As an international student, they were very welcoming and made my living experience in the U.S. wonderful. I love going home. I can study at home and just relax. I can host friends. I can work out. It is pricey but worth the comfort and peace of mind

I lived in Camden for 2 years and it has been the worst living experience of my life.

- Incessant noise (alley facing units): The trash trucks arrive at 4am in the morning and are active for several hours (incredibly loud, earplugs do nothing). There was also illegal construction going on in the building across the street (starting at 3am) that we, the residents finally put an end to. Management did nothing to help with the noise issues, the alley facing residents worked together with the DCRA to end the illegal construction. Trash trucks will continue as Camden is in a commercial zoned district. I, and other residents, were told there is not noise in the alley when we moved in. Be warned – if you face the alley you will be able to get little sleep.

- Rent: Camden draws people in with low initial rent than massively raises the price the second year. My rent was raised 17% year over year and I was only given 1 week to confirm or turn-down the new rent (not enough time to look at other apartment buildings).

- Horrible amenities: You are charged several hundred dollars per year for an “amenity fee”. This building’s “amenities” are atrocious, not worth a dime. As an example – the gym contains 1 treadmill.

- Lost packages: I had a package signed for by the front desk but the front desk could not locate it when I went to pick up the package. The building told me I could petition the delivery service (even though the front desk had already signed for the package) and that the front desk accepts packages as a “courtesy”. It is not a “courtesy” – residents pay a premium for a doorman building for this purpose. I have also been given other people’s dry cleaning mixed in with mine – you need to cross your fingers and hope your dry cleaning isn’t given to other people.

- Homeless people: This building is surrounded by homeless people. In addition to the park across the street completely filled with homeless people, there is a man who stands steps away from the front gate begging for money. Many nights I have stood alone on the empty street and fumbled around in my purse for keys while being asked by homeless people for change. To say this is uncomfortable is an understatement.

- Horrible management team: High turnover – There is a new management person every ~6 months. When a recurring issue pops up, they claim no knowledge and therefore there is no accountability.

- Parking and elevators: The parking is out of commission several times a week. If you park here, be prepared to rely on cabs instead. The elevators have been in renovation for 6 months. There never appears to be anyone working on them and there is no communication from Management as to when this will end leaving residents with only 1 functional elevator at a time. During this period the 1 functional elevator has gone out of service which turns this “luxury” apartment into a walk-up building.

- Wifi – As the building is old, the materials used to build it block WiFi. After many attempts of working with Comcast, I can only access WiFi 3 feet from my modem/router as the building materials prevent WiFi from traveling throughout the building

This list can go on but is a flavor of the issues at Camden. Given all the options of buildings in the area (including the new apt/condo building a few blocks away) I would highly recommend seeking a different alternative.