I have lived at Dorchester for a year now and have truly fallen in love with it. It's definitely not the best place you will find but considering the price, it is incredible! The positives faaaar outweigh the negatives:
The Good:
Affordable living - we were paying only $1,725 for a 3 bedroom (although they just raised it to $1,830 but still better than most places in Arlington by a longshot)
Apartment size - WOW! The 2 smaller bedrooms in this place are 15 x 11! The master bedroom around 18 x 11 with oen bathroom. We have a corner apartment so I dont really know how the rest of them fare but I would assume they're on par as well.
Maintenance - These guys are very friendly and respond very quickly. I never had to wait more than 24 hours at the most, sometimes they would arrive the same night I called them.
The Roof! - Although old, this building features one of the best views of DC and Northern VA from the rooftop. There is a party room ont he roof available to rent out with kitchen and everything - I think its like $200, well worth it. The outside portion of the rooftop is beautiful because they employ full-time gardeners to take care of it. There are fountains and flowers and patio furniture, it is such a nice thing to have that a lot of the residents take for granted.
Parking - The parking is much better than you will find in 95% of other apartment buildings. Every registered resident gets a parking pass. They allow anybody to park in the lot until midnight on weeknights but this is nice if you have guests over, it has never caused me to be unable to get a spot. They also allow anybody w/o a parking pass to park in the lot overnight Fri-Sun but this too has never been a problem for me. There is a bunch of additional street parking that is usually available even if it is a short walk (2 blocks or so). I have only had to do this once or twice in over a year of living.
Pool and Tennis Courts - yup, its true
They Care! - Although the building is old they keep it nice all the time and actually just finished renovating every elevator int he building, they look much better! Grounds are usually kept very clean
The Bad:
The Crowd - Yes, the building is occupied primarily by older people so as 3 twenty-something males, we have to watch our step sometimes. We have gotten noise complaints a few times now even though we are rarely noisy. One of them was from a New Years party....c'mon now!! So just watch the noise and you'll be fine.
Pests? - Ok, we did have a small rodent problem for a short while. But in all honesty they dont bother me nearly as much as bugs (cockroaches) do. In any case, maintenance set glue traps and the problem was quickly solved. I would say that its unlikely to happen to most people.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Dorchester Towers is an undeniable deal! Great staff, great building, good parking, good maintenance, big apartments (our 3 bedroom is about 1,400 sq. ft.), all at a good price. It is definitely a hidden treasure in the heart of Arlington!