1111 Belle Pre Apartments, Alexandria VA

Can’t seem to get the fire alarms under control and they go off late into the night. This has happened 4-5 times in the year and a half we’ve lived here. They are the loudest ear splitting alarms I’ve ever heard.

Loved living at Belle Pre. Great location, amazing staff (shoutout to Marcia in the leasing office, she's literally the best!) and great features like hardwood floors, a kitchen island, and huge windows. My husband and I loved living here. Tip: if you snag an apartment on the 5th floor, the ceilings are higher than on other floors - makes a world of a difference. We'll miss this place!

I just moved from 1111 Belle Pre after 3 amazing years, and I was sad to go! The staff are all so friendly, professional, helpful, and amazing! The concierge team always had a smile for me and they were so on top of all the packages coming in, plus everything else going on in the building. Kwame and the service team are knowledgeable, courteous, and always ready to help to promptly address service requests (though I did not have many at all). Abby and the rest of leasing team work hard to help ensure residents have the info they need, and Marcia is everywhere making sure the community is clean, safe, and enjoyable for all. I loved my time at 1111 Belle Pre and I miss it already!

The building itself is conveniently located five minutes walk from the metro stop and 10 walk from both grocery stores (Harris Teeter and Trader Joe's) and the main King Street area of shopping and restaurants. It has great amenities (gym, pool, grills, common areas) that are currently restricted a bit due to the pandemic, but are still able to be used. The front desk staff are friendly and genuine as well as being helpful. Our apartment overlooks the courtyard and is relatively quiet. We signed the lease based on a Skype viewing due to Covid19 and don't regret it one bit. We are very happy with the quality of the apartment, location and amenities based on the price.

Amazing staff, super responsive! It’s extremely clean, the people are friendly, and great location!

Loved living here initially, surprise surprise. The amenities were nice, a pool, rooftop deck, gym, the world is before you. Yet we all seem to have paid for these so called amenities when they aren't available?
Thing turn south quickly - you live across the street from section 8 housing which means you have random people consistently on the Belle Pre property grounds, screaming, fighting, and typically see an ambulance or police on the street outside your apartment on at least weekly basis. This alone is worth seeking other arrangements.
I simply wouldn't recommend this place. There are several apartment complexes in south east old town that don't offer quite the amenities of belle pre (who cares right now) but are much safer, cheaper, and closer to walking and hiking trails.

TL;DR 5+ yr old apartments, and the age of the building is a bit visible in several areas of apartment finishes, hallways, & design. Metro is close, convenient drive or bike to DC. Management staff here is *amazing*. Nice neighbors, scary-ish neighborhood. I’d live here again.

Staff:
I wanted to renew my lease based on the leasing team alone.

When you move into a new place, you hope you won’t have problems, but if you do, you want to know you’ll be heard. They’re friendly, responsive, available, and communicative here.

The maintenance staff are experienced and professional, & the concierge staff are great.

Apartment:
My desire for newer appliances (better fridge, washer/dryer, dish washer) was a small part of why I didn’t renew my lease.

Old fashion keys are required for the individual apartments (boo). Fobs control access to common spaces.

I love that the utilities are billed per unit here. If I’m traveling for a month, I won’t pay for anything I didn’t use. I really detest apartments that split the bill amongst the whole building.

Inside the apartments, the carpets are plush in the bedrooms, the windows are large, the shades are good, far better than blinds IMO, even though they’re not black out shades.

The washer/dryer are kind of annoyingly small in my apartment, but they got the job done. The water pressure in the shower wasn’t great but I never ran out of hot water. Outlets were plentiful in my apartment (no dedicated USB outlets though).

Neighborhood:
The neighborhood’s safety record is the one of the main reasons I didn’t renew my lease.

Having a couple restaurants, a coffee & donut shop, & smoothie shop all within the block are amazing. There’s new retail being added every year here it seems like. There’s a [solidcore], fitness studio, and nail salon also within the same block! Starbucks is two blocks away, just past the convenient USPS post office. There’s a vet (including emergency services) a little further down too! In the mornings you’ll regularly see people pushing strollers (there is a preschool right across the street from the South building), and walking their dogs.

Metro close by, running/biking paths a short. 7 miles away, and my drive to/from DC was very easy.

Overall I like the community. HOWEVER, I didn’t feel safe on pre-dawn runs or walking to a restaurant at night. My insurance rates confirmed that I’m in a high crime area. Both my renters & vehicle insurance shot up as soon as I updated my address (came from Arlington).

Unfortunately, police activity in the surrounding blocks is a regular occurrence.

Building:
I had an apartment on the top floor (7th) of the North building, which puts you above the rooftop pool. I had no sound issues with neighbors on my right or left. A new neighbor moved in directly across the hallway, and I’d only hear them when they blasted music at night in their living room. All common area traffic is on the 1st & 6th floor of this building. I faced the interior courtyard, I never heard traffic other than police sirens, and I never heard any noise from the courtyard.

There’s no handicap doors here for some reason. You can’t push a button and have the doors open for you at the lobby entrance.

The lobby doors aren’t locked during business hours consistently, and I wish they were. More than that, there’s no controlled access to residential floors.

I had someone come to my door late at night (after 8 PM). He looked like a delivery man. Fortunately, the staff here are always available. I called the front desk and told him about the man. The concierge came up to get the man and escort him to wherever he was supposed to go.

Garage:
It’s a controlled access garage. The garage is really convenient when you have guests since they can park in paid public parking section, and first 1.5 hours is free.

Fire alarms -As soon as summer rolled around fire alarms were blaring at all hours of the day. (No fires as far as I know)

Was really very happy here. Highly recommend this place in particular, and I'm pretty confident recommending Equity in general. They are really helpful and responsive. They really highlight their good reviews and it's clear from leasing throughout your time there thay they really want to earn them. Communication was always great, they were always really helpful whenever I had an issue (although that was rare). The front desk people are great as well. I would be really happy to live here again in the future if I ever find myself back in Alexandria.

Nice small place, good location, nice amenities & staff. Good parking.loved my stay there. Marcia, Abby, Rosie were great staff.

First Impression of Tour:
- Abby awesome.
- Great location and place to live
- Great feeling of home

Outstandingly professional staff and great location. I wasn’t “wowed” by the finishes in the unit but 6 stars for professionalism and hospitality.

The Belle Pre is a wonderful place to live. I moved across the country and everyone was very welcoming and helpful. I have really enjoyed meeting and talking with every staff member I have come in contact with. They could not have made my move smoother.

Rosy the General Manager goes above and beyond in providing exceptional service for the residents as well as all her professional team. An amazing Beautiful location to live in.

We’ve been here for almost 2 years and are in our second unit in that time. It’s a great community with exceptional people, from the property manager to the maintenance staff. The amenities are great and always kept nice. The events they have periodically are a nice touch and we particularly love the doggy swim. Great place to call Home!

Making a quick move from out of state without being able to visit this apartment complex prior to move-in day, the staff was very helpful in getting me all the information I needed to make a leasing decision. The facilities are clean and in good condition, and the location is nice as well. There are restaurants and retailers in the first floor of the building, as well as within a couple of blocks, and it's a 10-minute walk to shopping districts and the Potomac waterfront. Overall, two months after moving in, I am very happy with my decision.

I have lived at Belle Pre for 2 of the 3 years I have spent in the DMV area. It is by far the best community I have ever lived in. The apartments and amenities are wonderful, but the staff is what really makes this place feel like home. They have always been welcoming, and exceedingly helpful. I can't recommend this community enough.

I’ve lived here for two and one-half years and have had a very positive experience. The neighborhood is great with the metro, restaurants, and grocery stores right here, plus Old Town Alexandria is a short walk away. The front office, the concierges, and the entire staff have been friendly and welcoming. Maintenance issues that I’ve had have always been fixed promptly. The rooftop is beautiful, and the building holds events on a regular basis which makes it feel more like a community. The front office has always been very kind and helpful with my questions from the time I moved in, through two lease renewals, and now as I’m preparing to move out.

Great apartment complex with friendly staff. The apartments are set up to be energy efficient and spacious. Conveniently near a metro to get to work or go into the city. Lots to do in the area and all within walking distance.