We moved in a bit before management changed between Windsor and whoever owns it now, so we've been here a while (over 2 years). Overall it's ok for an apartment, but let me list my issues with it:

1) a few months after we moved in the neighbors behind us changed, and the new neighbors had really LOUD obnoxious dogs who'd bark at all hours of the day and sometimes nights. It didn't bother just me, but the person below them, who actually ended up one day stomping up to yell at the tenant with the dogs. Complaints from them and myself to the management somehow got the dogs silenced, so now I never hear them barking (amazing.) Basically what this tells you is that there is little to no insulation between either floors or walls. However, except for that one dog problem I haven't been bothered by noise either from tenants or Dulles Airport (which is literally right across the road.) Most people here seem to be upstanding citizens, at an average $1300 a month rent you can see why. It's not a subsidized apartment complex and the working poor just can't afford this place.

2)My apartment runs an electricity bill of about $60 total, including fees and taxes, in the winter. That literally DOUBLES in the summer because of a horribly designed air conditioning system. The air unit that services my apartment is literally on the other side of the building from me, so the air travels a huge distance, plus it's the lowest quality that's possible to buy. Also the windows are cheap single pane vinyl which is a major drain on both heating and cooling. Whatever number they might lie to you about utilities, mine run an average of $300 a month, more in the summer, less in winter.

3)There used to be a good maintenance guy who always left notice when he came by, would fix things quickly, and showed up when he said he would, but I do believe he's left. Now maintenance people are late or don't show up at all. Also, maintenance used to park their trucks/go-carts in the non-numbered resident spots, leaving one less spot (out of very few) for residents who pay their salaries, requiring us to park very far out of the way or on the street. I believe they only stopped because residents complained.

4)Winter office hours for the apartment management are the most self-serving UN-helpful hours that could possibly be chosen. Their hours in the winter are 9:00am-5:00pm M-F (they're open some hours on the weekend but it's very short) and unsurprisingly for someone who has to actually work to afford their apartment rent, 9-5 is when we're WORKING, not when we should be making time to convenience THEM.

5)There is one trash collection point for all apartments, and having to haul trash to the absolute other side of the complex is rather aggrivating. Plus, in wintertime it tends to overflow on weekends when weather is decent enough that people take their trash out. Taking your trash and recycling out during the middle of the week is the best recommendation.

6) The carpet in the apartments... ewwww.... From day one of our moving in the carpet was disgusting, and even though we try to clean up the occasional spill or whatnot it seems like if you _sneeze_ on it wrong it stains. It's got to be the absolutely cheapest, crappiest carpet I've ever seen, if you spill anything on it, don't bother to clean it up because no one will be able to tell you tried. I do not understand how they justify spending the money to replace the carpet in the apartments every 5 years, instead of putting down something more durable. But whatever their reasoning they keep doing it, in the last year when people have moved they seem to replace the carpet. If you move in now you might get all new carpet (or you might get really disgusting carpet.)

7)Our apartment as both DSL capability and is wired for gas as well, both of which are very, very nice, and often not to be found in apartment complexes that are older than the mid-90's or so. Gas cooking

8)The "gated community" look is just a pretense, half the time the gate at the front of the complex is wide open. The other two gates on the property have really cheap metal tubes for gates which they had to put extensions into to keep people from driving through the car-sized GAP in the middle (not to mention they break rather often.) There is no gate to keep people from simply walking onto the property, the full fence and gate at the Gatehouse is just window dressing, and more of an inconvenience than any help at all.

9)Gatehouse staff besides the manager seems to completely change every couple of months. Don't bother to get to know anybody that works at the gatehouse because they'll be gone by the next time you come in.

10)Something I didn't consider until I read other apartment reviews at this site is snow removal. Lionsgate actually does a really good job of removing snow from the property. They plow the driveways and inbetween parking spots when they can, and they have a little plow for the sidewalk which they use around the major perimeter of the building. They salt the driveway, walkways up to the apartments, and steps too if it's needed. That's one thing they probably do much better than most other apartment complexes that I've read about.

I'd recommend this complex as being all right, but go to it with eyes wide open.

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