I think my apartment is a great value (although I did luck out and got a great discount for being a Wharton student and signing during the second welcome weekend). It's certainly nothing special (kitchen reminds me of 1970s and is literally the bare minimum. Everyone at the Claridge tries really hard. The building has its shortcomings (e.g. really annoying application process, paper thin walls, I face Chancellor street and the garbage trucks that arrive at 7:45am every morning are extraordinarily loud.) But the positives (most everything else...and especially the 2nd floor lounge and gym) far outweigh these shortcomings.

Wonderful place to live - excellent location and lots of Wharton students.

Poor management - can't handle simple problems like turning off an elevator when it's out of order. People pass the buck a lot. Some doormen/receptionists are very friendly. Others have a resting bitch face and refuse to help, or are very slow to open the door for you. A lot of apartments (esp unrenovated units) feel old. Maintenance people are very responsive but often not the right guy to fix the problem you have.

Very thin walls - can even hear neighbors pull up their blinds

Pros: Great lounge. Super fast maintenance. Friendly staff. Wharton dorm of sorts. 70 people from my class lived here last year (not including 2Ys).

Cons: Poor HVAC / circulation. Room is 80 even when windows are open in winter. They don't let you choose when you can heat / cool your apartment, and the temperature ranges are tiny. Downside of electricity being covered is that they care about cost of energy vs. Your comfort. Small studios (2Beds are huge though).

Careful with the online floor plans. What you see is not what you get. I was surprised when I saw my apt for the first time.

No issues with roaches / bugs or anything. Overall, considered moving after first year, but ended up staying because the alternatives were not compelling enough to warrant the hassle of moving.

Pros:
-Extremely responsive management and maintenance team
-Excellent amenities on the second floor lounge
-Great location right on Rittenhouse Square
-Huge floorplans for 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units
-Robust elevator system with separate shafts for pet-owners
-Immediate access to transportation with the bus line on Walnut Street
-Washer / Dryer on every floor makes for convenient laundry
-CRITICAL: Can select Verizon as an internet service provider instead of local favorite and worst-company-ever Comcast

Cons:
-You can't control whether the HVAC is set to "heat" or "cold", making for an awkward couple of weeks when the weather turns in late fall and early summer
-The layouts for some of the studios are awkward: the kitchen in mine is poorly designed; I don't have a drawer for silverware in mine. I've been in other units that have too skinny of a hallway
-If you have a unit on the south side of the building, you can hear the garbage trucks taking out the trash in the morning. I'm on the 14th floor and it still wakes me up; this can be annoying and I imagine it's worse on the lower floors.

Pros:
Good location
Decently sized apartments for the price

Cons:
Thin walls
Old building and lots of maintenance issues (even in renovated apartment)
Unresponsive management
Poor package management system

The building is definitely older, but management is pretty responsive to any issues. Some units are more recently renovated that others. The location is awesome - so close to everything. Highly recommend because of the location.

The lounge on 2nd floor itself is an amazing resource (free WiFi, tones of space to host, study, even free printing, great gym, yoga room - what else do you need?). Apartments are quite spacious and 2BRs have a view of the Rittenhouse Square. Very well located and responsive/supportive staff. Can't complain at all. Bus at doorstep, and over 50 other Wharton students to pool an Uber with. Mind you studios are a different ballgame in terms of space.

They are also renovating lobby soon. And loads of pets!

It's a great location and good amenities, but before you move in you should know that you need to read your lease agreement very very carefully. Just about every month I get a notice that I have been charged for this or that, from $20-$100!!

Rules are constantly being added with fees attached ($25 per day for packages left more than 7 days). It's a building that touts luxury and services, but they treat you like a meter maid would.

The rent isn't cheap, but the park-side units offer gorgeous views during the day. A 700 sq. ft. one bedroom is big enough to have 20-25 people over if needed; the living room is spacious and the dining alcove allows you to have a dining area, though it's not separate. The cons: small bathroom and an annoying galley style kitchen that makes it hard to open up the kitchen when you want to walk around. Common spaces are great--huge new gym and common room on the 2nd floor, plus a roof that has sweeping views of the city (though it doesn't have much more than that). Be warned, the building does frown upon using the common space for large social gatherings, but it's a fantastic study nook and place to have a few friends over to hang out.