We have lived at The Porter Del Ray for about two years. The property is managed by Bozzuto. The grounds and community spaces​ are well kept and maintenance​ request (which are rarely needed) are always promptly addressed.​ Community activities​ are well planned and executed in a manner that facilitates​ bringing neighbors together. The entire staff from the​ Property Manager Neha to Leanna and Trevor who manage the​ day to day operations of keeping our community connected are friendly, pleasant and always there to assist. read more

Great apartment and wonderful pool with activitie. The leasing office will give you no information and charge your for an extra two months if you don't meet their criteria they never bother to mention. What's an extra 6k on the end of your lease why not? read more

Oof so much to say about living here. The only reason it gets 3 stars instead of 2 is that the maintenance and janitorial staff are very kind. The front office was also extremely accommodating when my parents needed to stay for an extended period of time and helped them with an extra key and free parking. But there are so many issues for paying a premium for a Bozzuto property. The elevators are ALWAYS out. The service elevator has not worked in months causing them to shut down the main elevator any time someone has to move. At least 10 times in the past month, and only a 50/50 if they send an email to warn you. Same with water shut off. 10 times in the last month or 2 is ridiculous for any property let alone the amount we pay to live here. As far as the actual apartments, they are fine but built cheaply. The floors that have been replaced are very nice but if you have carpet you will be vacuuming every single day because the carpet is so cheap it sheds HORRIBLY. There is also wood molding missing in several spots and even holes in the floor they won't fix. The floors / ceilings are extremely thin. I swear my upstairs neighbors are Olympic weightlifting at midnight every night but I will say the walls in between units are thick so that's a nice perk. Living on the dog park side sucks if you don't want to hear barking from 6am to 9am everyday but luckily I don't have to deal with it. Overall could be much worse but when you pay premium prices, you expect to have working elevators and WATER! read more

The Porter Del Ray - Apartments Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Update Jan 2022 -- we moved out in June 2020 bc we needed more space due to teleworking during COVID. We only now appreciate the great service and amenities that Porter Del Ray had to offer. Cleaning staff and maintenance were great, office staff responsive & friendly with positive customer service attitude. Coffee, snacks and activities were wonderful. Plus we loved our apartment with appliances, including full size washer dryer, flooring, and windows with lots of light. Bozzuto was great. We now live in what is supposed to be luxury apt but no activities (despite monthly fee), poor customer service, horrible cleaning (dirt and cigarette butts everywhere), and an out-of-town owner that just does not care about tenants. Wish we hadn't had to move out of Porter Del Ray. read more

The cheapest of the "luxury" apartment buildings in the area, however that isn't saying much. During the winter there would be homeless people sleeping in the club room & game room. When I told management about it they said they would look into it and decided zip tying the doors shut was enough. The building is cheaply built and we could hear our upstairs neighbors all the time, the leasing office accused us of "walking too loud" and told us we should get rugs to counter the noise our neighbors would here. However when we told them that we also hear footsteps they told us that since the building is "wood built" we can't assume that it's directly above us. The building would flood and the hallway carpets would be soaked. The ladies in the leasing office were rude and dismissive, they require you to submit you're lease renewal 60 days before your lease ends but they don't give you your new rental agreement until a few days before the 60 day mark which puts you in a bind because they don't have have rent control so they can increase your rent by 20%. We encountered so many issues when living here, if you could I would choose a different building. read more

I moved here in the summer and it has been great. The leasing office was very helpful since I couldn't see the apartment before I moved - they took videos and pictures for me. The location is perfect; there are so many things in walking distance. The maintenance team was very helpful with the one issue I had and was quick to solve it. The resident events are so thoughtful and great! (I love when food is involved) read more

I'll start with the good: the apartments are "fancy" -- hardwood floors, lots of closet space, open floorplans that utilize the space, washer/dryer and dishwasher. We were relatively happy with the location -- walking distance from Braddock Rd. and near all the Del Ray amenities. The gyms have a decent amount of equipment for an apartment gym, and the pools are beautiful. The dog-friendly policy is a plus. The bad: The trains make a lot of noise, if you're on that side of the building. The monthly rent is expensive, especially when you add in all of the extras (mandatory trash, mandatory HBO and cable, parking, pet fees, etc etc.). The walls are well-insulated, the doors less so, and you can hear absolutely everything from the apartment above yours. Or maybe it's just that our upstairs neighbor has a habit of doing plyometrics every night as our baby went to sleep! And (not Bell Del Ray's fault, but something a potential commuter should be aware of) the metro is awful, especially the blue line, and the commute from the apartment into DC by public transit is much longer than I thought it would be. Google maps definitely under-calculates it. The ugly: If we had stayed in DC one year, as originally planned, I think the apartment would have worked out, and I probably would have given it 3.5 to 4 stars. Unfortunately, I was "asked" to stay another 2 months at my job. The Bell Del Ray does not do short-term lease extensions well. We either had to vacate the premises and find a new place for me, my husband, our dog, and our baby for two months; pay an exorbitant month-to-month rent at the Bell Del Ray (literally twice as much as our current monthly rent... which is already relatively high for the area); or sign a three-month lease at a less exorbitant but still budget-busting rate (roughly 25% more than the yearly rate). If I had known about Bell's inflexibility in this respect, I would not have stayed there in the first place. So, yeah. If you are not 100% sure your rental period will fit neatly into a year-long lease, I do not recommend this apartment. If you do have a clear and definite rental period that is unlikely to change, or you are flexible enough to plan your move-out date to coincide with the nice yearly rates, then its a pretty good but not great apartment, given the price. read more

I have lived in Porter Del Ray for a little under a year, and I have to say that the current staff is MUCH better than the last one! They went out of their way to help me move into another apartment in the building due to an emergency situation that arose. Leanna, as well as the rest of the staff) always have a smile on their faces when helping me or answering a question I may have, and follows up with an email to see if a problem has been resolved. The location is great! The main reason I didn't give it five stars is because there are a few things that could be improved with the building itself, but I'm sure once the building is finished being renovated, that will allay some of the concerns that seen in other reviews(-: read more

UPDATE: New staff and new management took over the property and the entire feel has changed. They are all about the money now; charging for some amenities that used to be free, and in general just not as helpful or customer focused as they used to be. It's a bit overpriced and they force you to pay extra for valet trash, cable/internet, etc. The units are very nice and the layout is great...but it's no longer the deal I used to think it was. This apartment is located in a great area which is still under development. The finishes in the unit are great! Washer/Dryer in every unit, granite counter tops, new stainless appliances, well thought out set up. My 643 sq. ft apartment feels much bigger thanks to the high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. GREAT closet space. There are also a plethora of great community spaces including an outdoor patio, pools, and grills. The community is great, easy to walk to restaurants, community dog park, a grocery store and pharmacy are around the corner. The BEST feature of this place is the staff. They provide, truly, the best customer care I've ever experienced anywhere let alone in an apartment building. At first I thought they were just being nice because they wanted me to sign a lease but that turned out to be just my own cynicism! They remember all of the tenants names and even remember my dogs name. They have always been accommodating and go above and beyond to be helpful. I would live here just for the staff but the units and community are great too! read more

Excellent place

I LOVE Bell Del Ray. I have lived here a little over two years and not one complaint. The staff has always been great, even when it has went through changes. Linda, the building manager, is always very pleasant. The maintenance staff is very friendly and works incredibly hard. Everything you need is at the complex - a well equipped gym, washer/dryer in unit, pool, grills, parking garage, trash pick up, and a package concierge. The package concierge was just put in the last few months, and was a great add on. The complex is about .7 mile walk to the metro, with a nice path. Also within walking distance is Potomac Yard, the restaurants on Mount Vernon Avenue, Swings Coffee, and a few dog parks. Old Town is only about a mile away as well. Bell Del Ray is not overpriced, in my opinion. If you want to live in Northern Virginia in a nice area, you will have to pay for it. I love living here and I have always felt safe and welcome. read more

This review is long overdue. Porter Del Rey is by far the best apartment building I've ever lived in, and now I've sadly moved out due to moving to a different state I must praise the whole experience. First I'll start with the apartments themselves- the units are gorgeous. I loved my huge balcony and unit, they are spacious with high ceilings, and I enjoyed how quiet the building was. I'm very sensitive to sound and my unit was so quiet, I was so happy! The building itself is amazing, the amenities like the gym (with two pelotons which rocked) and the pool were all so nice to use, and as a resident you can rent out the club room which I did for my going away party and it was the best place to host, all my guests complimented the building! Next I'll move to the location- you couldn't ask for a better location. It's close enough to dc (I worked in Foggy Bottom and it's an easy 15 min commute), close to Old Town, and close to the best hidden secret of the DMV area- Del Rey. I didn't know about Del Rey before moving and I fell in love with the quaint small town feeling of the area. Just walk along Mt Vernon Ave and you'll see- the cutest restaurants, a mural for neighborhood dogs, Halloween parades, and an amazing food tasting event called Taste of Del Rey! The Porter is a quick walk to all of that! The complex also hosts fun resident events like jazz in the courtyard and plants for Earth Day. Next I'll move to perhaps the most important thing- the people. Every single person who works at the Porter is amazing and made my experience. The women working in the office, especially Kenisha, really care about residents. Every email I sent got a quick response and they went out of their way on several occasions to help me (I'll never forget Jamie running up to my apartment to make sure I'd locked my keybox for the cat sitter when I was on a plane and worried I hadn't locked it). The maintenance team is also amazing- truly the best I'll save the best for last- Vickie on maintenance team. Vickie is seriously the best- whenever I had a maintenance request she came and always fixed the issue and was just so kind and lovely to work with, we always had such great conversations whenever she came. Moving out today I was so sad to say goodbye to her because she really is such a wonderful person and made my life so much easier. You don't realize how having a good person on the maintenance team can really make your experience, and Vickie really went above and beyond. The Porter is not the Porter without her. If I ever move back to the area, I know I will move right back into the Porter because there is no other apartment complex that can beat it. I'd recommend it to anyone and will remember my time there with a smile, thanks to Porter Del Rey. read more

I moved in exactly 60 days today and I have to say, it's just becoming clearer each day that this is a unique community. I have found the staff really friendly, the maintenance team considerate and extremely professional and the building well-maintained. I relocated from San Francisco, and the transition was made so much easier by coming to such a welcoming community. Neighbors are great and I'm very pleased with my apartment. No one paid me to say this! read more

Just got my car towed from the parking garage. Don't know why. Pay $100 a month to get my car towed. What a bad deal.

The new management have been doing a great job since my last post in 2017 including going out of their way to deliver packages into my apartment while I'm at work so my pregnant wife didn't have to carry them! Any issues that have come about have addressed in a timely manner. read more

trash constantly left in the hallways, poor sound insulation, unqualified property manager...

The apartment building is under new management and dealing with them has been a very frustrating experience. They seem to have no answers to almost any question I ask and I constantly get the feeling that I am bothering them. I really want to stay here, even with the high rent and numerous fees, but I don't think I can deal with the front office staff anymore. The building is in a good location, except for the train tracks nearby. The building is pet friendly, which I love, but on rainy days, the hallways smell like wet dog. Some dog owners really have issues with respecting personal space when they are with their dogs. I like dogs, but please keep your dog off of me and out of my to-go bag! read more

Great building!! Great management! Great location! Nothing bad to say about The Porter Del Ray! read more

This property has some really nice finishes. The kitchens - there is a ton of cabinet space. The entire leasing team is great. They seem to know each resident by name and if they commit to doing something, they follow through on it. Any maintenance requests I've submitted have been addressed either same or next business day. The center courtyard with the pool is beautiful, although this is where I will throw out a caution. The sound does echo because it is an enclosed space (something to keep in mind if you decide to rent a unit overlooking the pool). There are 3 TV's in the courtyard, two grills, and two fire pits. The courtyard closes at 10PM which helps limit the noise. Braddock Metro Station is a 10-12 minute walk on the new path. This is a new building, and construction in and around the property is ongoing. It is mostly around the property at this point. I ended up with a flat tire that cost me $281 to replace the tire after I ended up with a drywall screw in it. I suspect it occurred in the parking garage, because when I first moved in, I was picking up drywall screws daily in the parking garage. There is also supposed to be a dog park being constructed directly next to the building once the substation construction is completed. There is already a large dog park across the street. Adding another dog park directly next to a residential building doesn't seem like the best idea. My apartment is on the side looking out over the existing dog park and where the proposed dog park is going. Even with my windows closed, it's usually the dog barking from across the street that wakes me up around 6:00AM (mostly on weekends). I am a dog person, if I didn't work unpredictable hours, I'd have one. I believe the leasing office is going to be fielding complaints from residents once the dog park goes in 12ft from resident's balconies. Expenses in addition to rent - Comcast Cable TV and Verizon Internet: Bell Del Ray has a bulk agreement with both Comcast for TV and Verizon for Fios internet for $95.00 per month added to your monthly rent. An extra HD digital box is $10 billed directly to you by Comcast. "Valet Trash Service." This non-optional service is tacked onto every residents monthly amount for $25 month/$300 year. You set your trash out in front of your door between 6-8pm and it is picked up. For $300 bucks a year, I would happily walk my trash and recycling to the trash shoot. I guess it depends on how far you are from the trash shoot to if this service is worthwhile. I also question if what I put out for recycling actually gets recycled. You have to bag your recycling in a translucent blue bag, which defeats the purpose of "going green" because each bag creates additional waste. I'd like the option to dump my recycling from a bin into a single stream container myself and not incur this expense. Parking is $75 per month per vehicle. Street parking used to be plentiful when I moved in a year ago, that is no longer the case. Street parking can be tight, especially on weekends when there are soccer and baseball games across the street. Electric: My electric bill for Mar. 2015 was $82.32 and $88.64 for February. Water/Sewer: Water is billed monthly. My last two water bills were $19.40 and $29.87 plus a monthly admin fee of $5.30 for a third party biller to bill for the water. Overall, I enjoy really living here. I'm on the fifth floor looking out toward Swing's Coffee. read more

Moved in a little under 2 years ago when the apartment was new. The entire experience has gotten worse with each passing month. The construction quality of the units has started to show along with the building in general. The courtyard grills were consistently broken during the previous two summers, the gates to the small expensive parking garage are often broken and useless. I have had issues with a neighbors dog barking for almost 2 months trying to be civil and ask the neighbor and then Bell to do something about it. Nothing has happened except my time has been wasted trying to bring this up to the office. The construction next door from the dominion power station is back just in time for that cool time of year to open windows. But don't worry the entire building shakes everything on your counters even if you can't hear it. The apartment is suppose to be dog friendly but they are consistently out of dog bags at the doors, the open area behind the complex has now been a fenced off dirt/rock field. This leaves a small area for all the dogs of the complex to use. There is a dog park across the street which is convenient but Bell doesn't live up to the amenities hype they boast as a "Luxury" apartment. The only positive things are the location and maintenance staff. read more

RATS, RATS, and more rats. Dead on the balcony. NOISE from traffic. NOISE from trains all morning, afternoon and evening. OVERPRICED for small units with no storage. TOO MANY FEES for parking, trash valet, MANDATORY cable & HBO. They basically are squeezing you for every nickel & dime. RUDE & DISMISSIVE STAFF is unresponsive and should look for new jobs. YOU'D BE CRAZY to move in here. LOOK ELSEWHERE! You'll be happier you did. read more

Pros: Hardwood flooring, huge closets, great kitchen storage with island, 3 pools, and location in Del Ray Cons: Some of the ameneties are not open yet and still under construction, but sopposed to be opening by May So far I love living here, I walk to the Braddock Rd metro on the new walking trail as well as all of my favorite spots in Del Ray. Gurcan and Kristie in the leasing office are super nice and helpful, my move in was smooth, and they bring my packages to my apartment for me. Still new but so far a great experience! read more

There are tons of great things about this apartment building such as the valet trash, the fancy interiors, the beautiful pool, etc etc. Is it worth $2300+ for a one bedroom apartment though- absolutely not. Also- do not think about moving in if you cannot do an EXACT year lease. There is no way of getting out- even if you lose your job and are struggling to make ends meet all of a sudden- and sadly the staff is trained on a strict business model which doesn't allow for them to help out with this much whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, the staff is amazing. Bell Apartments as a company though- not so much. They only care about one thing- $$$$$$$$$$$. read more

We have been here for a few months and really like it. The prices are high, but from what we found are the same as all the other buildings in the area. There is ample street parking. The staff is awesome! We live on the side of the building with the trains, but they don't bother us as others have said - disclaimer, we moved here from NYC so this is much quieter. They have a referral bonus so message me if you are thinking of moving in and we will both get a little something extra. Enjoy!!! read more

I've lived at the Porter for 3 months and am very pleased with my apartment, the complex and community and the management staff is professional and responsive. They organize special events for the residents - we had a pop up breakfast today with delicious Panera sandwiches, fruit, bagels, yogurt and coffee! We had a fantastic brunch weeks ago with the Omelette Guys and another event after work with catered grilled cheese and tomato basil soup (also delicious). These are timely for folks on the way to work or after a long day. I appreciate the Porter's staff (Christiana, Leanna and David) and their caring and thoughtful manner. I love my apartment, the amenities and the Del Ray, Old Town and Potomac Yards communities. Plenty of walking/bike trails, the Y, dog parks (I'm not a pet owner) and sports fields....great apartment home! read more

Mixed feelings on this one. Liked the old management and the previous office hours. Being open until 7pm a couple of nights a week made a huge differenc. Now, new management has taken over, and as a resident, I feel very uninformed. The office hours changed without notification. The website says online payments are available, but they aren't as of now. Gone is the amenity space wifi. Buzzuto, please start communicating with your residents. read more

Really great apartment complex! Been her for around a year and a half now (in the military), and the staff has always been extremely helpful. When we needed repairs or the like, they were always very apologetic and quick to respond. I would definitely recommend moving here if you're new to the area! read more

This used to be a great building but new management is awful...the building isn't being maintained and they are completely rude. There are plenty of other better options in the area-don't waste your time! read more

I moved in about a month ago. My move in went smoothly- Leanna(asst property mgr) was extremely helpful throughout. Apartment was move in ready. Staff professional and respectful. I like the package concierge system in place- very organized. There is a shuttle that provides round trip service to Crystal City metro 3 days during work week. A brunch was provided for all tenants last weekend - catered omelettes and crepes- delicious and nice way to meet neighbors. I am very satisfied with Porter Del Ray community and glad I moved here. read more

Pros: +The STAFF: When my boyfriend was trying to figure out where to live, he had a long list of questions about the apartment complex. CASHMERE was incredibly patient with him, quick and thorough with her responses, and was even willing to take pictures of the apartment itself. MICKEY was instrumental in getting the construction company next door to use their noisiest pieces of machinery at a later time. With Mickey's help, they stopped using the jackhammer @ 6-7 am. GURCAN and CHARLES and the rest of the staff have always been very helpful and friendly. They all go out of their way to make you feel comfortable...and I'm not being paid to say this! +10-15 minute walk (~0.7 miles) to Braddock Station: Just walk down Main street, once you see 7/11, turn left, walk past the underpass and you'll see the train station on your left. If you're incredibly lazy/plan on being on your feet the whole day (i.e. at a festival or running a marathon), you can always drive your car 0.5 mile down main street and park your car at the end of the road +incredibly pet friendly: there's a dog park across the street, dog waste bag dispensers available outside the apartment complex and dog treats next to the leasing office. I don't have a dog yet, but I thoroughly enjoy dog-watching, like a creep. +within walking distance to Giant supermarket, CVS, M.E. Swings coffee, and--obviously--the shops on Del Ray +Luxury apartments: storage (having extra cabinet space in a bathroom is a HUGE bonus), granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, valet trash, TV's in the courtyard, new grills, fire pits, 24/7 gym, 3 pools, a pool table room, as well as a variety of extra amenities that I may be overlooking. +safe area to live: policeman appears to live in the apartment complex. Most of the residents here seem to be well educated young professionals. +secure parking garage: requires key fob to enter garage and to enter the building +nice running trail along Main Line Blvd and Potomac Ave Cons: these are incredibly nit-picky -To the individual who left a passive-aggressive note on my boyfriend's car: The amount of time you took to complain about how close his car was parked to yours must have taken longer than it actually took to get inside your car. Good job!!!!! -walls aren't completely soundproof: The walls definitely make sounds more dull, but we can definitely pick up on noises that our neighbors probably don't want us to be hearing... read more

The apartment is run like crap. They will incorrectly type up documents (triple check any lease agreements, etc). The office is closed constantly. Things break often and may not get fixed (the pool grill, parking gate, exercise machines, etc). The building is cheaply made (see model homes in Arrested Development). All of this and yet you pay top dollars for a "luxury" apartment. We went 18 months without a screen on the balcony door, and when my wife asked about getting one, the manager said "We don't allow those here." I did another walk around the building and made sure that, yep, EVERY OTHER UNIT HAD ONE. I went back and her mind seemed to shut down, but luckily a maintenance worker overheard and said he'd bring one right up. (The Maintenon and cleaning staff are great). Expect the staff to lose track of your mail. Expect the fire alarm to go off once a week because no one there is smart enough to fix it. My last week there I went into office to get a package and the only person in the office was with a prospective tenant. They were casually flipping through the floor plan book. The employee was on her phone facebooking. She never acknowledged me. There was already another tenant she had been ignoring. After 5 minutes (I checked) I finally told her I needed my mail. She said she was with a customer and couldn't walk over and pick up the package on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, the office phones are ringing.... That's a special level of incompetence. read more

I just renewed for my fourth year. The location is amazing and the apartments are spacious with a good layout. I just transferred into a new apartment and I was worried about the quality and condition since I had moved into an apartment That had never been lived in three years prior. There's no issues and things are in great condition. My move was also handled really well and made incredibly easy. Things are fairly quiet for an apartment building and there is an acceptance of pets. I see people outside every evening letting their dogs play. The building was recently sold and the new team seems to be much more focused on resident satisfaction and convenience. The team under the prior building ownership one time interrupted a get together I was having in the clubroom to tell me they were going to charge me for using it. Seems like those days are gone! read more

I'm military so I move every 3 years or so, which somewhat makes me an Apartment/Condo connoisseur. With that said, I've never written a review before, but the service and the property at my new place are amazing! The leasing team (shout out to Mickey, Gurkin, and Kristen) have been amazing throughout my entire move!! The staff is always inviting and more than happy to assist you! The apartments are beautiful. I'm moving from Post Carlyle Square, what I thought was a comparable apartment building (only 3 miles away) but I have found that the only thing that was comparable was the price. Belle Del Ray far exceeds Post Carlyle Square (square footage, finishings, amenities, etc...). If I could put 6 stars I would! read more

I have lived in a lot of different places and I have to say that Bell Del Ray is one of the best! From staff that is always so welcoming and makes sure to invite you to property events to the cleanliness of the property to the location. A 5 star star community with a 5 star team. I would recommend this property to anyone that wants to live in the Northern Virginia area. If you are searching for a great and affordable community you MUST check Bell Del Ray out, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't at least stop by and see what this amazing property has to offer. read more

As nice as the apartments are and "fake" nice as the people who work here are the real issue is the lease you're signing. I was going through some issues which would cause me to move out early and cancel my lease... let's just say I learned my lesson about signing leases and will read every single last detail there is. For me to move out early they would charge me over $6,000.00!!!! If you decide to move here make sure that nothing will ever come up in your life that could possibly cause you to have to cancel your lease early otherwise you're screwed!! read more