After reading some of the filtered comments and checking out the "Camden Deception" website, I felt…read morethe need to show my support for the Camden Roosevelt. (And I actually live here.)
You are not going to get a better apartment complex in the U Street area for the price. Beautiful lobby with piano, water each afternoon, free coffee and tea in the morning, a huge gym with sauna, steam room, rock climbing wall, free weights, and numerous exercise machines (definitely the best in-house gym I've ever seen). The amenities fee is well worth it, especially considering how much people in this city spend on a gym every month. And I LOVE the wine cellar! Perfect for my collection; they keep it at a nice cold 45-50 degrees.
The meeting room space is available for FREE to anyone who wants to rent it out for a party (there is a security deposit, but you get it back as long as there are no damages). Have you ever tried to rent out a bar/meeting room in DC for a party? It's an insanely expensive fee, plus a food and beverage minimum. This is a great deal for Camden residents. There's a board room-style meeting room with a long table and sixteen chairs, plus two living-room areas with a flat-screen television, bar (I had to laugh when a Yelp commentator complained that there was nothing to eat and drink in the bar ... hello?! It's not your house!), and pool table. The parties have never been a disturbance since they're on the first floor and a huge lobby, plus a set of stairs separate it from the apartments on that floor.
My apartment on the 8th floor is incredibly spacious with high ceilings, crown molding, lots of windows, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a very spacious kitchen with new appliances. It's a great deal for the high-priced area that is U Street.
And the park! Meridian Hill Park, right next door, is BEAUTIFUL. There's tons of joggers, soccer players, picnickers, and all kinds of great people enjoying the park and the pretty fountains during the day. Yes, they say don't walk around the park at night, it's not safe. That's just good sense for lots of areas in DC. Hello, you live in the CITY! Don't walk around in unsafe places at night.
And you just can't beat the location. The Camden Roosevelt is close to U Street, Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, and Columbia Heights. Everything is a short 5 to 15 minute walk away.
I'm bothered by some of the claims on the "Camden Deception" website. At least for me, they were very clear and upfront about the fees, and they all make sense. You know up front about the cable fee, paying for water, and paying for electricity. And if you're not sure, ASK! No one is forcing you to sign a lease. I'd sure as hell notice if I was forced to pay $500+ up front without knowing what it was. I wouldn't sign the lease and then claim I "didn't know."
Since moving here in February, only once has one of the two elevators been broken (come on folks, sometimes an elevator breaks down once in a while). I was here on March 26, 2010, and I don't remember seeing both elevators down that day. And hell, what's wrong with walking up a few flights of stairs once a year? Maybe you need the exercise!
Also, never had a problem with heating and AC. If I ever had any maintenance problems, one quick call is made in the morning, and by the afternoon, it's fixed. Oh, and that fee you pay if you turn in your rent late? Jeez, folks, pay your rent on time! I travel constantly and am always sure to turn in my rent early if I know I'm going to be out of town. "Forgetting" to pay rent is no excuse. You pay the price when you turn in your rent late. Complaining about having to pay a fee for turning in your rent late when you should've turned it in on time is no one's fault but your own.
Sorry for the incredibly long post, but I felt the need to address some of these "complaints" on the Deception website and other comments. I've lived in several apartment buildings in the DC/VA/MD area over five years, and nothing's better than the Camden Roosevelt. It doesn't claim to be absolutely perfect, and to complain about such minor problems is ridiculous.