Bristol Accommodation - 2016 entry

Personally I would recommend the Clifton and city centre residences;
- it's not too loud and therefore could attract medicine students?? (stoke bishop halls such as Badock are known for being constantly noisy)
- you wouldn't have to have a 15-20 minute bus journey/40 minute walk every day
- near all of the main libraries and lecture halls

In particular have a look at Goldney, Manor Hall, Orchard Heights and the Courtrooms

Quick suggestion - do not apply to The Courtrooms. Any accommodation headed by the Student Housing Company is a bad choice. Their staff are rude and unhelpful, the service is poor, and you are almost guaranteed to be dissatisfied with your stay. This is something I, and many other students living there, have had to learn the hard way this year, and I wouldn't suggest you put yourself through that either (it's a lot of hassle). The build of it was rushed throughout last summer, and this has created a multitude of problems. For example, there is a huge leak problem, with leaks graduating the entire way through the building in various different places, affecting lots of students. They are a nightmare with fixing anything, and speak to you as if you know nothing. So if you want a decent university living experience, don't apply there!

Of course - the room sizes are okay, but a lot of the space that could be there is taken up by the beds as the beds are double (I would give you exact measurements but I can't remember!) - but the beds are nice and big. There is good storage - under the beds there is good storage space and there shelving and good sized wardrobes as well. From what I've experienced, depending on your floor and particular room, sizes and layout of rooms can vary slightly so be aware of that. Also, I am on quite a low down floor, and although this is convenient for going in and out of the building, it does mean that where my room is positioned it can be very dark at all times of the day, which isn't great.

But just to reiterate my previous points - be aware that as this is a new building, the amount of problems with the building is to be expected, but the staff aren't very good at helping with this. As already said, they can be very rude and obstructive whenever you have an issue, and due to this it has actually made my experience living in the building this year very unpleasant. If I had known this before moving in I would have much rather have lived in a different accomodation as opposed to The Courtrooms and to be honest I really wouldn't recommend it. I have friends in other accommodations who enjoy better facilities and also bigger room sizes, and love where they live, but the majority of people I know in my accomodation don't like living in The Courtrooms. I also know a lot of people who have moved out for various reasons.

Overall, the rooms are average, but don't trust the pictures on the websites - they use a special lense and take the images from certain angles to make the rooms look bigger than what they are. However, the service you get is poor, and the staff are rude and obnoxious. They seemed helpful when moving in and beforehand, but as soon as we moved in it was a different story - they treat us students as though we know nothing, and that we are always wrong when reporting anything wrong. It makes you feel very unwelcome. The amount of problems we have had this year with leaks, things falling off the wall, etc. has been too much, and not fixed for weeks (or at all) after asking. I wouldn't recommend it if you want to enjoy your first year living conditions!

I am sorry to hear your unpleasant experience and I hope you have moved into a better room this year! ☹️ The rooms on pictures seemed spacious so I was almost definite to put it as one of the preference. Thank you for your reply and it is very helpful for me to reconsider my choices.

No problem - glad I could help! Definitely in better accomodation this year haha.

Hi There,I was previously thinking of applying for The Courtrooms, however everything you have talked about has really put me off - which is a good thing mind! On the Bristol Uni website it mentions how although the building is owned by the student housing company, the 'Student Experience' is managed by The University of Bristol, so perhaps the staff you are referring to are the Uni staff and not the Housing Company staff? Just curious as if it were the Uni staff then the problems you mentioned may not be localised to The Courtrooms and may occur in other residences? Thank you!

Hi There,I was previously thinking of applying for The Courtrooms, however everything you have talked about has really put me off - which is a good thing mind! On the Bristol Uni website it mentions how although the building is owned by the student housing company, the 'Student Experience' is managed by The University of Bristol, so perhaps the staff you are referring to are the Uni staff and not the Housing Company staff? Just curious as if it were the Uni staff then the problems you mentioned may not be localised to The Courtrooms and may occur in other residences? Thank you!

I can honestly say this hasn't happened to me. I'm staying in Durdham and the University staff have been nothing but helpful. Maintenance guys often come out to you on the same day even for broken light bulbs. There's a student support manager here who helped me out when I got injured in my flat and was lovely. I don't think it's a Uni staff problem, I've not heard of anyone else having problems like this. It seems more likely an issue with the Student Housing Company.

Hi - yeah on investigation it is definitely the Student Housing Company staff and not the university - all other accomodations seem to be well-managed. I would honestly just recommend that wherever you are staying, do NOT stay with the Student Housing Company. It really is very very poor service, even when attempting to complain higher up we got told "unfortunately we haven't heard about this before in The Courtrooms" so this meant they didn't want to listen to what we had to say... They aren't prepared the listen and really aren't very nice people so just avoid it all together! You'll have a more pleasant stay somewhere else, I can virtually guarantee.

Ah okay thank-you for clearing that up! Glad to hear you've had a good time.



Ah that is a shame - it looks like such a nice place haha! Could you maybe recommend some of the other City Centre residences where you have heard that the residents have had a more pleasant time?

Sorry to ask loads of questions both of you!

Hi,

If anyone is looking for a very cheap but high quality alternative to Halls Accommodation then myself and a couple of friends have got a house lined up in the Filton (just off Gloucester Road) area of Bristol. The house is really nice and big with a big garden. Admittedly it is an hours walk from UoB and 30 minutes from UWE but there are regular buses going all the time. Our aim is to buy an annual bus pass that is £300pa. The rent is £78pw, not including gas/electricity etc. which is an extremely cheap alternative to Halls. I stayed in Richmond Terrace this year and this new house saves me approx £2,500.
Please message me if you are interested so I can send you further details i.e. Links to the listing, personal details. I will stress that given the interest in this property from other people we're looking for someone to commit in the next 48 hours. If you want to know anymore about us feel free to message to. Two of us are from the Bristol area so feel free to ask anything about that too.

Thanks.

It is a real shame - the building itself does look nice, however there are a lot of problems with it, namely leaks passing through different areas of the building amongst many other things, so it is hiding a lot of faults.

I know that Orchard Heights is close to here and new in 2015 too, and I believe students have had a more pleasant stay there (the staff are certainly more welcoming). Nelson House is also right next to The Courtrooms and is run by 'Unite Students' who, from hearing and seeing, are a lot more friendly and welcoming than the Student Housing Company. Also, Colston Hall accommodation is in a good location too and seems nice, although I haven't heard from any students living there so I can't tell you about staff or living quality there unfortunately. Hope this helps.

I can honestly say this hasn't happened to me. I'm staying in Durdham and the University staff have been nothing but helpful. Maintenance guys often come out to you on the same day even for broken light bulbs. There's a student support manager here who helped me out when I got injured in my flat and was lovely. I don't think it's a Uni staff problem, I've not heard of anyone else having problems like this. It seems more likely an issue with the Student Housing Company.

Shouldn't the Accommodation info be updated by now?