting list for one of the new buildings. By the way, the carpeting in the unit I saw was pretty light.
From: mibster88	Date: 05/27/2009
I agree it is the best place in the area. The prices have recently dropped since the opening of the phase II apartments. I am in phase I but have seen the inside of phase II and yes they are really nice, my friend is moving into one of the kensingtons! I am very happy living here (awesome for apartment living) and love that they put in a new dog park! :)

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