Pros and cons...
Pros:
* Probably one of the safest apartments anywhere, Mercer Island has exceptionally low crime and the apartment building has locking gates to the premises and access to units only from locked indoor hallways
* Nice courtyard (concrete with well-manicured planters), hot tub, gym (private TVs on most of the equipment). Some apartments have giant patios.
* Lots of parking in underground card-access garage, although it's expensive; free parking is only for guests. It is not assigned spaces unless you pay some huge fee, but you are never going to be shut out for lack of a space.
* Super convenient to downtown Seattle and Bellevue, only 2 blocks from I-90 and the Park & Ride, but no traffic noise
* Walking distance to many essentials (grocery, cleaners, drugstore, a few restaurants, miscellaneous small shops)
* Construction quality is basically good. Floors, cabinetry, plumbing, walls, are all solid. Some nice touches - quality dimmers on overhead lights, prewired for DirecTV, also ethernet wiring. My window tracks are a bit spotty. Complex is only three years old, so meets all the latest earthquake & fire codes. Nice range and microwave, refrigerator can be VERY noisy. Washer/dryer are awkward but good quality. Other reviewers complain about crooked floors, etc., that is not true for me, may be some buildings are "straighter" than others.

Cons:
* Expensive, but it's Mercer Island, everything is expensive. You can get the same thing for 2/3 the price in Issaquah, but it's still cheaper than Belltown.
* ** HOT ** in the summer. Only one of the buildings is air conditioned, the others are like greenhouses. These apartments have gotten an early start on global warming!
* Bummer if your neighbors smoke. It won't leak in if you keep the doors and windows closed, but then it'll be 100 degrees inside in the summer (not exaggerating). You can be hot, breathe smoke, or more likely, both. In the winter, or if you really like the heat, it is no trouble.
* Electric heat. Maybe this is not a con any more with the price of gas these days, but it costs more than you'd expect given how rarely you need it.
* Community area/media room look OK, but are not actually all that useful unless you are throwing a big party, since they are by reservation only. Media room never really worked all that well. The "business center" is not even worth the trouble of walking downstairs, except for the free newspaper.

Other:
* Now on third management company in as many years. First one was bad, oversaw all the terrible construction problems, sold to second one right after construction was finished. That staff was FANTASTIC (and, yes, gorgeous and a bit flirtatious, but they also did their jobs very well.) Now the third company with their own new staff just started this month (July 2008). We'll see how they do.
* Tons of different floorplans, some are good, some not so good.
* Construction went on WAY too long, but it's over now. Some construction noise from condos going up across the street, but not bad.
* Neighbor noise is average, but obviously, depends on your specific neighbors.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates