It's an old building that is overpriced. The walls are thin, so I can here everything my neighbors are doing. The building is across the street from GW hospital, so it's noisy. And management is unfriendly.

Living in the Elise has been one of the worst decision of my life. It began as a mildly uncomfortable situation and has gradually gotten to this low point; I daily regret staying as long as I have, which is only a little over two years.

The building is old. The elevators are often broken, the AC/heat units are ineffective, the windows are thin. In the winter the hot water often only lasts for a few minutes before becoming cold, and even when hot water is available the temperature fluctuates wildly during use (without actually being adjusted by the knob) which leads to either lukewarm or scalding experiences. Three separate times my apartment has been flooded, each due to a different cause. I understand it's an older building and these issues can be expected, but these problems are monumental when dealing with poor management. Another note about HVAC: like many older buildings, the units only offer either heating or cooling, depending on the season. However, at The Elise, the management often waits until there has been months of very hot temperatures before enabling the AC, yet often turns on the heat while temperatures are still very high.

The building has many young tenants which can lead to occasional noise situations. I am young myself and often don't mind, especially on the weekends, but there have been frequent occasions where residents have felt the need to call the police to quiet parties during the week. In a university area this probably is difficult to avoid, but some management handles it better than others.

Speaking of the management, they are often unresponsive and slow. The management regime has changed multiple times since I've been here. It has ranged from incompetent to patently rude. The current manager is very confrontational and has the tendency to view every situation as a liability to be diffused first, and a problem to be solved second (and a person in need third, if at all). Most of the hundreds of dollars in property damage that resulted from the multiple leaks I've experienced went uncompensated due to the hostility of the management. If you have any problems expect a few weeks for a resolution.

Complaints about the noisy weekday parties often resulted in nothing. The building's garage, which costs over $200 a month, is often full of illegally parked cars that make entry and exit impossible, effectively denying access to the lease holders (don't expect any sort of compensation from management that will fight tooth and nail to keep a nickel). Once again, complaints to management do not lead to results. The 24-hour emergency phone number for the building leads to a call center. My only two experiences with this number have resulted in conversations that either were not helpful or ended with the phone being hung up on me.

There are no amenities. Laundry is expensive considering the old machines; $2 to wash, $2 to dry. When I began living here residents of The Elise were allowed to walk to The Savoy, another apartment building owned by the Gelman company, to use their gym or pool. I do not know if that is still the case. Regardless, I have not availed myself of those services because the Savoy is a pretty inconvenient distance up New Hampshire avenue.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this building. Avoid the company, avoid the people, avoid the loud residents. Above all, avoid the (mis)management. You may find the price reasonable (after speaking to acquaintances I find the prices to be slightly below the area average), but the hidden costs and the experience itself are burdens much harder to bear than an extra $50/100 rent, especially if that marginal increase is for a building from a decade when radio shows weren't the norm.

Finally, while I will admit writing this review has been therapeutic, I want you to know I am not doing this to spite anyone, I really just don't want anyone else to go through the nightmare I have went through because of this building. Foggy Bottom has plenty of

No frills apartment conveniently located near the GWU campus and the metro. Neighbors will be loud when they are having parties or playing music at loud levels since the walls are not that thick. However, for the location and price it is a good option available for students.