Rutland Halls

I have! Is Nottingham your firm choice?

Right of course. I meant like have you got an unconditional or conditional offer?

What course have you applied for?

Hey - we have a chat where there 14 other Rutlanders for you to talk to! If you're interested just give me a PM

Hey, I've got an offer for a single study in Rutland too, but I'm unsure whether to accept it as I don't know whether I would like to swap for the other halls surrounding Rutland?

Is Rutland any good? I was a bit worried as I saw it as one of the worst reviewed halls on the Tab lool

But on this other website it was ranked number 10?

I lived in Rutland last year as a fresher and a couple of friends and I are returning there next year, so it can't be that bad :P

I was in a single study too and they're good rooms, only complaint is the walls are thin (but this is the case in any of the halls of residence that I know of). All single study rooms have their own sink, with a big cupboard underneath for toiletries (I have heaps of cosmetics etc and they all fitted here with a lot of room to spare), plenty of hooks for towels and coats, generous sized wardrobe and desk (for some reason they're both about 50% bigger than the wardrobes and desks in the ensuite rooms!), plenty of shelving. They don't have bedside tables which is a bit weird, but you can move your bed up near the windowsill and use that instead. There's also a fair bit of empty space at the end of the bed where you can put your laundry bin etc.

All single studies are in the main building in Rutland which is so much fun. You'll either be on the first floor or the second floor. If you go onto the second floor you can walk right the way around the building. In first year my friends and I all lived in single studies and we would have film nights where we could all change into our pyjamas beforehand because we wouldn't have to step outside! There's a really great social atmosphere because you're not constricted to socialising with a few people in rooms either side of you. There are pantries on the first floor which are pretty basic in terms of facilities (think kettle, toaster, and microwave) but they're great places to meet friends for pre drinks. Also because you're not in blocks but big open corridors there is always a shower free.

The bathrooms are generally kept very clean by the staff. You have some bathrooms which have a toilet, washbasin and shower, some individual toilets (like two cubicles with a shared basin), and some individual showers - but no baths.

The Hall Office staff at Rutland are really nice, very quick to help if you have a complaint. They also have a really strict noise policy around exam time - if one of your neighbours is being loud and stopping you from studying you can complain and they will issue them with a fine (although everyone seems to buckle down during exam time, despite going out multiple times a week usually outside it!). They also organise several formal dinners every year (last year we had three), and they're a lot of fun.

The downsides to Rutland... the catered food isn't great, but that's the case in every catered hall. Whether you'll find it okay or awful depends on what kind of food you're used to. I find it okay but some of my international student friends who are used to really aromatic/spicy food struggled with it. The JCR is small and tends to end up being dominated by one social group every year, so it stops being a common room really - but it's still fun to go there with friends and play pool when noone else is using it. And the building isn't very attractive compared to some of the other halls - it's neither modern nor old-fashioned - but the interior is nice enough.

Oh and I forgot to mention the communal study areas! These are fantastic come exam time as you don't have to trek to Hallward library or work in your room. There's a "study bar" downstairs which is really nice and modern, with a hot drinks machine, and there's a more traditional library upstairs with sofas around the edges (one of these went missing for a few days last year when one of the students decided he wanted one in his bedroom... got to love living in halls!) During exam time both are open 24/7.

And if you play the piano there's an upright in the dining hall which you can use between mealtimes.

Rutland's not the most glamorous hall but the worst that could happen is you get a noisy neighbour or you're not a massive fan of the food!

I lived in Rutland last year as a fresher and a couple of friends and I are returning there next year, so it can't be that bad :P

I was in a single study too and they're good rooms, only complaint is the walls are thin (but this is the case in any of the halls of residence that I know of). All single study rooms have their own sink, with a big cupboard underneath for toiletries (I have heaps of cosmetics etc and they all fitted here with a lot of room to spare), plenty of hooks for towels and coats, generous sized wardrobe and desk (for some reason they're both about 50% bigger than the wardrobes and desks in the ensuite rooms!), plenty of shelving. They don't have bedside tables which is a bit weird, but you can move your bed up near the windowsill and use that instead. There's also a fair bit of empty space at the end of the bed where you can put your laundry bin etc.

All single studies are in the main building in Rutland which is so much fun. You'll either be on the first floor or the second floor. If you go onto the second floor you can walk right the way around the building. In first year my friends and I all lived in single studies and we would have film nights where we could all change into our pyjamas beforehand because we wouldn't have to step outside! There's a really great social atmosphere because you're not constricted to socialising with a few people in rooms either side of you. There are pantries on the first floor which are pretty basic in terms of facilities (think kettle, toaster, and microwave) but they're great places to meet friends for pre drinks. Also because you're not in blocks but big open corridors there is always a shower free.

The bathrooms are generally kept very clean by the staff. You have some bathrooms which have a toilet, washbasin and shower, some individual toilets (like two cubicles with a shared basin), and some individual showers - but no baths.

The Hall Office staff at Rutland are really nice, very quick to help if you have a complaint. They also have a really strict noise policy around exam time - if one of your neighbours is being loud and stopping you from studying you can complain and they will issue them with a fine (although everyone seems to buckle down during exam time, despite going out multiple times a week usually outside it!). They also organise several formal dinners every year (last year we had three), and they're a lot of fun.

The downsides to Rutland... the catered food isn't great, but that's the case in every catered hall. Whether you'll find it okay or awful depends on what kind of food you're used to. I find it okay but some of my international student friends who are used to really aromatic/spicy food struggled with it. The JCR is small and tends to end up being dominated by one social group every year, so it stops being a common room really - but it's still fun to go there with friends and play pool when noone else is using it. And the building isn't very attractive compared to some of the other halls - it's neither modern nor old-fashioned - but the interior is nice enough.

Oh and I forgot to mention the communal study areas! These are fantastic come exam time as you don't have to trek to Hallward library or work in your room. There's a "study bar" downstairs which is really nice and modern, with a hot drinks machine, and there's a more traditional library upstairs with sofas around the edges (one of these went missing for a few days last year when one of the students decided he wanted one in his bedroom... got to love living in halls!) During exam time both are open 24/7.

And if you play the piano there's an upright in the dining hall which you can use between mealtimes.

Rutland's not the most glamorous hall but the worst that could happen is you get a noisy neighbour or you're not a massive fan of the food!

Thank you so much for such a detailed answer, it helps massively with forming a picture of how Rutland hall is like.

I wanted to change my halls, because I was worried Rutland was the worst/most hated, but I don't think it's worth it at this point as it doesn't seem so bad and at least it's not situated at the very south end of the campus like Cavendish for example.

Only thing I would ask you now, is, how much at home did you feel at Rutland or University Park itself? When I visited on Open day, the campus was really big and nice, but it just didn't feel homely to me?