Riverbend on the Charles - Berkshire Property Advisors

Accidentally dropped my car keys down the recycling chute. Early the next morning, Matt, a member of the building staff, climbed into the bin and searched until he found them so I didn't have to do that. So relieved and grateful!

As Block A residents for 3 years (Riverbend has already come under the management of Berkshire Communities when we moved in), we love this apartment home. Property Manager Cole makes the stay easy for us from day one. Over the years we got acquainted with some residents - met some retired seniors, people who are involved in different aspects of healthcare industry, and owners of some very friendly dogs. Though, as the rental has been rising in notable increments, wi no concessions, it's fair to wonder about its values. But Riverbend's strong points are compelling:

1) Fully-covered garage means never having to shovel; parking lots are assigned, they kept a lookout so adjacent vehicles' sizes fit well together
2) Healthy trail Charles River Bike Path is literally at Block A's *doorstep*!
3) Gym machines w cable TV (busy ~7am and 7pm, great all other times)
4) Better feng shui than the apartment community near Farwell Road graveyard
5) Refreshingly restful compared to living downtown, or even by Watertown Square/Yard where there's a constant flow of traffic (Bonus: During day time in spring/summer, Blk A's courtyard sounds like a bird sanctuary - delightfully tranquil)
6) The 24x7 incoming-package lockers have been very assuring and easy to use!

Other conveniences:
7) Easy access to Mass Pike, but not so close as to be affected by its traffic build-up; at 7am, it's only a 20min drive to Longwood area. Bus-wise, Express 502/504 set off from Watertown Yard every 10min during peak hours and reaches downtown in 25min; Bus 70 gives a 30min ride to Central Sq, Bus 73 likewise but to Harvard

8) Short drive to 10 supermarkets nearby (two Stop and Shops, one of which is 24hr, Russo's, Shaw's, BJ's, Hannaford in Waltham, Market Basket in Waltham, three Star Markets). Pharmacies: two CVSes (one of which is 24hr), Walgreen, Rite-Aid. Hospitals: St Elizebeth in Newton is 15-20min drive away, Mt Auburn likewise. Leisure: CrossFit is tucked in a workshop across the road, Central Rock Gym is a stone's throw away, Boston Ballroom Dancing School is close by across the river

9) The ONSITE maintenance team keeps getting better too - current team Jaime and Patrick are responsive, respectful of hygiene (they wear shoe covers when entering the apartment), and cleaned up all dirt/dust - impressively considerate. Separately, a resident once commented on the custodian, that he cleans the place like it's his own home; that's even on snow days.

10) The pool and jacuzzi area (open form Memorial Day to Labor Day), has some 40 deck chairs and that's plenty; the firepit and two BBQ grills are open year round from 8am to 10pm

Your may find it even more enjoyable if you take some initiatives:
*Water pressure: The showerhead's water-saving but time-consuming. Changing it (to a self-provided Kohler's Awaken 2.0gpm, ~$25) has been a great move from day one, and the maintenance team gladly helped.
Comfort: During winter when the heater is on, we find it comforting to run a humidifier with hygrometer set to 50%.

*A fellow resident pointed out on apartmentratings.com that there's no sound leak from up, down, left or right units - though you may hear activities at the hallway, from adjacent units during summer when windows are open, and thumping from upstairs (hello happy but heavy dogs, shoes on uncarpeted floor). Curtains and rugs help keep it soft.
That said, one winter evening ~7pm, policemen suddenly showed up because a neighbor had reported extreme noise - police found nothing but the "noise" of some typing on a soft touch laptop on a cold evening when the courtyard's quiet as a graveyard. Eventually, the neighbor moved out, presumably to a really quiet castle in the air, but not before startling us with more **undue** stress - including warning from a staff with message tending towards the strong side. Such scare eroded our love for this place. Thankfully everyone else is wonderful. This experience serves as a reminder: Apartment living is not for people who are averse to noise/movement/use of some tact. High density living, however luxurious, inherently requires a **healthy** dose of neighborliness.

*The wonderful Starbucks machine in the lobby, used to run out of paper cups, creamers and hot chocolate frequently, but is generously refilled now - the good work didn't go unnoticed! Fresh new carpet has been installed in the lobby too. There are areas for ongoing improvement (eg gym fridge out of water) - but we're optimistic that a Maintenance Request or amicable conversation with the management can easily fix these in time.

Putting it in perspective: At the end of the day, when you come home to the spectacular sunsets, the gorgeous river teeming with life, and strolling amidst all these, all are good indeed. Now, time to bake some cookies in that nice Whirlpool oven...

I love our building! My fiance and I have been living here for 3 years now and have to say it keeps getting better. In the past few months the building has made improvements that have truly made it the luxury style living they advertise:

-A wonderful Starbucks coffee/tea/hot chocolate machine in the lobby which is free + fantastic
-Free water bottles and gatorade in the gym
-Beautiful renovations to the outdoor courtyard: more seating near the grilling area, lawn furniture and a fire pit!

The staff in the leasing office: Cole and Melissa are WONDERFUL! I could not say enough positive things about them. They have always listened to and followed through with everything that I brought to their attention.

Their are still a few improvements that could be made:

-I would love to see the building change the carpeting in our apt. It does snag and rip and is starting to look pretty shabby
-It also is no longer free to book the 1st floor room which I miss--maybe they could have a policy where you could put down a deposit and if the room was up to code after the event get it back.
-More community events!


If you are thinking about moving to the Watertown area I would make sure to check out Riverbend on the Charles! The building is wonderful and the community is too!

I have lived here for one year, and I cannot wait to move out.

Since day one of moving in (which was within the first two months that the building opened) we have had nothing but problems in this apartment. I'll start with the positives, however; I cannot discount the pool deck and new grills that are outside. I love utilizing that space and enjoying the path behind the complex to walk my dog.

Having said that, if you plan to move in here, I hope you enjoy being inconvenienced daily. The main elevator has not fully functioned in three to four months. The best part is that they built the building so there's no access to the staircase from the ground floor where the parking garage is, so you have to walk completely out of your way to get to your apartment. I live on the 4th floor, and taking armloads of groceries up the stairs because of an elevator defect is brutal.

I work from home, and have had to contact the building more than once because I smelled gas coming out from the side of the apartment! They had to evacuate the building and six fire trucks showed up. If I hadn't noticed this, our pets would have died from the natural gas pouring in the windows. They said that one of our landscapers hit it--how was it that I was inside my apartment and the first to notice this hazard? There was no email explaining the situation until much later in the day, so the people who didn't work from home had no idea that this was occurring. What would the building have done with the dogs if an actual fire would have started, or if there was a prolonged leak? As a dog owner, I would have been enraged if I wasn't home to take my dog out and away from that situation.

When I moved in, the pool was not open. It was the middle of July, and I was promised that the pool would be open for use and enjoyment as soon as they were done with construction. Well, that never happened. The pool sat there, and opened for the last two days of the year because the front office couldn't get their act together. Very disappointing. Now it is fully functioning and beautiful, but there are over 250 residents in this building, and they have maybe 20 chairs outside. You do the math.

The front office is a disaster. The lack of communication between the employees downstairs and the residents is astounding and unprofessional. They posted signs in the front lot saying that any car that was not visiting the "leasing office" would be towed, but that is our guest lot. There was no email making us aware of this, and we had no notice that our guests would be inconvenienced. They are more concerned with getting new residents in than they are maintaining relationships with their existing residents. They fired an employee mid-way through the year, which helped because she was grumpy and miserable all the time. When you are coming to your home, and you have people who are at their job, its difficult to get a warm, cozy, "home" environment when the people working are unhappy. We have rooms available for office space, and the existing rule at the building was that there were no private reservations of those rooms allowed, yet that policy changed with no notice to us. When I tried to do work in the office, a sign was posted WHILE I was inside, saying that the room was reserved. Makes no sense to me.

I contacted the head office of Riverbend to talk with them about our individual apartment complex, knowing and understanding growing pains and the rest. They never called me back, instead telling the managers that "someone was complaining" and no-one ever contacted me to follow up. Poor customer service, and more proof that once they have your money, they don't care what happens next.

Our apartment individually is nice. However, the carpet that they installed in all of the apartments is HORRIFIC. I came back one day from being out and saw that my dogs collar had wrapped around one of the (many) threads that came loose on the carpet, and he was stuck to the floor! The carpet pulls, snags, and looks dirty. The maintenance guys here are very friendly and sweet, that I will say. The front office solution to our carpet was that we would have to move everything out of our apartment to be fixed. No thanks, it should have been done initially. The hot water takes forever to get to our unit, and the "garbage chutes" that are installed are completely on the other side of the building, forcing my roommate and I to drag our bags of garbage down multiple long hallways.

Hearing chatter in the halls and speaking to people who live here, I know I am not the only resident who is very disappointed with this building. For how much we pay, we are not accommodated to and the managers of this building should be fired or take a business class. The only way this building will survive is because they will get new people in here who are impressed with the decor and pool, and not know what they are getting themselves into. That's the reason for my review. Heed my warning

The Good:
Great staff, decent apartment, indoor parking, walking path behind the building.

The Bad:
Noisy, many subsidized renters who abuse and trash the place, renters throw trash in the trash room instead of using the trash shoots, they decorate apt doors like they live in a third world country, kids ride bikes in the garage, kids use the lounge rooms as play rooms, garage spaces are tiny, large families in small apartments, packages come up missing, expensive, not worth what you pay for. More like a motel than an apartment. I'll be kind and stop here.

worst living experience of my life. Understaffed, bad water pressure, too expensive for what you get. First yelp review I have felt compelled to write but I felt I had to save people a year of their lives.

Very friendly staff, quiet neighborhood and friendly neighbors. Great amenities and perfect location. Couldn't ask for more!

As much as I love this facility and living here, the employees, excluding maintenance and the sweet gentleman that cleans, need some work on customer service. I would be worried about how I am going to be treated living there for the next year, but I don't think it could get much worse. Asking for help with anything feels like I'm always putting them out or interrupting their busy personal phone calls. I'm a pretty friendly person and yes maybe a little needy at times, but is it too much to ask for maybe a smile or the phone being answered promptly when they open? Oh wait, not usually on time, so there's that. Oh and don't even try calling the call center after hours as they are rude and basically just give phone numbers that will never be answered. Once again, the facility is beautiful and a quiet place to live, but expect to feel like a pain when you ask for anything.

Worst rental experience of my life. The staff is less than helpful exactly when you need them to be...Melissa M. And Cole V. You could have better customer service training at McDonald's seriously? My cable was a nightmare to install the entire apartment is falling apart one thing at a time they fix it but really for $2500 a month I expected a lot more. So bad they're letting out of my lease I'm a real estate developer on the side and can't wait to get out of this hellhole. Dealing with a cabinet in the bathroom today that is falling apart and my cable is it working again oh well, one problem at a time it's a good thing I'm an executive with skills and patience.

Construction quality not what it claims to be-luxury living.