Washington Intern Student Housing (WISH) Review

Episodic water quality issues (yellow/brown with rust flecks), about which many of my fellow interns shared their concerns. Nothing was done except to pass on the blame and obfuscate. They spend a lot of money on optics and evidently far too little on the the things that matter. Very pretty lobby, very nice receptionist, but the leadership is clearly lacking and, since they get our money up front and keep a large portion of the security deposit for administrative costs , there is little incentive for accountability. Will be urging my university to switch their housing.

I stayed in WISH's one bedroom/4 roommates housing option for 10 weeks during fall 2018. Overall, my experience was fine, but I think that largely depended on the extremely positive relationship I had with my roommates whom I had never met before. I realize that I was very lucky with this while others in WISH weren't. The housing itself was fine-- things were older but they worked, the place itself was generally clean, and I knew what I signed up for with 4 roommates in such a small space. Two times our toilet had issues and it was repaired by WISH right away. WISH respected our privacy and always let us know at least one day in advance of a room check. The excellent location on Capitol Hill was unbeatable and this is mostly why my review is getting 4 stars. The reason it is not getting 5 stars is because of the price. I paid way too much for the accommodations I was given, although I will admit it does seem tough to find something better for such a short period of time. In the end, I would stay with WISH again if I had to, but I would look elsewhere first.

Do not live in the cheapest option here. You will get stuck paying overpriced rent for what is basically a studio apartment that you share with 3 other people. I lived on the top bunk and I felt like I was at summer camp, and not in a good way. The apartment was outdated, not kept clean, and the elevator was always broken. We didn t even have an oven or stove; we had to use the toaster oven if we wanted to cook anything. The apartment they show online has a table for sitting, but most apartments don t have that unless you re lucky. There were two desks to be shared between four people and getting ready for work in the morning is a nightmare with the tiniest bathroom and closet you ve ever seen. Also, they say your deposit is refundable, but we were only refunded half due to some fine print that says they keep $300 for administrative fees. I know some people who lived in the nicer apartments that enjoyed their experience, but I can t even imagine what they were paying because our rent was already outrageous as is for the cheapest option.

Also, I m sure they ll reply to this post saying I wish you would ve reached out sooner to resolve your concerns or whatever garbage they say to make this place look better. There is no resolving the fact that WISH is a scam to profit off of people who don t do enough research before moving to the city. Look elsewhere or hate your living situation for months like I did.

Book your stay with anyone but WISH. When I moved in, I was disappointed to see the photos of the luxury condos were wildly misleading. I had two roommates who stayed in the apartment the previous semester and were told WISH would have cleaners come over Christmas break; they did not. When I moved in, the carpets were stained, the countertops were filthy, and the apartment was littered with McDonald s and pizza boxes. It was no better living there when my room only had a lamp, one sink that wasn t clogged, and blinds that did not close. For 1900 dollars a month, a front door which locked would have been courteous. Once we complained, the door was fixed; however, every picture use was misleading. The furniture could hardly fit to of us on side by side on the couch. The beds were no better than a dormitory mattress. The elevators seldomly worked, and lastly, the gym, which is why I chose the luxury condos, was pitiful. Stay anywhere but WISH. I was thrilled to move out early. My one roommate was, however, asked to leave by the company. I would recommend no one stay here. Get a long term Airbnb. It s your best option.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

I see some of the negative reviews and it's interesting how they all came at the same exact time out of nowhere, and also leave negative reviews at the same companies across the nation. Makes me wonder if someone hired them to do so, and the accounts appear to be fake.

From my personal opinion, the staff is so kind and helpful. They consider placing you in the best housing option based off of where your internship is located at in DC (for the best and most manageable commute), as well as other preferences such as number of roommates.

I live at the Congressional Apartments which are located right next to the Supreme Court building and Capitol Hill. Perfect location! They weren't kidding when they said I'd be right on Capitol Hill.

The events are my favorite part of choosing WISH. I love meeting other interns across DC while attending the tours, guest speakers and other fun events WISH hosts.

I plan on staying with WISH through future internship opportunities.

I stayed at WISH at Woodley Park for a semester in fall 2017 and had a negative experience. I would urge anyone moving to D.C. to explore other options and not go with WISH just because it's the first search result.

LOCATION: This was the one positive aspect of my stay. Woodley Park is a very safe and pleasant neighborhood, and it's conveniently located with only a short commute to downtown.

Everything else was problematic.

ROOM QUALITY/MAINTENANCE: The room was advertised to me as having been recently renovated, so I chose it over other cheaper options assuming that it would be in better condition. However, when I arrived, it quickly became clear that the apartment which was rented to me was not yet ready to be lived in. The markings of extremely shoddy/rushed renovation were everywhere, from uneven flooring to paint specks all over the furniture. Furniture such as the sofa was entirely missing, and the bad WiFi reception made it all but unusable.

I worked to resolve the fixable problems by emailing WISH, but the response was often intolerably slow. I racked up heavy mobile data charges before the WiFi was fixed. The lack of counter and storage space had become a serious point of contention between my housemates by the time our island counter was installed, months after move-in. The poorly installed heater in my room, which woke me up countless times in the middle of the night with an extremely loud rattling, took nearly a month to fix despite multiple follow up emails. I could go on.

COMMUNITY: I'm a very social person, but I found no larger social element or community at WISH outside of the people in my suite. During the academic year, many WISH residents are university students pushed into overflow housing, not interns, and they are typically not interested in becoming friends with people who don't go to their school. I went to a few of the social events, but the food/shirts typically ran out before I got there and people left after that. Beyond those, there was no lounge or other communal space at Woodley Park to meet people (unless you count the elegant but sterile lobby or the basement laundry/computer rooms), nor even something like a WISH Woodley Park Facebook group (perhaps they're afraid that if they create one, residents will organize and take collective action against them?).

OVERALL VALUE: I by no means came to WISH expecting a luxury experience it's student housing, after all, even at WISH's exorbitant prices but these problems added up to a fundamental failure on the part of WISH to provide the basic services which were advertised to me and for which I paid. I will not be staying there again and I recommend that you don't, either.

I have had a great experience living with WISH. Having a fully furnished house and kitchen was super helpful and anytime I needed another pot or pan they delivered it upon request. Maintenance came on the same day as the request in most cases. I loved having 3 roommates and events to meet others at.

Please do your research and compare prices of apartments before falling for SCAMS like wish. You will be individually paying $4,000 to SHARE AN APARTMENT. They try to scam you and call it a single, but they have their own definition of a single lol, which is completely different from what the entire real estate market means when they say a single apartment AKA AN APARTMENT WITH NO OTHER TENANTS BUT YOURSELF.

Horrible experience. Paid $5,500 up front and got placed in an unfinished apartment in the basement while all other apartments were much better. Had to pay the same price as everyone else and was stuck between the garbage dumpster and parking lot directly outside our window. The rooms are extremely small. We had to move to smaller apartments due to Covid and they gave us a box with no way to get our stuff to the new apartments. I went back and cleaned the apartment and got $0 back from the $500 security deposit.

Absolutely stunning,

You know I am an allumni of Savannah College of the Arts and Design along with attending Liberty University. They have stoves for us, trash cans, beds, dishes, closets and the most coziest living that reminds me of home. I love it here. It is sound proof. My room came with a T.V. for my housing and I get free wifi. We are in the center of the Capitol where all the magic happens. I get to sit in on hearings, make history, tour the museums, see the guard of the tomb, and speak mandarin in China Town. They are one of the most affordable school housing to attend. With rates as low as 4257 dollars. I must say that I have been in more expensive housing situations. As a soldier, I truly believe it is housing friendly to me. I get to run in to other soldiers in senate hearings and be apart of the armed forces committee which is fun. I get to see things that soldiers don't witness. My hopes are to find a place like this in the future and that I am successful in everything I do. And I hope that other students find out that they can make their wishes come true!