The Charles

I've actually had a great experience at the Charles Apartment my six months here. The apartment is spacious and has wooden floors which is a plus. Pro: So close to Hopkins campus you cross and you are on campus. Management is friendly and courteous. Maintenance staff are friendly. Location feels safe and campus patrol is within the vicinity. The location is accessible to the collegetown shuttle, free charm city bus and MTA buses. Cons: Maintenance issues come up in the apartment, maintenance staff attempt to fix it between 24 hrs most times although it takes longer sometimes. No parking garage No swimming pool or gym but proximity to campus is priority to me. Overall, the rent is affordable (if you get a special) and the management is awesome!

I had a great experience leasing a studio apartment in the Blackstone over the past six months. The staff is very friendly, and any/all maintenance issues were addressed promptly. The apartments themselves are spacious, and the historical details are a nice touch of style. Additionally, the large windows allow very nice natural light exposure on the south side of the building. (You can even see the inner harbor from the upper floors!) Overall, I was very satisfied with my experience here.

This apartment has too many flaws relative to its benefits. When I had only lived here for a couple days, I wrote a very positive review, but having lived here longer, there are numerous reasons for me to not want to stay here again. Cons: 1) Poor enough hygiene such that mice and flies are frequent pests and nuisances: In addition to finding a mouse in my apartment three days ago, it has yet to be dealt with and the exterminator cannot deal with it for another 4 days. According to other residents, I am also not the first person to experience this. Flies are also a problem, as there can be as many as 10 resting on the windowsills. This is all despite being a hygienic person by habit. 2) Disappointing service: After finding the mouse in the apartment, it took me 3 days of calling--at different times of the day--for the front office to pick up the phone and offer help. Moreover, after putting in a maintenance request for the mouse, I was left a note to "check for mice holes." On average, some basic maintenance requests, such as two leaking sinks, were addressed within a business day, while other similar requests took over a week. 3) Old building: There is no built-in AC, meaning summers will be dreadful, and frequent repairs for almost everything from the bathroom sink to the hallway elevator are needed. 4) High cost: The monthly rent is similar to or higher than other newer nearby apartments such as Nine East 33rd and One Hundred West University Parkway. Pros: 1) Convenient and safe location. 2) The security guards are very friendly and helpful.

The Charles is in a great location for any JHU students. The building has charm and the staff at the leasing office are always helpful and accommodating. The maintenance staff also provide services quickly and efficiently. Overall it has been a wonderful experience!

There is a lot of bad reviews here about the heat, water shut off etc. the building is historic so yes at times the office might have to shut the water off for 30mins or so to fix something. They always give us notice whenever the water is being turned off. Office staff is nice, maintenance is nice even though sometimes it takes them more than 24hrsvto fix a problem. The Charles is directly across from the university, very convenient. There is a security guard at night. My experience has been good, the apartments are well kept even though the building is old.

My experience with The Charles was fairly negative. Just in comparison to other properties around Charles Village, The Charles is very overpriced given the quality of the apartment complex. You're better off paying for an apartment in Nine East, which is only a little more expensive, just as close to the Hopkins campus and has far more amenities (and it's furnished)! The staff generally seemed to have a very flippant/negative attitude, although they were accommodating of certain lease changes, which was appreciated. The building is pretty old and maintenance issues are common. Overall, would advise against this choice given how expensive it is for the quality.

Very quaint. The building is in the process of a lot of repairs notably the elevator - there is only one elevator that works so far and a second freight lever elevator used for freights that I was told will be upgraded this year into a regular elevator. The single elevator during busy hours tends to get slow and occasionally smells funny. There are random water shutdowns as previous comments have noted in the past years - however, I do believe they are doing a better job of notifying residents a few hours before these water shutdowns occur. They also provide bottled water for these shutdowns. I have seen one roach in my apartment so far, and I suspect it's mainly to do with the age of the building. As soon as I put up roach repellants, I have seen none. The staff are all incredibly kind though (a huge shoutout to Maya!) and I do see the effort that is put into creating a community within the appartment. Wifi is also not included so expect about $55/month for that under Xfinity. I liked how many outlets there are in an efficiency - there are plenty! Construction work that occurs at the school can be heard and can be disrupting if you are sensitive to noise. - From a verified resident on ApartmentRatings

ANY building in Charles Village is better. The staff are essentially useless. The leases are terribly structured with sketchy auto-renew clauses that kick in very early. The water has been shut off to the ENTIRE BUILDING for 7 separate days in the 8 months I've lived here. I have been stuck in the single, ancient elevator in the building FIVE times. The hallways smell like a different kind of trash every day. There are virtually no amenities. Laundry machines are incredibly inefficient. No workout facility. No trash chute, trash must be taken down the elevator, out the back and around the corner to the dumpster.