Alcyone Apartments

Great apartment building! From: -Anonymous- Date posted: 12/26/2007 Years at this apartment: 2006 - 2007 1 response   We've lived the Alcyone since February of 2006, and we've always liked it from the very beginning. It's a nice building, with a great community room with a bbq deck, and a quaint pea-patch deck on the 6th floor terrace. The building is very pet-friendly, so if you don't like dogs, this is not a good building for you. The building is very well-insulated, but with no air conditioning, the summer heat can get uncomfortable, especially if your unit faces west, as ours does. We have never used our heater in the time that we ve lived here, and our electric bill averages to $25 bi-monthly. We live in a 555 sq. ft. studio, which is actually very livable--we don't feel cramped until we have more than 4 people over. The apartment furnishings are nice. The bathroom in our studio is actually a great size, compared to other bathrooms we've seen. It's equipped with a stacked full size washer and dryer, and has a large sink counter space with plenty of storage space underneath. The studio comes with 2 full size closets (sliding doors, not walk-in), and we are growing out of them, so we'll need to move into a larger space. If you are single and don't need a lot of space, the studio may be good for you. The studio has a sleeping alcove that fits a queen size bed and maybe a small nightstand. We were able to fit a small Ikea arm chair next to our bed. The living room space fits a sofa-sectional (sofa and chaise lounger), and a smaller chair, end table and coffee table. The opposite wall has a little nook where you can either fit a small dining table or your entertainment set. All in all, we love our little studio, and hope we can find a 1 bedroom at Alcyone. Around the neighborhood: There is a little park across the street where we walk our dog, so it's really convenient. I won't lie, we walk a lot, so we've come across all sorts of weirdness going on around the area, but it's all part of city living. We've never felt unsafe, but you do come across some homeless people that sleep in the park, or some residents from the neighboring low-income housing building that may be a little rowdy, but no harm there. There is a recording studio that backs up to the back of the Alcyone building. Recording sessions and parties happen here, so if you are a light-sleeper and don't want to be bothered by noise after 9pm on some nights, I'd say the east-side (front of the building) would be better for you. We live on the west-side (back of the building), and the parties have only slightly bothered us on occasion, but they're not that bad. REI is 2 blocks away, along with Espresso Vivacce, Mad Pizza, South Lake Union Bar & Grill and other stores. Paddy Coynes' is at the ground level of Alcyone, and offers happy hour food between 4pm-6pm, and 10pm-12am (great for cheap eats for those nights you just don't want to cook or order pizza). Commuting: I commute to Kirkland via bus, and have the option of picking up the 70 bus (stop is right behind the building off of Fairview) towards U-District and picking up the 540 bus to Kirkland, or walking to the tunnel about 10 blocks away (about a 10-15 min. walk, or take the 70 bus going towards to downtown to get here), and then picking up the 255 to Kirkland. Commute time is about 1 hour altogether. The I5 ramp is just 2 blocks north, and is convenient to 520 or I90 (north for 520, south for I90). Walking: Alcyone is about a 15 minute walk from the shopping area downtown, 15 minutes to Seattle Center/lower Queen Anne, and 15 minutes to Capitol Hill. There is a Whole Foods off of Denny Way, which is about a 5 minute walk. It's a great location if you like to walk all over town. Hope this review is helpful to you!

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