Tom Heng
Google
Living at the Madelon might look glamorous due to the massive windows, wonderful cleaning staff, and lavish common spaces, but there are so many unacceptable problems that you will encounter while living here.
1. Automated parking system – In general, I am in favor of stacked parking systems where you can maximize space, but the Klaus parking system sucks. There were so many instances where the system had an error, and you could not access your car until a Klaus technician came to fix it. This lasted 3 days for me once. Additionally, the entrance to get your car in was incredibly tiny. I have personally seen at least 5 cars break their side mirror off as people entered/exited the bay. Good luck to all of you future residents.
2. Ear shattering fire alarm system – The Madelon has the most sensitive fire alarm system I have ever lived in. There were over a dozen “real” fire alarms during my 2 years living there and they were ear shatteringly loud. I am not sure how much of this is due to residents or due to the system sensitivity, to be fair, but it was incredibly inconvenient. This was not including the fire drills and testing that the building does regularly. Testing is good! I am in favor of testing, but having the entire building be in alarm mode for 3-4 hours as you go unit to unit to ensure it works is so painful. If you have children or pets, be prepared to make plans to bring them elsewhere for the day or they will be in such pain from the loudness and duration of the alarm. And the best part? They messed up with the scheduling of the fire alarm and had to reschedule 2 times this past year. Imagine making plans to move your whole family for the day and then realizing you didn’t have to, and then repeating that 2 more times because it’s so horrible that your family CANNOT be in the same building at the same time as fire alarm testing.
3. Stolen packages – The building has a Package Concierge system, which makes you pay $20 for setup, and these are mostly safe. The packages too large to fit, or when the system is at capacity? For the most part they’re safe BUT I have heard of multiple electric scooters, bikes, and even an electronic piano being stolen.
4. Horrible pet owners – This one isn’t really the building’s fault but I feel compelled to mention it. Some of the pet owners here were scum of the earth. At least a dozen times have I waited for the elevator door to open and there would be a massive puddle of pee waiting for me. I have also found feces and vomit in the stairways!
5. Move out day – Move out day is a crapshoot in most places. The Madelon did not set us up for success. We booked the freight elevator from 10-1 and it just so happened that there was no front desk staff to help us put the elevator in lock mode for the whole first hour. There was minimal movement this day so we were fine, but why is it so difficult to have someone do the thing you asked them to do? Have also heard of the Madelon guaranteeing that a unit would have the elevator to themselves for the reservation and then realize the elevator was triple booked.
Again, the Madelon has nice perks such as the nice units, lovely lobby, and awesome rooftop (weather permitting), but the issues listed above made it an overall horrible living experience.