I moved into Accolade on Chestnut in August 2025, and it has been one of the worst housing experiences of my life. If you are a student or anyone who needs a peaceful place to live, please read this before signing a lease.

From the very first night, I discovered that the building next door has 24-hour construction—bright lights on all night, constant noise, and heavy machinery that makes it literally impossible to sleep. On top of that, the Hilton hotel below starts blasting loud noise every evening around 8 p.m. Imagine trying to study or get any rest with this going on day after day.

When I raised this issue with management, their response was dismissive. They kept saying there are no alternative rooms available and that “outside construction is not their responsibility.” Basically, they admit there’s a huge problem but refuse to take any accountability. Their only so-called “solution” was telling me to sublet my unit. I tried that—I posted in multiple Penn student WeChat groups and even on Xiaohongshu. Absolutely no one was interested, because word is already out that this place is unbearable.

So here I am: trapped in a lease I cannot escape, paying thousands of dollars for an apartment where I cannot sleep, cannot study, and cannot live a normal life. Management shows no compassion and hides behind technicalities.

This is not just about inconvenience—it is about basic livable conditions. A place that advertises itself to students but ignores 24-hour construction noise and refuses to work with tenants is unacceptable.

My advice: Do not move into Accolade on Chestnut. Save yourself the stress, the money, and the sleepless nights.

I’ve been living here since August 2024, and unfortunately, I’ve experienced three major leaks in my unit. The most recent one, on May 5th, was by far the worst—water was actively leaking from the ceiling in the same spot as before, to the point where it felt like it was raining inside my bathroom. I had to place two buckets to catch the water, and the wall was soaked and crinkled again. The hallway outside my unit was leaking too.
What was most upsetting wasn’t just the recurring damage, but the lack of urgency in addressing it. I called maintenance multiple times and couldn’t reach anyone. When I finally did, I was told help was coming, but no one showed up. I felt completely alone in dealing with what felt like an emergency situation, and I didn’t feel safe in my own home.
Previous leaks were never fully repaired—walls left damaged, ceiling panels left open—and I’ve had to live with the aftermath. This has been an incredibly stressful and exhausting experience, and I sincerely hope future improvements are made to better protect residents and respond to urgent issues quickly.

Nice, newly renovated building. Not fancy but very clean, with in-unit laundry and plenty of storage space. There have been issues with climate control, mainly in the winter, but management is actively working on fixing the problem. Management is responsive overall.

Great location and comes furnished!

very bad experience!! The house is filled with roaches when i moved in. The trash room is always filled with garbages and smells. My room is see-through from the stairway. Can not control AC mode.

Very convenient location. Very expensive for what you get. Good study spaces. Might be less chaotic in 24/25; in 2023, move-in was chaos after a rehab of the building over the summer. Big plus: it's furnished, which made moving much easier.

The apartment is 5-minute away from the law school. Ideal for first-year law students who are busy. The rent is very reasonable for the location and the amenities.

Great location and relatively fair price for living in studio with internet and water included in the rent, but management is not responsive and amenities breakdown from time to time.

Living across the street from the law school makes any downsides worth it. Building was just renovated so all the rooms are new with new appliances and furniture. All of it feels very cheaply made...but it's a furnished apartment so you can't complain too much. Building management is not very on top of running a building - amenities purport to exist but are frequently not functioning or have not been set up (e.g., a gym, package management system, trash/recycling). The building is entirely grad students...so the common areas are often pretty gross when people leave their garbage and discarded food containers everywhere. But at the end of the day if all you need is an apartment to yourself across from the school, it's hard to beat this building. And having all the utilities included is great and takes out any worry going in about cost variability.

Extremely convenient location and it's great having all amenities included in the rent. Management is alright and since it's a new building there are a lot of maintenance issues (our dryers especially) that will hopefully be fixed by next year. The space is tiny-- you're essentially paying for convenience, not really the apartment itself.