The Student Room Group
Waterfront bar, King's College
King's College London
London

Reviews on KCL accommodation halls ?

Been accepted for the KAAL scheme; unsure if to go private or though residences

Can anyone share some first or second hand experience of the halls?

Hard to form an opinion beyond ‘squished’ from their photos

Scroll to see replies

I am currently living in SSA and have to say that most of the accomodations are just good for the location. SSA is definitely not pretty but the location is amazing...same with most other accomodations. The ones that are far away are ofc so much prettier and more modern...One good thing is that everything gets fixed if there is an issue and all additional cost is included...however, it is pretty hard to get into certain accoms because the central ones are obviously highly requested so itbis possible that you won't be able to secure a room in the accom that you orginally wanted to...
Waterfront bar, King's College
King's College London
London
Original post by Anonymous
I am currently living in SSA and have to say that most of the accomodations are just good for the location. SSA is definitely not pretty but the location is amazing...same with most other accomodations. The ones that are far away are ofc so much prettier and more modern...One good thing is that everything gets fixed if there is an issue and all additional cost is included...however, it is pretty hard to get into certain accoms because the central ones are obviously highly requested so itbis possible that you won't be able to secure a room in the accom that you orginally wanted to...

Thanks for the reply!

I’ve been offered great Dover street and angel lane… The acc looks nicer in angel lane but Stratford isnt the nicest area IMO- plus would involve traveling to central ect pretty much as you said!

Do you know much about Dover street?
Original post by Anonymous
Thanks for the reply!

I’ve been offered great Dover street and angel lane… The acc looks nicer in angel lane but Stratford isnt the nicest area IMO- plus would involve traveling to central ect pretty much as you said!

Do you know much about Dover street?

My friends live at Dover Street and it's honestly great value for money imo. It's one of the cheaper accommodations and I know a lot of people complain about it because the toilets are shower rooms (so everything gets wet apparently lol) but it's acc quite nice. You get your own toilet, a nice kitchen, there are revision pods/huts that you can book out, maintenance and cleaners coming in semi-regulary, good security (which is annoying when you want to host pres but can only sign in one outsider per person living at GDS but still) and the rooms are nice (they do vary in size tho so you might get a small room or a large room). It's also really close to Guy's campus.

I've also been to Wolfson a couple of times- it's the cheapest accommodation. This one's right next to Guy's campus and next to the shard. You have to share bathrooms, but rooms have sinks in them (at least my friend's room did). The desks are smaller, but the rooms are an ok size. The kitchen is quite small though.

Another friend of mine lives at Julian Markham, the kitchen was sooo nice. The room was small but not uncomfortably so.

I live at Moonraker Point (it was the only non-intercollegiate accommodation that was available whenever I checked the accommodation portal lol). It's one of the most expensive accommodations and it is not worth the money lmao. Don't get me wrong- the rooms are good sizes (they vary- mine is on the bigger end), we have 3/4 beds, our own bathrooms with the shower in a cubicle (not like the GDS shower rooms), there's a lot of storage space, the kitchen is good- there's even a balcony, and it's 15 min walk from Waterloo one way and Guy's the other way. However, it's not that much better than GDS even though it's over £100 pounds more expensive a week. Like, £335 a week is ridiculous. Also, during winter, there was no hot water for a few days and a whole block had to be moved to a hotel for a week because there was a power outage. So overall, I like it and it's a good accommodation, just the price is horrible lol. Literally the only thing that MP has better than GDS is the bathrooms and storage space lmao. (At least from my experience).

Anyway yeah if you have any Qs feel free to ask away :smile:
Original post by Anonymous
Thanks for the reply!

I’ve been offered great Dover street and angel lane… The acc looks nicer in angel lane but Stratford isnt the nicest area IMO- plus would involve traveling to central ect pretty much as you said!

Do you know much about Dover street?

Sorry that i am only replying now...i did not dee your message. I am pretty sure taht GDS is like SSA. The rooms have everything you need but not modern or really pretty. The location is great though! Angel lane is a lot prettier but also quite far away. I think both accoms can be really nice and it just depends on the person and whether you value the accom quality or location higher :smile:)
Original post by Anonymous
Sorry that i am only replying now...i did not dee your message. I am pretty sure taht GDS is like SSA. The rooms have everything you need but not modern or really pretty. The location is great though! Angel lane is a lot prettier but also quite far away. I think both accoms can be really nice and it just depends on the person and whether you value the accom quality or location higher :smile:)

Thank you so much!! I’m very intermittent at looking on this also!

I used to live in outer London and definitely found the distance ‘annoying’ at most times if anything, as travelled to central regularly… not doing so sounds nice!



Do you know if it’s right that the rooms in GDS vary in size from another?
Original post by Anonymous
My friends live at Dover Street and it's honestly great value for money imo. It's one of the cheaper accommodations and I know a lot of people complain about it because the toilets are shower rooms (so everything gets wet apparently lol) but it's acc quite nice. You get your own toilet, a nice kitchen, there are revision pods/huts that you can book out, maintenance and cleaners coming in semi-regulary, good security (which is annoying when you want to host pres but can only sign in one outsider per person living at GDS but still) and the rooms are nice (they do vary in size tho so you might get a small room or a large room). It's also really close to Guy's campus.

I've also been to Wolfson a couple of times- it's the cheapest accommodation. This one's right next to Guy's campus and next to the shard. You have to share bathrooms, but rooms have sinks in them (at least my friend's room did). The desks are smaller, but the rooms are an ok size. The kitchen is quite small though.

Another friend of mine lives at Julian Markham, the kitchen was sooo nice. The room was small but not uncomfortably so.

I live at Moonraker Point (it was the only non-intercollegiate accommodation that was available whenever I checked the accommodation portal lol). It's one of the most expensive accommodations and it is not worth the money lmao. Don't get me wrong- the rooms are good sizes (they vary- mine is on the bigger end), we have 3/4 beds, our own bathrooms with the shower in a cubicle (not like the GDS shower rooms), there's a lot of storage space, the kitchen is good- there's even a balcony, and it's 15 min walk from Waterloo one way and Guy's the other way. However, it's not that much better than GDS even though it's over £100 pounds more expensive a week. Like, £335 a week is ridiculous. Also, during winter, there was no hot water for a few days and a whole block had to be moved to a hotel for a week because there was a power outage. So overall, I like it and it's a good accommodation, just the price is horrible lol. Literally the only thing that MP has better than GDS is the bathrooms and storage space lmao. (At least from my experience).

Anyway yeah if you have any Qs feel free to ask away :smile:

Thank you so so much for your reply!! I wish I could afford the Julian one, looks so nice! Feel a bit better for not being able to afford moonraker- the photos look ever so nice!

A really random one but do you know if the en-suite rooms at GDS vary in size from another? Not accounting for the large ones! I’m debating if to view the rooms so I could see which I should select.. doubt they’d let me mind, probably just a show room! 😂

Thanks again for the reply- amazingly helpful!
Original post by Anonymous
Thank you so so much for your reply!! I wish I could afford the Julian one, looks so nice! Feel a bit better for not being able to afford moonraker- the photos look ever so nice!

A really random one but do you know if the en-suite rooms at GDS vary in size from another? Not accounting for the large ones! I’m debating if to view the rooms so I could see which I should select.. doubt they’d let me mind, probably just a show room! 😂

Thanks again for the reply- amazingly helpful!

Np :smile: Honestly yeah, my experience at moonraker hasn't been the greatest lol. The rooms at GDS do vary in size. I've been in like 4 different rooms and 2 of them were a lot smaller than the biggest one. One was in the middle. The biggest one had a 3/4 bed; the other 3 had singles. The bathrooms were all the same size tho. It's honestly not too bad tho- they were the same size as some of the smaller moonraker rooms haha.
I have booked SSA 83C but since I'm an international student I haven't visited any of the accoms. I was wondering where I can find out about my floor/flatmates/ refurbished or not and other details!! thanks :smile:
Original post by Anonymous
My friends live at Dover Street and it's honestly great value for money imo. It's one of the cheaper accommodations and I know a lot of people complain about it because the toilets are shower rooms (so everything gets wet apparently lol) but it's acc quite nice. You get your own toilet, a nice kitchen, there are revision pods/huts that you can book out, maintenance and cleaners coming in semi-regulary, good security (which is annoying when you want to host pres but can only sign in one outsider per person living at GDS but still) and the rooms are nice (they do vary in size tho so you might get a small room or a large room). It's also really close to Guy's campus.

I've also been to Wolfson a couple of times- it's the cheapest accommodation. This one's right next to Guy's campus and next to the shard. You have to share bathrooms, but rooms have sinks in them (at least my friend's room did). The desks are smaller, but the rooms are an ok size. The kitchen is quite small though.

Another friend of mine lives at Julian Markham, the kitchen was sooo nice. The room was small but not uncomfortably so.

I live at Moonraker Point (it was the only non-intercollegiate accommodation that was available whenever I checked the accommodation portal lol). It's one of the most expensive accommodations and it is not worth the money lmao. Don't get me wrong- the rooms are good sizes (they vary- mine is on the bigger end), we have 3/4 beds, our own bathrooms with the shower in a cubicle (not like the GDS shower rooms), there's a lot of storage space, the kitchen is good- there's even a balcony, and it's 15 min walk from Waterloo one way and Guy's the other way. However, it's not that much better than GDS even though it's over £100 pounds more expensive a week. Like, £335 a week is ridiculous. Also, during winter, there was no hot water for a few days and a whole block had to be moved to a hotel for a week because there was a power outage. So overall, I like it and it's a good accommodation, just the price is horrible lol. Literally the only thing that MP has better than GDS is the bathrooms and storage space lmao. (At least from my experience).

Anyway yeah if you have any Qs feel free to ask away :smile:


hey, sorry to hear that your experience at moonraker point has been a mixed bag. i'm currently holding a room there but my dad has concerns about it being dangerous around there at night because the streets seem small and not busy at all. how are you finding it? (i'm international, and i've been to london once in my life, so i'm not actually able to visit. this info is from google maps and their dodgy ass camera lol)
Original post by ohitscameronc
hey, sorry to hear that your experience at moonraker point has been a mixed bag. i'm currently holding a room there but my dad has concerns about it being dangerous around there at night because the streets seem small and not busy at all. how are you finding it? (i'm international, and i've been to london once in my life, so i'm not actually able to visit. this info is from google maps and their dodgy ass camera lol)

Hey! Well done on your offer btw :smile:

The streets directly around Moonraker can get a bit empty sometimes, especially at night, and it does get a bit creepy when it's dark. But I haven't had any problems or felt in any more danger than I usually would when walking around at night. I'm a girl and I'm still alive despite walking back a few times past midnight and a couple times drunk and alone lol (although I do not recommend that if you can avoid it obviously lol- I usually do late night library sessions with friends I can walk back with and usually have people walk me back to my flat after nights out). As long as you take the same precautions as you would in any other isolated/dark street it's fine (i.e. be cautious and attentive of your surroundings). I will say, sometimes when walking back alone in the dark I get freaked out if there are cars parked by the sidewalk, but I just cross the street and speed up or run lmao and nothing's ever happened. But as I said, neither I nor anyone I know has had any dangerous encounters nearby.
hey, I’ve also been offered great dover street and angel lane and i picked gds instead of angel lane as its in central so i wouldn't have to travel far
Original post by imcrying
hey, I’ve also been offered great dover street and angel lane and i picked gds instead of angel lane as its in central so i wouldn't have to travel far

Save money on transport, and time that could be spent doing anything else… not a bad idea! :smile:

I used to commute to central from outer London daily- very draining 🥲
Original post by Anonymous
My friends live at Dover Street and it's honestly great value for money imo. It's one of the cheaper accommodations and I know a lot of people complain about it because the toilets are shower rooms (so everything gets wet apparently lol) but it's acc quite nice. You get your own toilet, a nice kitchen, there are revision pods/huts that you can book out, maintenance and cleaners coming in semi-regulary, good security (which is annoying when you want to host pres but can only sign in one outsider per person living at GDS but still) and the rooms are nice (they do vary in size tho so you might get a small room or a large room). It's also really close to Guy's campus.

I've also been to Wolfson a couple of times- it's the cheapest accommodation. This one's right next to Guy's campus and next to the shard. You have to share bathrooms, but rooms have sinks in them (at least my friend's room did). The desks are smaller, but the rooms are an ok size. The kitchen is quite small though.

Another friend of mine lives at Julian Markham, the kitchen was sooo nice. The room was small but not uncomfortably so.

I live at Moonraker Point (it was the only non-intercollegiate accommodation that was available whenever I checked the accommodation portal lol). It's one of the most expensive accommodations and it is not worth the money lmao. Don't get me wrong- the rooms are good sizes (they vary- mine is on the bigger end), we have 3/4 beds, our own bathrooms with the shower in a cubicle (not like the GDS shower rooms), there's a lot of storage space, the kitchen is good- there's even a balcony, and it's 15 min walk from Waterloo one way and Guy's the other way. However, it's not that much better than GDS even though it's over £100 pounds more expensive a week. Like, £335 a week is ridiculous. Also, during winter, there was no hot water for a few days and a whole block had to be moved to a hotel for a week because there was a power outage. So overall, I like it and it's a good accommodation, just the price is horrible lol. Literally the only thing that MP has better than GDS is the bathrooms and storage space lmao. (At least from my experience).

Anyway yeah if you have any Qs feel free to ask away :smile:

This is really helpful information to know!!
I'm a student who just firmed Kings for 2023, and would love to know more about Moonraker point cuz I'm considering it for accom. Do you know which block had the power outage and hot water problems??. And which block would you recommend to choose?
My course would require me to be at Waterloo, Strand and Guys so I'm considering choosing an accom in the middle of all of these.
Also do you know if GDS ever had hot water problems at their accom?
Thanks a bunch in advance!:smile:
Original post by Anonymous
This is really helpful information to know!!
I'm a student who just firmed Kings for 2023, and would love to know more about Moonraker point cuz I'm considering it for accom. Do you know which block had the power outage and hot water problems??. And which block would you recommend to choose?
My course would require me to be at Waterloo, Strand and Guys so I'm considering choosing an accom in the middle of all of these.
Also do you know if GDS ever had hot water problems at their accom?
Thanks a bunch in advance!:smile:

Well done on your offer :smile:

Block C had the power outage and I believe it was all blocks that had the hot water issues. I had hot water issues and I was block D. Honestly, I only ever went to block D so I wouldn't really know what the other blocks are like but they are probably similar. I have no idea whether the same issues happened in other accommodations.
But yeah the location of Moonraker is really good if your course is on those three campuses. It's a 15 min walk from Guy's, a 20 minute walk from Waterloo, and a 40 minute walk from Strand.
I got an offer of Psychology. I want to save money and time on transportation. Which accomodation(s) should I choose? Thank you.
Original post by Anonymous
I got an offer of Psychology. I want to save money and time on transportation. Which accomodation(s) should I choose? Thank you.

Hi, I'm about to go into 3rd year for psych. I would say if you don't mind sharing a bathroom then GDS or OLIB are good options because they're located pretty much on guy's campus which is where you will be for your first year. Personally, I stayed at Angel Lane in my first year and loved it there. Stratford is a really nice place with some much to do with Westfield being a 5 min walk away so it's up to you.
Reply 17
Hey everyone, I’m looking at acc at kcl right now, and it doesn’t mention anywhere on the website how many ppl actually share a flat in each accommodation. Students that are living in kcl accommodation, how many people do you have to share with and is there enough space to share? (Cuz some of the shared kitchens look kinda small, and if it helps I am mainly looking at SSA and GDSA)
Thank you :smile:
Original post by akhare
Hey everyone, I’m looking at acc at kcl right now, and it doesn’t mention anywhere on the website how many ppl actually share a flat in each accommodation. Students that are living in kcl accommodation, how many people do you have to share with and is there enough space to share? (Cuz some of the shared kitchens look kinda small, and if it helps I am mainly looking at SSA and GDSA)
Thank you :smile:

Hey! I've been at GDS for first year & my flat has 8 people including myself - there is normally enough kitchen & cupboard space for everyone & you start to work around each other in terms of cooking or pre times. I think it does vary though as I know some of my friends live with less people, around 6-7? I personally quite like living with a lot of people just because some people also go home before exam season, but there are still 3 other people in my flat to chat with :smile:

Not sure if this is same for SSA but I would assume it's similar. Let me know if you have any more Qs!
Reply 19
Original post by Matchalatte247
Hey! I've been at GDS for first year & my flat has 8 people including myself - there is normally enough kitchen & cupboard space for everyone & you start to work around each other in terms of cooking or pre times. I think it does vary though as I know some of my friends live with less people, around 6-7? I personally quite like living with a lot of people just because some people also go home before exam season, but there are still 3 other people in my flat to chat with :smile:

Not sure if this is same for SSA but I would assume it's similar. Let me know if you have any more Qs!

Oh ok, thank you so much for the response. I did have another question, how far away is GDSA from the strand campus?

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