The Student Room Group
Waterfront bar, King's College
King's College London
London

Accommodation at Kings - Some Opinions

Hey guys.

I've had loads of messages recently about Kings, in particular requesting info and other stuff about the accommodation available, so I decided to post this thread (some may say a rehash of the millions of threads started on this topic this time lasy year). Sorry if you'd sent messages ages ago, but I've been away and haven't been able to spend a particularly long time on the net at any one time.

Anywayz, here's a brief summary of my view of the (notoriously bad and expensive :wink:) accommodation at Kings. Bear in mind these are MY views, and nothing compensates for going for a tour of the accommodation yourself - which they will happily let you do (well, they let me without any fuss). Also, I'm staying at Brian Creamer House, so that will be the most informed summary :biggrin:

STAMFORD ST

Advantages:
-Stupidly near Waterloo campus (across the road) and only 5 minute walk across Waterloo Bridge to Strand campus.
-En-suite - personally I believe ensuite is overrated as no-one who has had to share a toilet and/or shower has ever complained. For example, I only share a toilet and shower with two other people, and the toilet is right opposite my room, so its practically ensuite anyway.
-Own Student Union cafe and shop - may have a bar(?) - Gym on ground floor
-Full of law students...if you like that sort of thing

Disadvantages:
-Full of law students...because you will not like that sort of thing
-Locations a bit grim. I think its the only Kings accommodation without any greenery anywhere. Feels more like a business district than somewhere you'd want to live (all personal opinion).
-Rooms are pokey. The ensuite takes up a lot of room, so your actual living space is pretty limited
-I personally don't think the hefty price tag is justified, unless closeness to campus is absolutely a must
-The apartment set up sometimes makes it feel a bit quiet. Obviously this depends on your flatmates. Whether this is a disadvantage or not depends on the individual.


GREAT DOVER ST

Advantages:
-Ensuite; and I think it has shop, cafe and bar (not 100% sure)
-Nicer, greener, more exciting area than Stamford St
-I think its about 20 mins from Waterloo (extra 5 mins for Strand)
-Full of med students (didn't know whether this was adv or disadv!)

Disadvantages:

-Once again, very expensive
-Never seen a room, but I imagine its similar to Stamford St
-Have to share with LSE students :frown:...:biggrin:


BRIAN CREAMER HOUSE (Home!)

Advantages:
-Relatively big rooms
-Not too quiet, but, due to its small size, not too rowdy - just right
-Quite a nice area - neighbours with the Archbishop of Canterbury (set in the grounds of Lambeth Palace); backs onto Archbishops Park (complete with football pitch, tennis courts and batting range)
-Good mix of students, ranging from med students to law students to pysiotherapy and philosophy students
-Cheap central accommodation - surprisingly cheap
-Unofficial free internet! Just bring a laptop or computer compatible with wireless networking...I'll say no more.

Disadvantages:
-The area itself isn't particularly vibrant. Although technically in Lambeth, its closer to Central London than it is to the centre of Lambeth, so no real shopping/cafe areas nearby (Iceland and Boots 5 mins away, but thats about it)
-One freezer between 8 can get awkward :frown:
-Beige walls, radiators that don't believe a setting between "Off" and "Full" exists, and primary school-style carpet


WOLFSON HOUSE

Don't know much about it. Notoriously grotty and grim. Students are supposedly embarrassed about showing people round it. I have a friend there who really dislikes it. But its cheap.


HAMPSTEAD

Nice area, but didn't like the looks of the actual building myself - very 1960's I thought. Very far away from campus. Quite cheap. Supposedly lots of shared rooms.


KINGS COLLEGE HALL

Once again, has a bad reputation. Never seen it so I can't confirm this. I think Dazmanultra lived/lives there, so ask him. Have heard horror stories about how rough the area is.


INTERCOLLEGIATE

So many that I recommend you visit them really. All in a very nice, quite studenty area with lots of second hand bookshops and cafes, although quite a distance from the campuses (but not REALLY far - I think it could still be walked, but don't take that as gospel). The actual buildings range from run-down to quite swish with their own gardens. I imagine there's a nice mix of students. Would've gone for it myself if it wasn't catered.

****************************************************

Hope that helps guys. Like I say, these are just my opinions. Many would disagree with me. Also, some of the places I haven't actually visited and have simply gone off hearsay and reputation, so don't take all of it as gospel.

If you have any more questions about accommodation or just about Kings in general, then just PM :smile:

Scroll to see replies

what do ppl usually do for accomodation in the 2nd and 3rd year?
Waterfront bar, King's College
King's College London
London
Reply 2
kidney thief
what do ppl usually do for accomodation in the 2nd and 3rd year?


Private accommodation. You can re-apply as a 'returning student' - but I don't know what the success rate is.
Reply 3
* Dreama claps *

KingsLaw you rock :smile:

I'm coming to see for myself on Wednesday... :smile:
Reply 4
Dreama


I'm coming to see for myself on Wednesday... :smile:


LOL...

To clarify ~ I'm coming to see *King's College* for myself... Not if you rock or not.

Ahem. :biggrin:
Reply 5
Regarding Great Dover Street, we do not have a shop, cafe and bar - all we've got is a computer room and a common room type-thingy. Having said that, it is in the middle of the 'trendy' Borough so there's masses of cafes and pubs about. The area is the one big plus about living at Great Dover Street - it is very 'up and coming' - the house prices are ridiculous round here, despite Southwark being quite a poor borough overall. We're really close to Borough Market and lots of us go and do our shopping there, we're near Hay's Galleria which is really cool and tourist attractions like the Globe and Tate Modern and the London Dungeons (if you like that sort of thing!)The rooms are just the same as Stamford Street and as for the en-suite thing, it is of course, by no means necessary, but a little bit of luxury and really nice to have.

We don't have to share with the LSE - they are in a clone of our building next door and the only contact we ever have with them is at Costcutters next door and we can go and use their bar. It's a postgrad residence there and it's very quiet. They're quite good neighbours actually!

It's a bit further away than Stamford Street is - the buses are pretty much always on time (the only downside if they're not) and what you get in return is a far nicer area than Stamford Street, with more amenities nearby.
Reply 6
Dreama
LOL...

To clarify ~ I'm coming to see *King's College* for myself... Not if you rock or not.

Ahem. :biggrin:


Rest assure, my rocking requires no witnesses :biggrin:
Reply 7
Well... :wink:
ecossaise
Regarding Great Dover Street, we do not have a shop, cafe and bar - all we've got is a computer room and a common room type-thingy. Having said that, it is in the middle of the 'trendy' Borough so there's masses of cafes and pubs about. The area is the one big plus about living at Great Dover Street - it is very 'up and coming' - the house prices are ridiculous round here, despite Southwark being quite a poor borough overall. We're really close to Borough Market and lots of us go and do our shopping there, we're near Hay's Galleria which is really cool and tourist attractions like the Globe and Tate Modern and the London Dungeons (if you like that sort of thing!)The rooms are just the same as Stamford Street and as for the en-suite thing, it is of course, by no means necessary, but a little bit of luxury and really nice to have.

We don't have to share with the LSE - they are in a clone of our building next door and the only contact we ever have with them is at Costcutters next door and we can go and use their bar. It's a postgrad residence there and it's very quiet. They're quite good neighbours actually!

It's a bit further away than Stamford Street is - the buses are pretty much always on time (the only downside if they're not) and what you get in return is a far nicer area than Stamford Street, with more amenities nearby.

is wolfson house in this same nice area?

or have i got my wires totally crossed?
Reply 9
thanks very much for your help...

I do believe, however, my best bet is to just pick a name out of a hat!!

I'm confused trying to pick manc or kings, let alone accomodation..

BTW Dreama..im going to kings on wednesday too.. we can see if kingslaw really rocks then! :biggrin:
Reply 10
Dreama
Well...:wink:


:biggrin:...remind me to rep you later :smile:

Annik
thanks very much for your help...

I do believe, however, my best bet is to just pick a name out of a hat!!

I'm confused trying to pick manc or kings, let alone accomodation..

BTW Dreama..im going to kings on wednesday too.. we can see if kingslaw really rocks then! :biggrin:


Wednesday? I'll be rocking in the library for most of the day. :smile:

I'll keep an eye out for a group of naive, optimistic prosective law students then :biggrin:
Reply 11
kingslaw
:biggrin:...remind me to rep you later :smile:



Wednesday? I'll be rocking in the library for most of the day. :smile:

I'll keep an eye out for a group of naive, optimistic prosective law students then :biggrin:


lol..I think we mite b visiting the library.. wear something really wild so you stand out!! Ohh how exciting!! :biggrin:
Reply 12
*shrugs*

I'm not naive... I'm idealistic...

Annik - See you there!

xxx
Reply 13
kidney thief
is wolfson house in this same nice area?

or have i got my wires totally crossed?



Wolfson House is but it (the building) is a hole and just wrong on so many levels. It is also further away from any green areas whereas there is a little park and football pitches behind GDS.
Edit: someone sticky this so i don't have to keep writing whenever someone asks about accommodation/KCH

Kings College Hall isn't too bad - it had a common room (with projector for films), a cool bar, Sky TV room, squash courts, table tennis, pool and full-size snooker table. The halls are split into three buildings, and in order of preference/niceness you want Platanes, Cameron, Danehurst. The actual atmosphere within the hall is awesome - because of the bar (and the mediocre food provided... apart from breakfast, which is quite nice) there is a massive social element not present at any of the other accommodation. You get to meet a lot more people, and mix with loads more people than just around your immediate room (which is the case at stamford and dover street, good luck meeting people outside your flat...).

The area itself isn't too bad. It's London. It *is* dangerous if you're not smart - but tell me a metropolitan area in the country that isn't anymore. :frown:

The are some great local places to go out - The Grove, The Sun and Doves, and believe it or not Brixton has some great night spots. A 24 hour sainsbury's is 2 minutes away from the halls, and is very handy for late night snack attacks.

When I was there there was no internet in rooms. There still isn't, but there is a computer room for everyone to use and there is wireless access in the common room for people to surf, it was installed 6 months after i left though. I had BT install a phoneline in my room, and i got myself 2mb bulldog broadband. I got myself a wireless router, and shared out my internet access to everyone in the corridor... i'd find people sitting outside my room at 3am as i walked to the bathroom in my boxers shorts. :redface:

Travelling into campus every day can be hassle. To get to london bridge/guys campus you have to get the train every day, which can take 15-20 minutes. Strand campus is reachable by train (train from denmark hill... walk from blackfriars - total travel time 25 mins) or on the bus, which quite frankly takes a stupid amount of time.

I arrived at KCH, and for the first few hours I thought "this is ****". As I got my computer and my hi-fi setup and bought some plants and posters and things my room looked brighter already. I went to dinner, didn't speak to anyone... went back to my room. Went over to the bar at 7pm, bought some drinks and from then I didn't look back. I have so many friends/mates now it's silly, and I really look back on my time at KCH fondly. I wouldn't have lived anywhere else, other than intercollegiate halls perhaps. :smile:

I hope that's helpful - KCH basically has some nice facilities, but it is quite far out from campus, and it isn't modern. But socially, it's ace. :smile:
Reply 15
Dazmanultra - rep for you :smile:

Omg I'm frightened.

Tbh, I'm totally and utterly a neat and clean freak and I love my own space. (Hence the desperation for Stamford St, (doing law too..)) Anyway, I'm also dead sociable and want a group of friends!!!

Where's the middle line? Brian Creamer House? (*glances at Kingslaw*)

I might get Internet installed if I end up without it. How does Wireless Net work/cost? :smile:

Thanks, D xxx
Reply 16
Dreama
Dazmanultra - rep for you :smile:

Omg I'm frightened.

Tbh, I'm totally and utterly a neat and clean freak and I love my own space. (Hence the desperation for Stamford St, (doing law too..)) Anyway, I'm also dead sociable and want a group of friends!!!

Where's the middle line? Brian Creamer House? (*glances at Kingslaw*)

I might get Internet installed if I end up without it. How does Wireless Net work/cost? :smile:

Thanks, D xxx


*ears burn*

I think with all accommodation its what you make of it mostly, although people have said that the apartments are quieter than the halls. BCH can be really noisy, but then really quiet. Its strange.

If you are planning to buy a laptop, make sure it comes with wireless networking. If you've already got a laptop/PC without wireless networking, I think you can buy an add-on card for about £30. However, bear in mind you'll have to get a room on the right side of the building to pick up the signal (but about 95% of the rooms are on the right side).
ecossaise
Regarding Great Dover Street, we do not have a shop, cafe and bar - all we've got is a computer room and a common room type-thingy. Having said that, it is in the middle of the 'trendy' Borough so there's masses of cafes and pubs about. The area is the one big plus about living at Great Dover Street - it is very 'up and coming' - the house prices are ridiculous round here, despite Southwark being quite a poor borough overall. We're really close to Borough Market and lots of us go and do our shopping there, we're near Hay's Galleria which is really cool and tourist attractions like the Globe and Tate Modern and the London Dungeons (if you like that sort of thing!)The rooms are just the same as Stamford Street and as for the en-suite thing, it is of course, by no means necessary, but a little bit of luxury and really nice to have.

We don't have to share with the LSE - they are in a clone of our building next door and the only contact we ever have with them is at Costcutters next door and we can go and use their bar. It's a postgrad residence there and it's very quiet. They're quite good neighbours actually!

It's a bit further away than Stamford Street is - the buses are pretty much always on time (the only downside if they're not) and what you get in return is a far nicer area than Stamford Street, with more amenities nearby.


GDS is sodding dump, honest to god i don't know how people can stand it. Its noisey as hell, the walls seem paper thin, you can hear everything that goes on upstairs and within your own flat - owing perhaps to the massive gaps under every door. The ensuits are cacky little things with shared boilers such that if someone flushes the loo or turns on a tap your shower goes cold/hot for 10 mins and loses all pressure.
If you are unfortunate to face the court like myself, and unfortunate enough to be towards the entranc e(like myself) then you get kept awake/woken by every damned chav coming back from a night out. they all seem to congregate in the central court yard and shout at each other.
the common room has no facilities. the pool table and table football haven't been repaired/maintained for about 20 years. they may have come free with something.
fire alarms are constant, 1 or 2 a week. security are damned slow to shut them off
the doors all auto close, slamming with such force if the windows are open that it sounds like you are being shot at.
People DO get shot out in the area behind dover street. Its a lovely place circa bonfire night with all the ickle black kids coming out to fire rockets/fireworks at each other. O and throwing them at passing students/into the dover st court yard.
The network connection is through a proxy sever which means you can't use kazaa or bit torrent etc so can't download music or films. It regulary will randomly go on the blink too (less so recently though).
rooms are very poorly lit. there is no drawer space (literally 3 desk drawers, thats it).
Rent is about 95 quid a week.

On the plus side, its near borough underground station, which is on the northern line - so you can get a train straight to kings cross to get the hell out of london sharpish.
J
[Obvious to see I'm sooo getting a flat in summer!]
Reply 18
foolfarian
GDS is sodding dump, honest to god i don't know how people can stand it. Its noisey as hell, the walls seem paper thin, you can hear everything that goes on upstairs and within your own flat - owing perhaps to the massive gaps under every door. The ensuits are cacky little things with shared boilers such that if someone flushes the loo or turns on a tap your shower goes cold/hot for 10 mins and loses all pressure.
If you are unfortunate to face the court like myself, and unfortunate enough to be towards the entranc e(like myself) then you get kept awake/woken by every damned chav coming back from a night out. they all seem to congregate in the central court yard and shout at each other.
the common room has no facilities. the pool table and table football haven't been repaired/maintained for about 20 years. they may have come free with something.
fire alarms are constant, 1 or 2 a week. security are damned slow to shut them off
the doors all auto close, slamming with such force if the windows are open that it sounds like you are being shot at.
People DO get shot out in the area behind dover street. Its a lovely place circa bonfire night with all the ickle black kids coming out to fire rockets/fireworks at each other. O and throwing them at passing students/into the dover st court yard.
The network connection is through a proxy sever which means you can't use kazaa or bit torrent etc so can't download music or films. It regulary will randomly go on the blink too (less so recently though).
rooms are very poorly lit. there is no drawer space (literally 3 desk drawers, thats it).
Rent is about 95 quid a week.

On the plus side, its near borough underground station, which is on the northern line - so you can get a train straight to kings cross to get the hell out of london sharpish.
J
[Obvious to see I'm sooo getting a flat in summer!]


*Looks blank and writes GDS at the bottom of accom list*
Reply 19
Dreama
*Looks blank and writes GDS at the bottom of accom list*


Dreama...are you def going to kings?? xxxx

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