UCL accomodation advice 2026

i stayed in John Adams hall in 1st year. honestly I don't think an ensuite is essential at all unless you need it for health reasons, we had maybe 8 people in our flat and 2 bathrooms, 2 showers and there were rarely times where people were waiting for one to be free. there's also bathrooms further down the hall in other flats if you're desperate. overall it was a nice accom, i stayed in the cheapest single room which was then around £190 a week (possibly more like £200-220 now as this was 2022/23), it's a nice fancy old building and each floor is very tall so even the smallest spaces feel spacious, much nicer than Ramsey for example
people who made groups early on did do social things together but the building design itself isn't necessarily social, unfortunately I was borderline bullied by my flatmates while there so I'm not the best person to speak on the social side haha but it seems like that's possible.
John Adams is very close to campus like 10 minutes walk MAX - what are you studying if you don't mind me asking? one of the Law buildings and architecture are literally across the road/round the corner so less than 2 mins away.
in summer the temperature was fine, my radiator broke during winter but once it was fixed it was fine in (late) winter too. you can open the window if needed which is huge and almost floor to ceiling, you just aren't allowed to go on the balcony (and don't smoke or you'll get everyone kicked out for a fire alarm, omg). we had issues with random people getting through the doors and into halls past security once or twice and our flat had an issue with mice for months but not as bad as some other halls.
overall probably was worth it for the price but not without its issues

i stayed in John Adams hall in 1st year. honestly I don't think an ensuite is essential at all unless you need it for health reasons, we had maybe 8 people in our flat and 2 bathrooms, 2 showers and there were rarely times where people were waiting for one to be free. there's also bathrooms further down the hall in other flats if you're desperate. overall it was a nice accom, i stayed in the cheapest single room which was then around £190 a week (possibly more like £200-220 now as this was 2022/23), it's a nice fancy old building and each floor is very tall so even the smallest spaces feel spacious, much nicer than Ramsey for example
people who made groups early on did do social things together but the building design itself isn't necessarily social, unfortunately I was borderline bullied by my flatmates while there so I'm not the best person to speak on the social side haha but it seems like that's possible.
John Adams is very close to campus like 10 minutes walk MAX - what are you studying if you don't mind me asking? one of the Law buildings and architecture are literally across the road/round the corner so less than 2 mins away.
in summer the temperature was fine, my radiator broke during winter but once it was fixed it was fine in (late) winter too. you can open the window if needed which is huge and almost floor to ceiling, you just aren't allowed to go on the balcony (and don't smoke or you'll get everyone kicked out for a fire alarm, omg). we had issues with random people getting through the doors and into halls past security once or twice and our flat had an issue with mice for months but not as bad as some other halls.
overall probably was worth it for the price but not without its issues

I’m going for mechanical engineering but idk what building i’ll be in. So would you recommend JA overall or do you think I should go for garden halls or frances hall etc. Also are there mice in JA because i’ve seen online reviews from a few years ago thar claim that. I’m also a woc so i’m not sure if that might affect social life at accoms.

Accomodation for 1st year
I know you can’t fully choose your accommodation, but you can put down preferences and swap later, so I’m trying to figure out what might suit me best. I’d love some advice from people who actually live there.
A bit about me and what I’m looking for: my budget is around £325 per week, though I wouldn’t mind spending less. I’d really prefer ensuite and single accommodation, though I’m wondering how essential ensuite really is. I definitely want self-catered accommodation. I think that bigger halls could be overwhelming sometimes, but I do want a social environment with people who hang out and go clubbing etc. I’m a home student, so I’m slightly unsure about intercollegiate halls as i’ve heard that they typically are all international students and idk how easy it would be to fit in. Preferably I’d like to be close to campus, but that isn’t my top priority. Facilities are important to me too, like cleanliness, nice common areas, and no mice or silverfish.
The halls I’m currently considering are James Light Hall House, Francis Gardner House, John Adams House, and the Garden Halls. I’m also thinking about other halls like New Hall, Schaffer, and Goldsmith, but some of them are further away or only have singles.
Some things I’m curious about include whether intercollegiate halls are worth it, what the social scenes are like in the halls I mentioned, the typical size of standard rooms, and how the temperature tends to be in winter and summer. I’d also love to hear the downsides of any of these halls so I know what I might be getting myself into.
If anyone can give honest opinions or recommendations based on what I’ve described, that would be amazing.

hey! i currently live in garden halls as catered but i know a lot of people who live in the self-catered parts (both the townhouses and the hugh parry tower) and they love it! i've also been to those rooms and kitchens so I have a idea of size and how things work. hugh parry tower has shared kitchens and bathrooms between 13 people (just shared showers, you have. a toliet and sink in your own room) i think it is and then the townhouses the kitchen is shared between 17 people but the bathrooms are shared between 2 (2 bathrooms for 4 people on each floor). the rooms in the hugh parry tower are known for being slightly bigger than the ones in the townhouses and the catered ones in the main building. the rooms in the townhouses are also slightly bigger than the ones in the main building. the kitchens sometimes get quite dirty or messy but that will depend on the residents and they get cleaned once or twice a week. as self-catered residents (hugh parry tower or townhouse) you still get access to the entire main building (townhouses are connected to the mai building and hugh parry is a separate building adjacent) and can get the catered meal plan if you choose to (its much cheaper for self-catered to get the meal plan than it would be to pay for catered). the social life at gardens is amazing, in freshers everyone was in the lobby area + the games room + the screening room just socializing and trying to meet new people. also, even if you're self-catered, I would recommend paying for the catered food the first few weeks to experience how social the dining hall gets because eating together helps a lot to meet new people as well because you stay in the dining hall for so long just chatting and being introduced to people in ur course or ur uni or from ur hometown/home country. even now at the end of term 2 it is still social almost every night (not crazily loud or active but you'll always see people hang out in the games room or the couches downstairs). in terms of going out it is very balanced, there's always some big plan to go somewhere at least once a week, pres are usually held in the dining hall and its very easy to join in, also we have a groupchat for it so its very easy to know about a plan and just join in. a lot of people also don't go out so its very balanced and nobody is shamed for not going out! i am an international student but i was surprised by how many home students live in gardens (this includes people who live near london such as essex, near luton, clapham, and even in chelsea, and also people from brighton, manchester, northhampton, and then scotland...etc) i think if you're a home student you'll fit in very well. yes there are a decent amount of those very very rich international student kids but also a lot who are like me (international but humble and not insanely loaded) so you won't bee surrounded by that insane stereotype as much as you think. in terms of room temp u don't control the radiators like wheen they heat butt u can control heat level (1 to 4 or max). ive heard townhouse rooms are slightly colder but not by much and some people get space heaters so its okay. i haven't experienced it in summer but in winter we had one or two weeks where the heating wasn't high enough but that was quickly solved and never happened again (this happened when we had arctic winds very early on so it was unexpected). i personally love living at gardens, its near campus for me (i go to ucl and have most of my lectures in the ioe, sometimes in the cruciform and sometimes in the engineering building), never more than a 15 minute walk, it is very easy for me to come home between lectures, and is conveniently near russel square station ad kings cross/st pancras and euston, making travel very easy. it is also very near the brunswick center which is a mini open mall which has everything u need (waitrose, boots, robert dayas, nhs, and restaurants). it is also very social (as an international, and ik home students feel this too, i was very scared of not making friends or finding my kid of people but gardens is genuinely so big (1200 ppl) you will for sure find your people and there's always something happening whether that be dinner downstairs, watching a movie in the screening room, studying in the study room, chilling on the couches, playing fortnite on the ps5s, playing pool or table tennis...etc). i also feel very safe because of the reception people and the gates. also, theres plenty of study spaces (4 study rooms and tables near the windows + high chairs with chargers) which makes doing work when at home very accessible. the environment is honestly very great and i extremely recommend for first year, i can't imagine a different experience and living here really makes me feel like i'm living the uni life. i've met amazing amazing people and living here is so so fun. i will also say i've heard the year before us was more cliquey and less like social between groups. like i feel like this year yes there are some friend groups but we all hang out together all the time and make plans between us and it never feels divided so your experience will also depend o the people who live there next year, i dont want to say it will be exactly like mine. also, i have friends at other halls (astor, ian baker/ramsay, JD, JA) who always come to gardens because their accom isn't nearly as social and they really feel the difference. i hope this helps and if u have any questions don't hesitate to reach out!

hey! i currently live in garden halls as catered but i know a lot of people who live in the self-catered parts (both the townhouses and the hugh parry tower) and they love it! i've also been to those rooms and kitchens so I have a idea of size and how things work. hugh parry tower has shared kitchens and bathrooms between 13 people (just shared showers, you have. a toliet and sink in your own room) i think it is and then the townhouses the kitchen is shared between 17 people but the bathrooms are shared between 2 (2 bathrooms for 4 people on each floor). the rooms in the hugh parry tower are known for being slightly bigger than the ones in the townhouses and the catered ones in the main building. the rooms in the townhouses are also slightly bigger than the ones in the main building. the kitchens sometimes get quite dirty or messy but that will depend on the residents and they get cleaned once or twice a week. as self-catered residents (hugh parry tower or townhouse) you still get access to the entire main building (townhouses are connected to the mai building and hugh parry is a separate building adjacent) and can get the catered meal plan if you choose to (its much cheaper for self-catered to get the meal plan than it would be to pay for catered). the social life at gardens is amazing, in freshers everyone was in the lobby area + the games room + the screening room just socializing and trying to meet new people. also, even if you're self-catered, I would recommend paying for the catered food the first few weeks to experience how social the dining hall gets because eating together helps a lot to meet new people as well because you stay in the dining hall for so long just chatting and being introduced to people in ur course or ur uni or from ur hometown/home country. even now at the end of term 2 it is still social almost every night (not crazily loud or active but you'll always see people hang out in the games room or the couches downstairs). in terms of going out it is very balanced, there's always some big plan to go somewhere at least once a week, pres are usually held in the dining hall and its very easy to join in, also we have a groupchat for it so its very easy to know about a plan and just join in. a lot of people also don't go out so its very balanced and nobody is shamed for not going out! i am an international student but i was surprised by how many home students live in gardens (this includes people who live near london such as essex, near luton, clapham, and even in chelsea, and also people from brighton, manchester, northhampton, and then scotland...etc) i think if you're a home student you'll fit in very well. yes there are a decent amount of those very very rich international student kids but also a lot who are like me (international but humble and not insanely loaded) so you won't bee surrounded by that insane stereotype as much as you think. in terms of room temp u don't control the radiators like wheen they heat butt u can control heat level (1 to 4 or max). ive heard townhouse rooms are slightly colder but not by much and some people get space heaters so its okay. i haven't experienced it in summer but in winter we had one or two weeks where the heating wasn't high enough but that was quickly solved and never happened again (this happened when we had arctic winds very early on so it was unexpected). i personally love living at gardens, its near campus for me (i go to ucl and have most of my lectures in the ioe, sometimes in the cruciform and sometimes in the engineering building), never more than a 15 minute walk, it is very easy for me to come home between lectures, and is conveniently near russel square station ad kings cross/st pancras and euston, making travel very easy. it is also very near the brunswick center which is a mini open mall which has everything u need (waitrose, boots, robert dayas, nhs, and restaurants). it is also very social (as an international, and ik home students feel this too, i was very scared of not making friends or finding my kid of people but gardens is genuinely so big (1200 ppl) you will for sure find your people and there's always something happening whether that be dinner downstairs, watching a movie in the screening room, studying in the study room, chilling on the couches, playing fortnite on the ps5s, playing pool or table tennis...etc). i also feel very safe because of the reception people and the gates. also, theres plenty of study spaces (4 study rooms and tables near the windows + high chairs with chargers) which makes doing work when at home very accessible. the environment is honestly very great and i extremely recommend for first year, i can't imagine a different experience and living here really makes me feel like i'm living the uni life. i've met amazing amazing people and living here is so so fun. i will also say i've heard the year before us was more cliquey and less like social between groups. like i feel like this year yes there are some friend groups but we all hang out together all the time and make plans between us and it never feels divided so your experience will also depend o the people who live there next year, i dont want to say it will be exactly like mine. also, i have friends at other halls (astor, ian baker/ramsay, JD, JA) who always come to gardens because their accom isn't nearly as social and they really feel the difference. i hope this helps and if u have any questions don't hesitate to reach out!

Hey could you give more info on the standard superior rooms if thats possible

The only room left for this years accom in my price range was Ramsay so had to book, was wondering what you'd heard about the social life there if some of your friends were in Ramsay, as its quite a big thing for me