Leeds Halls of Residence 2008

Hello please could someone help me!
I've dropped out of uni in Newcastle (one of the reasons being I was in snobby halls and so didn't mix very well! hehe)
I've come to realise that the "normal" people have standard rooms, none of this en-suite business, and go for cheap accomm
Anyways, I've been looking at Lupton, Boddington, North Hill Court, and Oxley (because apparently the standard kitchens are shared between 10-15-v sociable!)
Could anyone give me any advice? Or give me a rundown of what each one is like.
That would be much appreciated!!
xxx

Haha. Hmmmmm. Devonshire is nice, but not my cup of tea.

Great places include St. Marks (very close), Oxley, Boddington and Lupton. All very nice.

Firstly we went to Henry Price.
However there was a MAJOR disadvantage!! Each bedroom shares a toilet/shower-in-one ... this was worse than imagined as someone could easily open their door (as 2 bedrooms each have a door to it) and see you doing your business or showering which im really conscious about!! I don't care if it's same sex sharing! Also, surely the whole floor gets wet which must be unpleasant if you need the loo after someone's showered, dangerous no??

Also my boyfriend commented on the bedroom layout - we don't like the bed being so far away from the desk as we like our watching-telly-in-bed mornings! Really it's a shame as Henry Price is soo spacious, modern and close to the uni (5minutes away - you could literally roll out of bed and go to your lectures) but for me it's now a no-no! Perhaps a bit on the pricey side aswell.

I went to the accommodation viewing day for Leeds Uni today and visited Devonshire Hall, James Baillie Park, Henry Price and Lupton Residences so if anyone wants to know anything then feel free to ask me
Until then, here is my opinion on them:

Firstly we went to Henry Price. The flats are shared between 9 people. Each flat has a large living room, kitchen area and dining area which were all very spacious in themselves although they are adjoined as one! We were very impressed with this as it should provide for a great socialising area and is modern and extremely roomy!! However there was a MAJOR disadvantage!! Each bedroom shares a toilet/shower-in-one ... this was worse than imagined as someone could easily open their door (as 2 bedrooms each have a door to it) and see you doing your business or showering which im really conscious about!! I don't care if it's same sex sharing! Also, surely the whole floor gets wet which must be unpleasant if you need the loo after someone's showered, dangerous no?? Well generally displeasing anyway – it doesn’t lock from the inside!. This to me may cause problems also because i plan to have my friends over to stay next year and there's no room in the shower to wrap a towel around yourself - so you'd have to step out of the shower into the bedroom without a towel! Hmm a little uncomfortable. Also my boyfriend commented on the bedroom layout - we don't like the bed being so far away from the desk as we like our watching-telly-in-bed mornings! Really it's a shame as Henry Price is soo spacious, modern and close to the uni (5minutes away - you could literally roll out of bed and go to your lectures) but for me it's now a no-no! Perhaps a bit on the pricey side aswell.

Next we walked to Devonshire hall. Impressive buildings and gorgeous surroundings - 19th century is it? I dunno but it's nice. Anyway the guides were friendly and keen, the flats were average - clean, enough room to move, nice enough shower and toilets and kitchen area all sharing between 5/6 and ensuite is available if wanted as well as catered. The real perks about this place are the things it has to offer such as: common room(satellite tv, pool tables), bar, squash and tennis courts, formal dinners and organised activites such as xmas and summer balls, and plenty of team sports and clubs such as badminton, footy, music/drama...if you're into all that it's great! I didnt really pick up a snobby vibe while there, just a real sense of community and team spirit, they are proud to live there - they are very VERY competitive with their sports and have already won the tournament against the other residences! Also i dunno if this effects anything but the activities are all organised by 2nd years. I don't know if the stereotype of people who get into devonshire hall is true - but i think you could make it work for you if you did get in so try not to be judgemental! Personally i'm not sure if it's my scene, i can't say i know i'd love it there but this is more because of the vibe the residence gives off, not the people themselves, i would probabaly feel like someone else could make more of what devonshire hall has to offer than me as i don't particularly have any hobbies or do sports however i would like to join in, if i do get a bed there so i'm applying here again this year for now although i might change my mind! (i applied here last year but got into Lupton instead which wasn't even my first choice lol). Errrm also its only 10minute walk from uni which isn't bad at all, and probably reasonably priced (well the self catered shared bathroom flats are!) So in general i could be happy here!

Next we gave James Baillie Park a short visit. We looked at a 3-bed cluster flat (most are shared between 5/6 however). One word to describe this- MASSIVE! lol one guy was lucky enough to get the biggest bedroom - but the smallest bedroom was big enough! (apparantly the rooms are different sizes in different flats so it's the luck of the draw really). Large kitchen/dining area, a fridge and freezer each! Sharing a toilet/bath - yes, a bath! So pretty much impressive but i didn't get to see those bigger flats in JBP where more people share. The guides said their social life was good and they made friends with other flats easily. 10 minute walk from Uni, not far from Dev Hall too. Didn't get to see the common room though. Not as good clubs/sports as dev hall but still competitive i've heard. Quite pricey for an en-suite! Not bad surroundings. Can you tell i'm running out of things to say lol. Errm it's a nice residence but overall i'm inclined to say i would prefer Devonshire Hall for the price of things!

Finally we made it to Lupton Residences. This residence is situated in good old Headingley – brimming with students, pubs, shops (wilkinsons, boots, Somerfield and subway to name a few!) and is conveniently in the middle of the Otley Run pub crawl hehe! I really liked it there, the guides were really friendly and informative, the rooms are a good size especially if u get the end corner room with 2 windows!! Errm the kitchen is probably the smallest out of the residences I seen, but it doesn’t bother me as it’s newly refurbished has a table with chairs and a fridge/freezer between 2 people practically! The bathroom is the best I’ve seen – closed shower, closed toilet and 2 sinks, so you could have a person on the loo a person in the shower and 2 people using the sinks all at the same time but in private aswell – easily pleased!! Lol but yes it’s impressive and newly refurbed also. The surroundings are really nice and grassy and I’ve been told there are red squirrels lol, it’s secure as there’s a fence around it etc. You can opt for same sex or mixed sex flats (I’ll go for mixed-sex, I know how bitchy girls can get when spending a lot of time together lol).There’s no common room or bar or pool tables or sporty stuff, but this doesn’t particularly bother me as it’s so close to pubs and things! I’ve heard they organise an event in the Summer with a marquee which sounds good. Errm one drawback is that it’s the furthest away from Uni in comparison to the others. A 25 minute walk, it doesn’t seem too bad and there are buses for those who need more time on a morning like myself haha, and the guide said it’s a nice walk anyway! It WILL help you get fitter! But despite this I think it’s set in a nice area. It’s meant to be a really friendly and sociable residence, so bring on the parties I say! Ooh almost forgot it’s the cheapest out of the lot…at £71 a week it really is worth considering!

Soo hopefully I’ve summed the day up nicely for y’all. I’m applying to Devonshire for now however that’s subject to change…and I just know if I went to Lupton I’d have the best time. Hope this helps someone x x x

Heyy, I went to the accommodation open day yesterday too! And i've heard many people saying that James Bailie is around 20 minutes.. but others 10, does anyone know which one? x x

Heyy, I went to the accommodation open day yesterday too! And i've heard many people saying that James Bailie is around 20 minutes.. but others 10, does anyone know which one? x x

Well I'll justreply to a few things you mentioned about HP

The shower situation isn't actually that bad when you live with it. It's not really possible to open the door on someone fully (As you probably noticed the shower isn't that big so IF someone opened the door it wouldn't open fully, it would just hit you.) It's impossible for someone to not know you're showering anyway as you can hear the shower from your bedroom very easily

And yep one problem is the wet floor, but I've got used to it myself.

As for the TV, you could actually move your bedside cabinet to the side of the room which would allow the TV to be closer.

It seems like you've made up your mind anyway so I hope you manage to get into Devonshire and have a great time at Uni

Your descriptions are very accurate. I agree that Lupton seems like the best halls, its literally just the fact that its so far to walk and buss passes cost about £300 a term...

I live at Dev and you seem pretty similar to me. Its definitely not got the best atmosphere (unless you're used to boarding school), but you're attitude is good as you know what you're in for. The location is absolutely great, its not too expensive and there are obviously some great people here. You can easily make your 'main' friends elsewhere (as I have!).

Does anyone know when we hear if we got our first choice accomodation?

Thanks :P well i keep on reading that Dev hall is like a boarding school, full of people from public schools etc so i don't know what to make of it. If this is the case then i doubt i will feel "one of the crowd"...i will hardly fit in lol! But all of its facilities sound so tempting. Hmm i'm just gonna have to have a good think about it!