i've nearly completed my first year so my opinion are that the cheaper accommodations which give you a good social life and have a good value for money are: rootes, westwood, and cryfield standard.
my opinions are:
rootes is great if you want a good social life. i know people who go there and love their flatmates and it's very sociable. i've heard that it's very difficult to get any sleep before 4am and that the kitchens can get dirty, so it depends if that is something you can handle. also shared bathrooms but you'll get that with any of the cheaper accommodations.
a lot of people seem to hate on westwood because it's a bit further from the main campus. this is true and can be an annoying walk, there is a bus stop right outside if you want to do that instead. i'm perhaps biased bc i have a car. however i don't think westwood means a lack of social life by any means. i'm in westwood this year and my flat is brilliant. if you have good people, you can have flat parties / do pres together and go out in coventry or leam. there's definitely no more chance of having **** flatmates here than there is anywhere else and i think the common room and general organisation of WW helps with making friends
another friend is in cryfield standard and she likes it a lot, however would say that the flats are small so it's difficult if you don't get along with all your flatmates very well. it's good fun though and very close to campus so much easier to get to lectures. overall a nice accom and cheaper option. slightly less social life potentially but again this is entirely dependent on who you're with.
as for shared bathrooms, i've had no issue whatsoever. it's not a big deal and you get used to it very quickly.