I have lived in a lot of apartment buildings all over the East Coast, and the Bennington is by far the most fabulous, with the nicest leasing staff, the most helpful front desk staff, and least intrusive, most punctual maintenance staff I have ever encountered. This building is completely swanked out. It is (as of this writing) the best building in downtown SS. It is walking distance to Metro, which is key.

Our apartment is gorgeous: The walls are a light tan, and the woodwork is white, giving it a very upscale look. Dark granite countertops, ceramic tile in the kitchen, and black appliances add to the beautiful atmosphere. The hallways are always pristinely kept and well-lit. I do not hear much noise from my neighbors, except for the occasional door closing into the hallway or people moving in or out. Our apartment is in the middle of the hallway, but it feels very private. The trash rooms on each floor are nice and big and well-kept, too.

The building has tons of great amenities, including a fantastic fitness center. The cardio machines have individual TV monitors, and there are towels and bottled water for you as well. We don't use the business center, so I can't comment on it. The club room is great and has some fun games, including pool and shuffleboard. The only drawback is that after 10pm, the concierge has to open the door to the club room for you (we were told this is to prevent those meddling kids from using it all the time). No big deal!

The parking garage is heated and cooled, it is clean, it is spacious, and it is well-lit. One confusing/annoying thing is that the garage is shared with the NOAA next door, so you may get lost leaving. There are no assigned spots (unless you have 2 cars, in which case you get a tandem spot), which is both good and bad.

The front desk staff is helpful and nice. They have an excellent system for packages, and I have never had any trouble receiving packages at this building (as I have in the past at other places). The concierge always has a kind word and smile for you as you leave for the day or come home.

The folks in the leasing office are just too good to be true...except that they are! I could not be more impressed with them. They have gone out of their way to accommodate us since the day we moved in. No request is too much for them, and we have made some pretty unusual special requests. These people are the real deal...they even place a little housewarming gift in your apartment for move-in day (snacks, toilet paper, little tools...the essentials).

Maintenance concerns are always addressed within 24 hours (or you get a day of rent free!), and the staff leaves you a little note so you know that they were there and what they did. A good touch.

Now, the (only) down side: Train noise. If it were just the Metro, I would not even bring it up, since it is to be expected. We are talking here about all sorts of trains, including Metro, Amtrak, MARC, and the dreaded freight trains. If you live on the side of the building that faces DC (as we do) or the side that faces the tracks, you are in for a surprise. These trains are unbelievable. They run 24 hours a day, all through the night. There is really nothing the staff can do about it, and since they do not set the rent, you cannot hold it against them. The noise is something to consider, though, before you move in.

As I say, everything about this building, from the apartments themselves to the people who run it, is a total dream...everything, that is, except for the trains. Weigh your options, though, and you will come back to this place. It is by far the best building overall in downtown SS; believe me, we looked at every one, and nothing comes close. You may be tempted to save a few hundred a month by living in another of the highrises around here, but you will not find a nicer, newer, better building run by such fantastic people. I heartily recommend the Bennington.

User Responses
From: sdiva44	Date: 04/26/2006
I totally agree. I work full-time now but since 2001 I've lived in Lennox Park, Summit Hills, and Rock Creek Springs while I was interning and I love this apartment the best. The trains are definitely a bear but I took them into consideration before moving in.

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