Reading some of the reviews below, I couldn't help but feel like they are reviewing this place like they expect it to be the Ritz Carlton. Reality check for a moment folks...

** You are living in Federal Way! **

If you are reading this review coming from somewhere where you are not familiar with the greater Seattle/Tacoma area and want to live in a more upscale neighborhood or town- try Bellevue, Kirkland, or Mercer Island. For this area you could rent a house to the east in Dash Point by the water. Or head North to Seattle. The Madrona, Leschi neighborhoods are quite nice - so is Laurelhurst and Wedgewood. But with that said, you can also expect to pay 1.5-2 times a month MORE then you would pay here.

Now that isn't a total knock to this city if you are a local to South King County. I mean, Federal Way has its wonderful strip mall appeal with every "box" style department store you could ask for: Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot, Petco, Circuit City, Barnes and Noble - the list goes on and on and on...

including a variety of discount stores, a movie theatre that plays movies for $2 (and only one $1 on tuesdays!) And who can forget the wonderful motels on Pacific Highway that are home to many hookers and drug addicts.

Now that we have come back to reality for a moment - onto the review:

Let's start with the bad...

PARKING - Frankly, there just isn't enough of it. You get one covered spot included with your lease - at least we did. But when you are two people, and you each have your own car... that leaves one person to fend for themselves. The uncovered spots are first come first serve, and there are only a few of them near each buiding. At least once a week I am forced to park at another building and walk a little extra. The parking is lit up at night, and I have left a TV in the trunk for a few days and it never got stolen. I give parking TWO STARS. I would really give it two and one half, but that is not an option below.

NOISE - I heard there were problems with noise when I moved in here. Now granted, this place is HUGE. Its almost like a miniature city. There may be noisier areas in the complex, but if so, I am not aware of them. We are in building 17, and it has been very quiet. One Saturday night some -------- had a party, and that was slighty loud when we had our screen door to the balcony open. But when we closed the sliding glass door. It really muffled the sound to a level that was almost inaudible. I give noise FOUR STARS

GROUNDS - What can I say - they are kept really clean. There is never trash around... There is a lake full of ducks... Its a very nice woody type setting. There are 3 outdoor pools and one hot tub. I give the grounds FOUR STARS

SAFETY - '''' what '''' I don't really know how to review this. Sure, its safe' The place is kept trimmed. No branches poke me in the eye... I dont fall through my porch, and parking is well lit at night... But whatever, I am living in Federal Way. You will hear someone fire a gun at night at least once a month. With that said, I dont think its coming from this complex. The police have shown up at night a few times too. Why' I have no idea. I would abstain from this question but I have to rate it so it gets THREE STARS

CONSTRUCTION - THREE STARS, this place is decent. We have a Maytag washer and dryer in our unit. The stove is new. Our sink faucet is nice. We dont fall through the porch when we step on it. Our apartment has vaulted ceilings which makes for a nice roomy feeling... THREE STARS, enough said.

MAINTENANCE - So far, great. We had a broken garbage disposal. We didnt call on it for about a week but when we finally did they came and fixed it the next day. We had a sink/faucet leak, and when we called they came and fixed it the same day. It seems like if you CALL, they actually come fix it promptly. If you just sit at home and think about the problem, so far they have not proved very capable at mind reading. I give the maintenance 5 stars.

STAFF - From our experience- Friendly and kind. We got a chance to go to the Cove annual pool party last month. They had a DJ spinning music at the pool. When SugarHill Gang's - Rappers Delight came on, everyone was grooving and singing "Hotel Motel Holiday Inn...." There were free hot dogs, burgers, chips, they even had a cotton candy and popcorn machine. I give the staff FIVE STARS

OVERAL> - Ok, check it. Federal Way would not be my first choice of a city to live in. We came here a few months ago because my girlfriend got a job in Tacoma, and we needed a place in a pinch. I researched a lot of places, read a lot of reviews on this website, and talked to friends who knew people who lived here at some point. Everything I heard seemed like people said "Yeahhhhh, its OK i guess... but here is why its not OK" - I was really hesitant and scared - I thought to myself "Oh no, what if i end up signing a lease at some craphole for 12 months." But like I said, we needed someplace quick, and the Cove was going to have to do. IT HAS BEEN A GREAT EXPERIENCE. Lots of the things people have said simply HAVE NOT BEEN TRUE - *FOR US* - Maybe other people have had different experiences, but we feel the noise is not an issue, the grounds are kept nice, the staff and maintenance are great - and for where we are FEDERAL WAY - its a good deal. If I were living in a nicer city of neighborhood, I might only give this place 2.5 stars... BUT, because I also take into consideration where I am at - Back to reality folks... FEDERAL WAY... I give this place 4 stars.

If you come here expecting a standard of living that is found in upscale neighborhoods, you will be disappointed. Go live somewhere else. If you take it for what it is... Decent, modest living, in a city that tends to be a little more ghetto and poor- You will be happily suprised that this place is really quite nice.

User Responses
From: blakfyre_bass	Date: 03/21/2009
Good to know... I used to live in Cove East and am planning on moving back to the area... but I heard that Cove East is under different management now- I will probably try the Cove first! Thanks for your very detailed review.

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