If you’re all about starting and sharing good conversations, we think Anthem is the best choice for you. We love that they offer community amenities that allow residents to simply come together and enjoy. 

Some of these common amenities include an exquisite-looking clubhouse; a game lounge room that holds billiards, shuffleboard, and darts; and a courtyard with a fire pit!

But what we think is the center of their community building approach is their community kitchen and outdoor dining and grilling stations. We love that they create warm and cozy moments for their residents, shared over good food and stories. 

And to cap off these special moments? We love that they also offer a complimentary espresso bar!

We also appreciate the extra services they offer including complimentary bike storage and repair stations, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and dog wash stations. 

We think that having these amenities in-house provides accessibility and convenience to their residents. 

However, if you’re a fur parent to three or more adorable pets, you might want to reconsider, as they limit the pets allowed to two, and they also impose an additional rent fee of $40 and a deposit of $300.  

Unfortunately, they also only accept specific breeds inside the apartment. 

We also want to make this caveat: a couple of their residents have experienced getting their bikes stolen in the apartment’s bike storage. This definitely sets them back, as concerns like this reflect the safety and security that they can give to their residents.

Rivage Portland, for us, would make a good home for residents who enjoy working outside. 

We say this because of the apartment’s business center. In this business center, residents can make use of a co-working space filled with enough desks and chairs. 

We think it’s a good place to meet with your workmates and discuss or to simply sit down and type away a productive afternoon. 

In terms of floor plans, we love that they offer studio, one-bedroom, convertible one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units.

These rooms also offer efficient amenities inside. We love that they already include walk-in closets, keyless door entry, built-in shelving, and in-home washers and dryers, and best of all, they’re also secured with Vivint Smart Home systems. 

One other feature that we like about Rivage is its prime location. We love that their residents have access to some of the most popular restaurants and breweries in Portland, including Brix Tavern and Deschutes. 

If you’re more into sceneries, the apartment is also relatively near Macleay Park and the Willamette River. It’s also near the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Zoo, and the Pittock Bird Sanctuary. 

While we appreciate all the perks that Rivage offers, we do have to point out a couple of concerns that interested residents might need to consider.

First, a few of their residents have complained about moving into a unit with dirty carpets and foul-smelling cabinets. We don’t like that they also took too long to clean the space after they were made aware of the issue. 

Second, residents have also, unfortunately, experienced their packages getting stolen or their storage spaces broken into. 

If waking up to a stunning river and mountain view is how you want to start your day, we found you an apartment that gives you just that and a little bit more. 

Sanctuary Apartments certainly lives up to its name with the beautiful river and mountain views its location delivers. We love that this LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold-Certified apartment is close to nature.

In fact, it also has access to the South Waterfront Greenway trail. In its neighborhood, residents can also find Willamette Park and Duniway Park Lilac Gardens. 

We think its location is perfect for residents who want to actively experience nature in the middle of downtown Portland. 

In terms of community amenities, we love that they offer a rooftop terrace with a fire pit and barbeque stations. 

We also love that their business center holds a catering bar as well as screened-off areas. We think this gives their residents flexible options that accommodate their work needs and preferences.

Inside their rooms, the amenities are also pretty modern. We appreciate that they’ve installed stackable washers and dryers as well as a packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC heating and cooling system).

However, several residents have been discouraged by the lack of parking spaces for their guests. If you often have your friends and loved ones over, this can get a little bit stressful for them. 

A few other residents would also point out that their staff members aren’t responsive or accommodating in terms of communication. We don’t appreciate that residents have to wait a while before they respond to their personal inquiries and concerns. 

The Russell Apartments’ location is the perfect choice for the foodies of Portland. 

We love that their neighborhood has plenty of eating options including Russel Street BBQ, Ox, and Toro Bravo. Ballrooms and sit-down bars are also here, including Wonder Ballroom and Billy Ray’s Dive. 

We also love that his newly LEED-certified apartment offers amenities that satisfy the luxurious taste.

Their rooms include vinyl plank flooring, stainless steel appliances, a high-end finish, and beautiful landscaping.

If despite all this opulence, meeting people and making friends are more appealing to you, The Russell also keeps an active community inside their apartment.

We love that they hold apartment-wide events that are open to all its residents, such as ice cream socials and volleyball tournaments. 

We think these events are effective in building not only a secured home life but also a holistic and warm neighborhood for their residents.

We also think their client service adds great value to their offers. 

We love that they listen to their residents’ needs and promptly respond to their feedback.

In fact, they’ve developed an online portal exclusively for all their residents. With this portal, residents will be able to request the apartment’s services, report any problem, and even pay their rent online any time of the day. 

We appreciate that this gives clients accessibility and convenience on top of enjoying the amenities they offer. 

Unfortunately, residents of The Russell have also had experiences of stealing and breaking in, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This can be an isolated case, but one of their residents has also reported noise issues in the apartments, particularly noise coming from the garage doors and from plumbing.

In terms on location, we think that Storyline offers more of a practical and convenient experience for their residents. 

We love that they’re near Portland Streetcar, bike stations, the Interstate 405 as well as the Goose Hollow Max station. Given these access points, residents will always have an easy and uninterrupted commute. 

The neighborhood also houses a number of shops and services including Champion’s Barber Shop, Plaid Pantry, and the Portland State University.

Another service feature that we love about Storyline is the flexible options they have for their floor plans. In fact, they offer up to 17 options for their units, varying in size and layout. 

We love that they have studio and loft rooms too! These are cheaper options that we think are perfect for students or independents who don’t really need a big space. 

Residents who have stayed in Storyline also enjoy the industrial and chic interior design of the common areas and the individual units. If you’re all about style and aesthetics, this apartment will definitely live up to your expectations.

We also appreciate that their staff is known to be friendly and helpful. Residents love that they’re responsive to their questions and are hands-on in helping them move in and navigate around the apartment. 

However, we have to note that a few of their residents have expressed their concerns about the noise inside and around the apartment.

One thought that the walls between the rooms were too thin that he often gets disturbed by the next room’s noise. Another complained about the noise coming from the highway on the west side of the building. 

If you’re putting Storyline in your list of options, you might want to measure its perks against these setbacks as well.