Catered accommodation halls

What's the food like (I'm vegetarian)? And do people ever feel they have to ditch their friends at lunch to go to the eating canteens? Would self catered be a better option?

Reply 1

RDKGames

Study Forum Helper

Original post by emhennighan

What's the food like (I'm vegetarian)? And do people ever feel they have to ditch their friends at lunch to go to the eating canteens? Would self catered be a better option?

Self-catered in my opinion is a much better option simply due to the freedom is provided, and of course you get to learn how to make food for yourself! For catered, your food is provided for you but if you miss the time slot you don't get any of it. I believe there is breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the day, but of course, you are not required to attend if you don't want to. Also self-catered halls are much cheaper.

I cannot say anything about the food for vegetarians as I do not live in a catered hall here, but I assume there are options available for vegetarians and whatnot. :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Loughborough University

Loughborough

Reply 2

Loughborough University

Official Rep

Original post by emhennighan

What's the food like (I'm vegetarian)? And do people ever feel they have to ditch their friends at lunch to go to the eating canteens? Would self catered be a better option?

Hi emhenninghan :smile:

There are lots of positives to catered halls so they are definitely worth thinking about - although they are the more expensive option initially, when you compare the cost of weekly food shops and add this into the equation it pretty much cancels out the difference. Catered accommodation is also a really sociable experience (basically like going out for meals with friends) and it can save you a lot of time that you otherwise would be spending preparing meals (which can be a great help with busy schedules).

If you are out and about across meal times too, you can notify staff in advance and they will prepare takeaway lunches for you instead if needed. It really depends what sort of thing you want - some people prefer self-catered, others find that catered is a better fit into their lifestyle, so I can't really say that either is better or worse that the other. I'd definitely recommend watching this video on catered accommodation - you should find it helpful. You can also find some examples of catered hall menus here :biggrin: