Hazlerigg-Rutland, Robert Bakewell, Elvyn Richards and John Phillips are all built very similarly and are central on campus. I know that Bakewell and Elvyn definitely have en-suite bathrooms, and I strongly suspect that the other two do as well because of the similarities in construction. I personally lived in Bakewell myself, and these halls do have a few slight differences so it's worth checking them out. Their en-suites are quite small but perfectly usable - they more of a 'wet-room' in that the shower, toilet and sink are all in the same tile-floored room with a dividing shower curtain. A definite pro of these halls is their location, as they are very central and it is easy to get to most lectures from here (especially engineering, physics and the library at the Bakewell end; and computer science and chemistry at the JP end). These do tend to be a bit more expensive, but are still worth considering.
Things to watch out for:
- Elvyn is a catered hall, the others (I believe) are self-catered. Self-catering isn't the end of the world if you can't cook, as you can buy Diners+ meals for your student card, which work in any Imago-run eating place on campus (most of them). Bear in mind that being in a catered hall means you have paid for every included meal in advance: you don't get refunds if you skip a meal.
- JP was previously a postgraduate and international student hall. I believe they are changing their focus to undergraduates now, but this still may not exactly be place for party animals.
- I felt that Elvyn and Bakewell (at least when I was there) felt a little more isolating then some of the other halls, like Bill Mo. I suspect this comes entirely down to who lives where in a particular year and can be very luck-of-the-draw.
~ Chris ~