Accomodation: College Hall or Connaught hall?

OP

pleasee sum1

Reply 2

jakezg

functionalchemistry

Im probz going 2 UCL on september and im currently applying to accomodation. I like these intercollegiate halls and i think i will set college hall as a first preference.
can anyone tell me anything about them? do you think is a good choice where is the food better and how is the people in each?
what are the chances of getting a single en suit room in college hall(as most important factor i ticked single room).
Is there anyway to do do this online or has it got to be by normal mail?
sorry, so many questions lol...thanx

Food= Same
Facilities- similar expect college is completely new and has en suite
People- Connaught is social as it has a bar, not sure about college.

Reply 3

OP

jakezg

Food= Same
Facilities- similar expect college is completely new and has en suite
People- Connaught is social as it has a bar, not sure about college.

so overall which one would you go for?
thanx for th einfo btw

Reply 4

jakezg

functionalchemistry

so overall which one would you go for?
thanx for th einfo btw

If you can afford it- College. Otherwise, Connaught.

Reply 5

OP

jakezg

If you can afford it- College. Otherwise, Connaught.

thx jakezg btw, ive read in some other threads that college hall was/is only a girls hall, is this true!!???!?!
thx

Reply 6

jakezg

functionalchemistry

thx jakezg btw, ive read in some other threads that college hall was/is only a girls hall, is this true!!???!?!
thx

No its not- I have a friend in there who is male.

Reply 7

College Hall was girls-only until 2005. It was closed and completely refurbished (top-to-bottom) 2005-7, and since it re-opened in October 2007 it has been for both men and women.

Reply 8

OP

adrianclark

College Hall was girls-only until 2005. It was closed and completely refurbished (top-to-bottom) 2005-7, and since it re-opened in October 2007 it has been for both men and women.

ohhh and can you tell me summin about the rooms and stuff? are they nice? the food?

Reply 9

I looked around the day before College Hall opened, so everything wasn't quite finished, but the rooms looked very nice: a decent size, well furnished and nice colours (mostly cream with aubergine and dark blues/greens, if I remember correctly). Most of the rooms are en suite; they have a toilet/shower "pod". The pods are small, nice inside but don't look like they are of very rugged construction, so I wonder how long they will stay nice for...

The food in all the intercollegiate halls is - as of this year - provided by Harrisons, a contract caterer, so the food is very similar across all eight halls (the quality used to vary a lot between halls, but not any more - they're even trying to make the menus the same in every hall). It's perfectly edible and reasonably filling, although you do have to bear in mind that each resident pays only about £2.70 per day for breakfast & 3-course dinner, so it's obviously never going to be Michelin-star cuisine. Most people think it's "ok" - not great, but ok; a few people think it's disgusting. I suppose it depends what you're used to. I quite like the food (at Connaught Hall) - maybe I have low standards!

I'd say the downside to College Hall is the lack of a bar and there is only one proper common room. I've never lived there, so I don't know how much this impacts on the social life there, but I've always thought Connaught Hall's 2 common rooms, large comfortable reception lobby, and bar were major factors influencing residents' enjoyment on the hall. College Hall has a good warden's team, though, and I think they make the most of the facilities they have.

Reply 10

OP

adrianclark

I looked around the day before College Hall opened, so everything wasn't quite finished, but the rooms looked very nice: a decent size, well furnished and nice colours (mostly cream with aubergine and dark blues/greens, if I remember correctly). Most of the rooms are en suite; they have a toilet/shower "pod". The pods are small, nice inside but don't look like they are of very rugged construction, so I wonder how long they will stay nice for...

The food in all the intercollegiate halls is - as of this year - provided by Harrisons, a contract caterer, so the food is very similar across all eight halls (the quality used to vary a lot between halls, but not any more - they're even trying to make the menus the same in every hall). It's perfectly edible and reasonably filling, although you do have to bear in mind that each resident pays only about £2.70 per day for breakfast & 3-course dinner, so it's obviously never going to be Michelin-star cuisine. Most people think it's "ok" - not great, but ok; a few people think it's disgusting. I suppose it depends what you're used to. I quite like the food (at Connaught Hall) - maybe I have low standards!

I'd say the downside to College Hall is the lack of a bar and there is only one proper common room. I've never lived there, so I don't know how much this impacts on the social life there, but I've always thought Connaught Hall's 2 common rooms, large comfortable reception lobby, and bar were major factors influencing residents' enjoyment on the hall. College Hall has a good warden's team, though, and I think they make the most of the facilities they have.

whats the difference between a single room with no en suite in College hall and Connaught hall?! why is the price difference so big? (-college hall 147, connaugh 123 i think)

which one would u go for? are college hall rooms much bigger/cleaner or what? Are the shared bathrooms dirtier in connaught? im confussed...
I need to make a decision between them two! thnx adrian and sorry 4 being so annoying!

Reply 11

atoms4peace

1

personally i would go for connaught simply because its cheaper and more social. I'm not really bothered about ensuite, just as long as theres a sink in the room because i usually just have a wash in the morning anyways and a shower at night. Plus theres plenty of time to have an ensuite when i have my own place. But uni's about having the time of your life and i think id enjoy the social side at connaught more. Plus connaught looks prettier from the outside (although the rooms themselves are uglier)

Reply 12

functionalchemistry

whats the difference between a single room with no en suite in College hall and Connaught hall?! why is the price difference so big? (-college hall 147, connaugh 123 i think)

which one would u go for? are college hall rooms much bigger/cleaner or what? Are the shared bathrooms dirtier in connaught? im confussed...
I need to make a decision between them two! thnx adrian and sorry 4 being so annoying!

Well, both halls have clean rooms and shared facilities, but those at College Hall definitely look nicer because everything has been painted, recovered, replaced - whatever - within the last 8 months. Whereas some of the rooms and facilities at Connaught (depending on where they are in the rolling refurbishment cycle) may not have been painted or replaced for 6-8 years. This, however, is the only major difference between a standard single room at Connaught Hall and a standard single room at College Hall. Maybe it is worth an extra £25 a week - I suppose it depends how highly you value fresh paint and chairs with no stains on them, and how you balance that against a bar, fitness room, common rooms, larger dining room, etc at Connaught Hall.

It's quite hard for me to be unbiased on this - I've lived/worked at Connaught Hall for 11 years! But I'd say that if you've got the money and you're the sort of person who spends a lot of time studying alone, reading, browsing the internet, etc, College Hall may be better because you'll be sitting in a brighter, newer room. But if you're a very sociable person who will usually be in the bar, common room, etc, Connaught Hall is probably the better choice; you save money, too.

But wherever you end up, I'm sure you will have a good time!

Reply 13

sdt

12

Is there anything stopping you from taking the 5 minutes walk from College to Connaught and using their facilities? :p:

Reply 14