Manchester Accommodation FAQ + Accommodation Choices Thread Mark III
The Big, Fat Manchester Accommodation FAQ + Questions megathread
Following a reorganisation of the Manchester forums, this is the new place to find out about Uni of Manchester accommodation.
If you're looking for the old questions megathread, then it's here - but bear in mind that some of the info is a little out of date, as it dates back as far as 2007.
We also have a FAQ for all things Uni of Manchester that aren't related to accommodation. You'll find that here
So, without further ado . . .
Shared bathroom? En suite? Washbasin? Self Catered? Catered? Super single? Single sex? Contract length?
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Which campus? City, Victoria Park or Fallowfield?
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Private accommodation
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Applying for halls
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Receiving your accommodation offer
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Help! I don't like the halls I've been given!
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Continued on the next post...
Scroll to see replies
Reply 1
19
What to bring / not bring to halls
Local area
Transport
Day-to-day life in halls - internet, laundry, post, fire alarms and having friends over to stay
Visiting halls
I'm a postgrad. What information is available to me?
Is it true that the ducks on campus are actually mutants who escaped from an experiment in the Stopford Building?
That's classified information
[please ignore the attached thumbnails beneath... I can't get rid of the things!]
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Local area
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Transport
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Day-to-day life in halls - internet, laundry, post, fire alarms and having friends over to stay
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Visiting halls
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I'm a postgrad. What information is available to me?
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Is it true that the ducks on campus are actually mutants who escaped from an experiment in the Stopford Building?
That's classified information
[please ignore the attached thumbnails beneath... I can't get rid of the things!]
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 2
19
I'm part way through turning this into a big info post on individual halls. If you have anything to contribute, then it is very welcome!
Fallowfield Campus
Oak House - self catered, shared bathroom, optional sink. Some of the cheapest accommodation the university owns. Flats have 8 bedrooms, and are organised over two floors. Four boys and four girls share each flat. There's one kitchen-diner and two bathrooms shared between the eight flatmates.
Sheavyn House - self catered, en suite. Shares some facilities with Ashburne Hall , (e.g. the small library) which is just next door. Unusually for a self catered residence, it has common rooms in addition to the kitchen / diners that act as social spaces in most self catered halls. Each flat contains 9 or 10 people.
Owens Park - catered, shared bathroom, 1050 residents, and known to everyone as OP. It has a reputation for being the party halls, much like a catered version of Oak House, particularly in Tower. However, that doesn't mean you can't still get your work done - I know plenty of people who have stayed in OP (including Tower) and still done very well in their first year. Oh, and the rumours of a 35% drop out rate in Tower aren't actually true either!
There's also a bar (the imaginatively named OP Bar), which serves the standard cheap beer and questionable cocktails.
Ashburne Hall - catered, shared bathroom and some of the biggest rooms in Fallowfield. The undergraduate part is mostly all female (hence the nickname "Gashburne"), but there's a mixed postgrad block and a few male undergrads.
Bathrooms contain two showers, two loos and two sinks, and are shared between 10. The kitchens are tiny and contain a microwave, a couple of hob rings and a fridge. There are common rooms dotted around Ashburne, which often contain a TV and / or a piano. It's also got its own small library, which functions as a place to study quietly.
Richmond Park - self-catered, en suite. Some of the newest accommodation that the university has to offer, it tends to have slightly plusher fittings & fixtures than some of the other halls, but it is more expensive. For those of you who like trivia, it is built on the site where the 1893 FA Cup Final was played (Fallowfield Stadium)! It's also some of the most oversubscribed accommodation at Manchester, with 4-5 applications per place.
Woolton Hall - catered, with the option of shared bathroom or en suite. The corridors each contain 15 people, and if you have a shared bathroom you will have 3 loos, 3 basins and 3 showers between you, all in one large room, but with cubicles. You will also have a rather pokey kitchen between the 15 of you, with a Baby Belling to cook on. Bedrooms are relatively large, but there are no common rooms (with the exception of the TV room and bar) so people have to congregate in bedrooms. It's the most popular catered accommodation at Manchester, with 2-3 applications per place.
There's also a bar on site, right next to the dining hall, but it's quite a small bar.
Allen Hall - catered, shared bathroom. One of the smaller halls (120 residents) it's slightly cut off from other Fallowfield halls, as it's just the other side of MMU's Hollings Campus (the building that looks like a toast rack).
It hasn't been in use since 2011/12 and there are no immediate plans to reopen it (it won't be opening for 2014/15, but beyond that no one knows).
Fallowfield Campus
Oak House - self catered, shared bathroom, optional sink. Some of the cheapest accommodation the university owns. Flats have 8 bedrooms, and are organised over two floors. Four boys and four girls share each flat. There's one kitchen-diner and two bathrooms shared between the eight flatmates.
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Sheavyn House - self catered, en suite. Shares some facilities with Ashburne Hall , (e.g. the small library) which is just next door. Unusually for a self catered residence, it has common rooms in addition to the kitchen / diners that act as social spaces in most self catered halls. Each flat contains 9 or 10 people.
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Owens Park - catered, shared bathroom, 1050 residents, and known to everyone as OP. It has a reputation for being the party halls, much like a catered version of Oak House, particularly in Tower. However, that doesn't mean you can't still get your work done - I know plenty of people who have stayed in OP (including Tower) and still done very well in their first year. Oh, and the rumours of a 35% drop out rate in Tower aren't actually true either!
There's also a bar (the imaginatively named OP Bar), which serves the standard cheap beer and questionable cocktails.
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Ashburne Hall - catered, shared bathroom and some of the biggest rooms in Fallowfield. The undergraduate part is mostly all female (hence the nickname "Gashburne"), but there's a mixed postgrad block and a few male undergrads.
Bathrooms contain two showers, two loos and two sinks, and are shared between 10. The kitchens are tiny and contain a microwave, a couple of hob rings and a fridge. There are common rooms dotted around Ashburne, which often contain a TV and / or a piano. It's also got its own small library, which functions as a place to study quietly.
Spoiler
Richmond Park - self-catered, en suite. Some of the newest accommodation that the university has to offer, it tends to have slightly plusher fittings & fixtures than some of the other halls, but it is more expensive. For those of you who like trivia, it is built on the site where the 1893 FA Cup Final was played (Fallowfield Stadium)! It's also some of the most oversubscribed accommodation at Manchester, with 4-5 applications per place.
Spoiler
Woolton Hall - catered, with the option of shared bathroom or en suite. The corridors each contain 15 people, and if you have a shared bathroom you will have 3 loos, 3 basins and 3 showers between you, all in one large room, but with cubicles. You will also have a rather pokey kitchen between the 15 of you, with a Baby Belling to cook on. Bedrooms are relatively large, but there are no common rooms (with the exception of the TV room and bar) so people have to congregate in bedrooms. It's the most popular catered accommodation at Manchester, with 2-3 applications per place.
There's also a bar on site, right next to the dining hall, but it's quite a small bar.
Spoiler
Allen Hall - catered, shared bathroom. One of the smaller halls (120 residents) it's slightly cut off from other Fallowfield halls, as it's just the other side of MMU's Hollings Campus (the building that looks like a toast rack).
It hasn't been in use since 2011/12 and there are no immediate plans to reopen it (it won't be opening for 2014/15, but beyond that no one knows).
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Reply 3
19
Victoria Park
Dalton-Ellis Hall - catered, and with the choice of en suite, shared bathroom, or shared bathroom with a basin in your room. It's arranged over several blocks of varying age, with green spaces between the blocks.
Hulme Hall (shared bathroom, own basin, catered) and
Burkhardt House (self catered, en suite).
Hulme Hall is an older, more traditional hall of residence. Some of the blocks are older (e.g. Houldworth is listed) and some are more modern. Some of the blocks (not Houldsworth) have recently been refurbished.
Burkhardt Hall is Hulme's sister hall, located on the same site. It shares many of the same facilities, but it's self catered en suite.
Canterbury Court - self catered, en suite.
St Anselm's Hall - catered, shared bathroom, with an optional sink in your room. Reputed to be the last all-male halls of residence in the UK, it has a very high rate of people staying there beyond their first year - so it must have something going for it! Known as 'Slems to its residents.
St Gabriel's Hall - catered, shared bathroom or en suite. Manchester's only all-female hall, and relatively small with 100 bedrooms, it's one of those places that's like Marmite - you either love it or hate it. It was once described to me as being a bit like a weird all-girl's boarding school by someone who was allocated that hall and got out as fast as she could, but on the other hand I know people who have chosen to stay for more than one year.
Victoria Hall - self catered, en suite, with options to upgrade to a 'deluxe' room. Victoria Hall is owned by a private company but let through the university. It used to be that you had to pay extra for internet, but now 10mbps internet is included, but you can pay to upgrade to something faster.
Opal Gardens - OG will accept its first undergrad students in 2013/14. Self catered, en suite. Flats are fairly small - most have 4 people in, but this can range from 2 to 6.
Dalton-Ellis Hall - catered, and with the choice of en suite, shared bathroom, or shared bathroom with a basin in your room. It's arranged over several blocks of varying age, with green spaces between the blocks.
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Hulme Hall (shared bathroom, own basin, catered) and
Burkhardt House (self catered, en suite).
Hulme Hall is an older, more traditional hall of residence. Some of the blocks are older (e.g. Houldworth is listed) and some are more modern. Some of the blocks (not Houldsworth) have recently been refurbished.
Burkhardt Hall is Hulme's sister hall, located on the same site. It shares many of the same facilities, but it's self catered en suite.
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Canterbury Court - self catered, en suite.
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St Anselm's Hall - catered, shared bathroom, with an optional sink in your room. Reputed to be the last all-male halls of residence in the UK, it has a very high rate of people staying there beyond their first year - so it must have something going for it! Known as 'Slems to its residents.
Spoiler
St Gabriel's Hall - catered, shared bathroom or en suite. Manchester's only all-female hall, and relatively small with 100 bedrooms, it's one of those places that's like Marmite - you either love it or hate it. It was once described to me as being a bit like a weird all-girl's boarding school by someone who was allocated that hall and got out as fast as she could, but on the other hand I know people who have chosen to stay for more than one year.
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Victoria Hall - self catered, en suite, with options to upgrade to a 'deluxe' room. Victoria Hall is owned by a private company but let through the university. It used to be that you had to pay extra for internet, but now 10mbps internet is included, but you can pay to upgrade to something faster.
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Opal Gardens - OG will accept its first undergrad students in 2013/14. Self catered, en suite. Flats are fairly small - most have 4 people in, but this can range from 2 to 6.
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Reply 4
19
City Campus
Weston Hall - en suite, self catered, and owned by Opal (a private company), but rented through the university. Located on Charles St, North Campus, so it's convenient for some science foundation & engineering courses, but it's a 0.7 mile (15 minute) walk away from the middle of main campus.
Whitworth Park - Self catered, shared bathroom, and at the south end of the main campus. The buildings look an awful lot like toblerones! All ground floor flats are all male, but other flats are mixed.
Wright Robinson - self catered, shared bathroom, with a basin in every room. It's on North Campus, so it's convenient for those doing some science foundation and engineering subjects, but it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the middle of main campus.
Denmark Road - self catered, en suite.
Ronson Hall - self catered, shared bathroom. No longer listed as being available on the university accommodation website - I suspect it's due to be demolished.
Grosvenor Place - self catered, shared bathroom. Due for demolition and so not available for 2014/15 onwards.
Grosvenor St Building - self catered, shared bathroom. Like Grosvenor Place, it is very conveniently located for the Aquatics Centre & Sugden Centre (gym). Due for demolition and so not available for 2014/15 onwards.
Bowden Court - self catered, shared bathroom. Relatively conveniently located for both north and main campus, it takes about a ten minute walk to the middle of both North and Main Campuses. Due for demolition and so not available for 2014/15 onwards.
Weston Hall - en suite, self catered, and owned by Opal (a private company), but rented through the university. Located on Charles St, North Campus, so it's convenient for some science foundation & engineering courses, but it's a 0.7 mile (15 minute) walk away from the middle of main campus.
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Whitworth Park - Self catered, shared bathroom, and at the south end of the main campus. The buildings look an awful lot like toblerones! All ground floor flats are all male, but other flats are mixed.
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Wright Robinson - self catered, shared bathroom, with a basin in every room. It's on North Campus, so it's convenient for those doing some science foundation and engineering subjects, but it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the middle of main campus.
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Denmark Road - self catered, en suite.
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Ronson Hall - self catered, shared bathroom. No longer listed as being available on the university accommodation website - I suspect it's due to be demolished.
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Grosvenor Place - self catered, shared bathroom. Due for demolition and so not available for 2014/15 onwards.
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Grosvenor St Building - self catered, shared bathroom. Like Grosvenor Place, it is very conveniently located for the Aquatics Centre & Sugden Centre (gym). Due for demolition and so not available for 2014/15 onwards.
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Bowden Court - self catered, shared bathroom. Relatively conveniently located for both north and main campus, it takes about a ten minute walk to the middle of both North and Main Campuses. Due for demolition and so not available for 2014/15 onwards.
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Reply 5
"Please define 'Oxbridge type' first though?! Honestly you get a real mix of people at Oxbridge, at Manchester, and in Ashburne. When I was referring to it being like an Oxbridge college, I was only thinking of the aesthetics of the place!"
I know you get a mix of people.. I think I'm worried that it's going to be full of rich posh people! ( I'm neither!) Whereas the other halls will be where people who I see as more like myself will be. I'm not a concerts and cheese and wine type person, and they're the only pictures of it I seem to be able to find! I can't even find any pictures of the corridors, and it's the one hall I didn't look round on accomodation open day as I knew I didn't want catered! Just looking for a bit of reassurance, and hoping that if I really don't like it I'll be able to move!
I know you get a mix of people.. I think I'm worried that it's going to be full of rich posh people! ( I'm neither!) Whereas the other halls will be where people who I see as more like myself will be. I'm not a concerts and cheese and wine type person, and they're the only pictures of it I seem to be able to find! I can't even find any pictures of the corridors, and it's the one hall I didn't look round on accomodation open day as I knew I didn't want catered! Just looking for a bit of reassurance, and hoping that if I really don't like it I'll be able to move!
Reply 6
19
Original post
by roddyframe"Please define 'Oxbridge type' first though?! Honestly you get a real mix of people at Oxbridge, at Manchester, and in Ashburne. When I was referring to it being like an Oxbridge college, I was only thinking of the aesthetics of the place!"
I know you get a mix of people.. I think I'm worried that it's going to be full of rich posh people! ( I'm neither!) Whereas the other halls will be where people who I see as more like myself will be. I'm not a concerts and cheese and wine type person, and they're the only pictures of it I seem to be able to find! I can't even find any pictures of the corridors, and it's the one hall I didn't look round on accomodation open day as I knew I didn't want catered! Just looking for a bit of reassurance, and hoping that if I really don't like it I'll be able to move!
I know you get a mix of people.. I think I'm worried that it's going to be full of rich posh people! ( I'm neither!) Whereas the other halls will be where people who I see as more like myself will be. I'm not a concerts and cheese and wine type person, and they're the only pictures of it I seem to be able to find! I can't even find any pictures of the corridors, and it's the one hall I didn't look round on accomodation open day as I knew I didn't want catered! Just looking for a bit of reassurance, and hoping that if I really don't like it I'll be able to move!
I'll send you a PM in a moment
Reply 7
hi i want to call manchester accommodation office/team if they still have extra/spare rooms as i am an adjustment student and will be coming to the uni, so should i call their accommodation contact number? or should i contact the general accommodation number or the individual numbers of each accommodation site (vic park, fallowfield, city)?
i want to call manchester accommodation office/team if they still have extra/spare rooms as i am an adjustment student and will be coming to the uni, so should i call their accommodation contact number? or should i contact the general accommodation number or the individual numbers of each accommodation site (vic park, fallowfield, city)?Reply 8
19
Original post
by thelawstudenthi i want to call manchester accommodation office/team if they still have extra/spare rooms as i am an adjustment student and will be coming to the uni, so should i call their accommodation contact number? or should i contact the general accommodation number or the individual numbers of each accommodation site (vic park, fallowfield, city)?
i want to call manchester accommodation office/team if they still have extra/spare rooms as i am an adjustment student and will be coming to the uni, so should i call their accommodation contact number? or should i contact the general accommodation number or the individual numbers of each accommodation site (vic park, fallowfield, city)?You're guaranteed accommodation, so long as you apply by 31st August, so you just need to fill in an application at http://www.accommodation.manchester.ac.uk/applications-online
Reply 9
Heya are there any girls in Richmond Park or sheavyn who want to swap for a room in Oakhouse?
Reply 10
19
Hi, accommodation offers are being handed out now in batches; if you haven't heard by Thursday then give them an email to find out what's happening [email protected]
Reply 11
I've been given an offer for Whitworth Park but have REALLY had my heart set on living in Fallowfield 
.... I've emailed them and asked if it's possible to change, has anyone heard of this happening before term starts/ anything more I can do?
.... I've emailed them and asked if it's possible to change, has anyone heard of this happening before term starts/ anything more I can do?Reply 12
19
Original post
by sully1993I've been given an offer for Whitworth Park but have REALLY had my heart set on living in Fallowfield .... I've emailed them and asked if it's possible to change, has anyone heard of this happening before term starts/ anything more I can do?
.... I've emailed them and asked if it's possible to change, has anyone heard of this happening before term starts/ anything more I can do?If you could find someone to swap with (maybe via the facebook groups?) then the accommodation office would probably allow you to.
Otherwise, you'll probably have to wait until they start allowing accommodation swaps, which is about 6 weeks after term starts.
Best thing to do though is to see if you like WP - I know tillytots (another member on here) enjoyed her time there - before you actually decide to change.
Reply 13
Hi
my place at manchester through adjustment has been confirmed through ucas with a confirmation letter arriving shortly. however, i now need to apply for accommodation online, but i do not have a personal ID number required for the online application. what should i do now? should i call up admissions/accommodation/ucas etc?
my place at manchester through adjustment has been confirmed through ucas with a confirmation letter arriving shortly. however, i now need to apply for accommodation online, but i do not have a personal ID number required for the online application. what should i do now? should i call up admissions/accommodation/ucas etc?
Reply 14
19
Original post
by thelawstudentHi
my place at manchester through adjustment has been confirmed through ucas with a confirmation letter arriving shortly. however, i now need to apply for accommodation online, but i do not have a personal ID number required for the online application. what should i do now? should i call up admissions/accommodation/ucas etc?
my place at manchester through adjustment has been confirmed through ucas with a confirmation letter arriving shortly. however, i now need to apply for accommodation online, but i do not have a personal ID number required for the online application. what should i do now? should i call up admissions/accommodation/ucas etc?
The number you are looking for is 7 digits long, and probably starts with a 7 (although it might start with an 8), e.g. 7399275. If you've had any written / email communication from the uni, then it should be contained within there. If you haven't / it's not there, then phone your academic department . . . if you can't get through to them then ring accommodation.
Reply 15
Original post
by sully1993I've been given an offer for Whitworth Park but have REALLY had my heart set on living in Fallowfield .... I've emailed them and asked if it's possible to change, has anyone heard of this happening before term starts/ anything more I can do?
.... I've emailed them and asked if it's possible to change, has anyone heard of this happening before term starts/ anything more I can do?I phoned them today and emailed yesterday. They were very nice, but said the only Fallowfield rooms left were in Oak ( which I don't want) and Ashburne ( which is what I have been allocated )If you're prepared to go there they might be able to help. She did say they had hundreds of emails to look at. Otherwise they told me to just try it first and then see if I wanted to change.
But if anyone in Richmond, Sheavyn or Canterbury wants to swop for a room in Ashburne with a washbasin and a lovely view, catered, then let me know!
Reply 16
I got my offer for Owens Park (T1.02.12)
I didn't really plan to go catered so I'm a little bit worried right now about the food.
Not so much about the quality,I know that catered food at uni's isn't really the best,but about the quantity.
The thing is that I eat a lot,probably as much as 2 normal males(I'm not fat though
)
I wonder can you get more than one portion for dinner?
Also,what about storing bikes at Owens Park?
P.S.
where are all those reviews about each hall that were posted in the old thread??
I didn't really plan to go catered so I'm a little bit worried right now about the food.
Not so much about the quality,I know that catered food at uni's isn't really the best,but about the quantity.
The thing is that I eat a lot,probably as much as 2 normal males(I'm not fat though
)I wonder can you get more than one portion for dinner?
Also,what about storing bikes at Owens Park?
P.S.
where are all those reviews about each hall that were posted in the old thread??
Reply 17
19
Original post
by Black-AdderI got my offer for Owens Park (T1.02.12)
I didn't really plan to go catered so I'm a little bit worried right now about the food.
Not so much about the quality,I know that catered food at uni's isn't really the best,but about the quantity.
The thing is that I eat a lot,probably as much as 2 normal males(I'm not fat though )
I wonder can you get more than one portion for dinner?
Also,what about storing bikes at Owens Park?
P.S.
where are all those reviews about each hall that were posted in the old thread??
I didn't really plan to go catered so I'm a little bit worried right now about the food.
Not so much about the quality,I know that catered food at uni's isn't really the best,but about the quantity.
The thing is that I eat a lot,probably as much as 2 normal males(I'm not fat though
)I wonder can you get more than one portion for dinner?
Also,what about storing bikes at Owens Park?
P.S.
where are all those reviews about each hall that were posted in the old thread??
Not sure about the multiple portion thing, but there are bike sheds dotted around Fallowfield campus. You pay £15 (non-refundable) for a key, which gets you access for a whole year. They can tend to get a little crowded though, particularly towards the end of the year.
The reviews are in posts #2 #3 and #4 in this thread (I presume this is what you're referring to)
Reply 18
Original post
by Origami BulletsNot sure about the multiple portion thing, but there are bike sheds dotted around Fallowfield campus. You pay £15 (non-refundable) for a key, which gets you access for a whole year. They can tend to get a little crowded though, particularly towards the end of the year.
The reviews are in posts #2 #3 and #4 in this thread (I presume this is what you're referring to)
The reviews are in posts #2 #3 and #4 in this thread (I presume this is what you're referring to)
thanks for a quick reply
I can only see pictures in these posts. I remember that there were detailed reviews before
EDIT: sorry,there are reviews,only nothing about Owens Park
Reply 19
I too got an offer for Owens Park, but I'd much rather have a self catered residency. Is there anyway we can get another offer? I was about to reject my offer but apparently this would mean I no longer require University accommodation. Is there anyone I can email or talk to about this?
Quick Reply
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