This is a lengthy comment, but I want to be thorough. I have lived at London House for a year now and have been very happy. It is, of course, not perfect, and there are some annoyances I'll talk about later, but for the money (and especially the location) you can't go wrong here.

London House is one of two twin apartment buildings (the other being Normandy House) located at the bottom of the hill in Rosslyn on Wilson Blvd. Because it's in the last row of buildings, there's nothing to obstruct the view between them and the river, so the view of downtown DC is absolutely one of the best to be had in Northern Virginia. Even if you get an apartment that doesn't front the river, there is a very nice roof patio that offers an unobstructed view of DC from the Cathedral to the Pentagon, including all the monuments and major landmarks. Turn around, and you've got a great view of the Rosslyn highrises, too.

Some specifics:

Building: The building is an older one, built in the 60s or 70s, I think, so its architecture and decor is a bit dated, but nothing really time-warped. The building is very very solid concrete construction and the manner in which the apartments are laid out means most apartments only have one wall bordering a neighbor, and that wall is thick. In fact, I have never heard my next door neighbor, and only rarely something very loud from a neighbor above or below. The building also has secure entry and a 24 hour door attendant. The garage is also secured. They're supposed to be updating the decor of the lobby (which is a nice, comfortable lobby, despite being outdated) and hallways soon. There's also a fitness center on the roof, with a few treadmills and bikes, and a respectable universal weight machine.

Grounds: London House doesn't have any grounds, since it's bordered on 3 sides by street and the 4th side contains the walled swimming pool, but there's a few landscaped segments that give it a nice look overall. Normandy House has a sizable front garden area with benches, and a larger swimming pool. If you're a resident with one, you can use the amenities of the other, so that means you have 2 pools to choose from.

Apartment: My apartment is pretty nice. It has a few dated elements, like the parquet hardwood floors and single-pane windows (which are also supposed to be replaced this summer). It has a completely remodelled kitchen. My kitchen is small, but very well done, with high-quality cabinets, granite tile floors, and new, quality appliances, including an apartment-sized dishwasher and an under-cabinet microwave. Stove is gas, and fridge has an icemaker. Utilities are included, which is very nice. The doorways have nice fluted moldings and the doors are panelled. My only complaints are the windows (single pane doesn't block out the cold/heat well, nor the street/air traffic noise) and the entry door does little for privacy (you can hear conversations from within the apartments when you are in the hallway). I just make sure to have private conversations away from the door.

Parking: This is a problem for your visitors. London House has 3 spaces in front of the building, but they're not allowed to be used by residents or guests (what the hell') and the door attendants are very strict about it. There are 7 more spaces in an adjacent lot, but during the day from 7AM to 6:30PM they are reserved for contractors in the next-door office building (also owned by Charles E. Smith, the owners of London and Normandy). There's about 9 spaces at Normandy house. Most of the time my guests can find parking in one of these, but there's no guarantees. The other problem is that street parking (all metered) is difficult to find in Rosslyn except on weekends, and the nearby parking garages are expensive. Tenant parking is in assigned garage spaces. Most of those spaces are very tight, so I hope you don't have a big car, but it is nice to have a secured, heated garage if you have a nice car. Parking fee for the garage is $85/month. There's more tenant cars than spaces, though, so recently new tenants have been assigned spaces in the garage of the adjacent office building; not so convenient.

Location: Rosslyn is a fantastic location. It's very vibrant during the day, but quiet at night and on weekends. There's a number of shops across the street in the Twin Towers, the Rosslyn Metro Mall, and little cafes and restaurants all around due to the numerous hotels in Rosslyn. And about 10 blocks up Wilson is the thriving Clarendon and Ballston areas. Of course, you can't beat a 2 block walk to Metro (Rosslyn Station, orange and blue lines), it's right on the junctions for 110 (leading to Rt 1 and 395), 66, GW Parkway, 50, and 29. It's also across Key Bridge from Georgetown, and via Whitehusrt Fwy and K street, you can be downtown in about 5 minutes. If you travel, this is also a great location, since you're at nearly all the major arteries, and only 3 stops on Metro from National Airport. And, of course, there is the aforementioned unbeatable view.

Downsides: 1) Noise. The building is directly under the flight path for about 65% of traffic coming in and out of National Airport. Those planes are damned loud, especially when taking off, and it takes a while to get used to the noise. As mentioned, the flimsy windows don't do much to block it out. There's also the neverending parade of dumptrucks up and down Wilson Blvd. due to the new construction projects in Rosslyn, but this is only during the day. And on top of that, the Rosslyn Fire Department seems to think they need to blow 3 different types of sirens plus an airhorn for each fire truck cavorting down Wilson Blvd, even at 2AM when there's not a single car on the road. And that is one busy FD, they're always going somewhere... 2) Some of the staff are just not very friendly people. Others, specifically the door attendants, seem very gruff and unsocial, but they just appear that way and are, in fact, nice, helpful people once they warm up to you. But, the property managers just always seem angry and annoyed. There was one very nice and helpful assistant property manager who had been promoted from a leasing agent, but I never see him around anymore, so it's back to dealing with the grumps. 3) Elevators. Even though they're only 2 years old, at least one seems to break down weekly. They are quick to repair them though, even after hours. 4) Tenants. Very snobbish, some of them, though a few are very nice. The building is about half older tenants who have been here years or even decades, and half the standard, professional NOVA types who are very self-absorbed.

All in all, though, I think this is a very good choice for an apartment and I highly recommend it. Hopefully I've given you enough "inside" information to make an informed decision.

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