| Product: |
Accommodation in general |
| Date: |
17/01/06 (1580 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Location, decent food.
Disadvantages: Everything else...
I decided to apply to stay at Clifton Hill House for two main reasons: it is close to the city centre (bars and clubs) and university buildings, so it is much more convenient than the Stoke Bishop halls. Also, the food at CHH was supposed to be good. I had read that the rules were strictly enforced and that it had a very strong Christian vibe but I thought I could put up with those things.
However, I wish I had never moved in here. This place is hell. For starters the rules ARE strictly enforced, very strictly in fact. The dictators who rule this place will pull you up for the most minor infractions. Fines and community service are common place. Noise after 10pm is not tolerated - 'noise' being talking in your room, drinking is frowned upon, games and having fun are banned. Kitchens must be kept spotless, the hall bar is pathetic, the entertainments provided are lame, the whole atmosphere of the place reflects that of a nunnery.
My floor has been castigated for noise, collecting beer bottles in the corridor, rearranging the kitchen, drawing on a plastic table cloth... Two people on our floor have been forced to move rooms for pathetic reasons. The staff are unfriendly, they patronise you and twist what you say.
The rooms (except in Calendar and Old Clifton, which are girls only btw) are old and the bathrooms dirty.
Basically, I emplore you not to choose Clifton Hill House. I am of course bitter towards this place but what I have said is true. Please do not apply to Clifton Hill House.........
Summary: This is not a good halls of residence
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Last comments:
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- 22/05/06 You are so right, Clifton Hill House is close to the city centre, an incredible advantage, and also the food is excellent too. However, I cannot agree with nearly any of the rest of the review. During my first year, i stayed at Clifton Hill House, and had a completely different experience, in fact I knew a lot of the students there, as its such a friendly hall, and can't think of one who had your experience at all.
I've never heard of fines, community service, untolerated noise etc etc. The staff are brilliant, were interested in me as an individual, in fact Jenny who did a brilliant job on the floor I was on, was meticulous in ensuring a good environment, in numerous ways, and I am much appreciative to the good job that she did for us.
on the whole, i'd reccommend the reader to whole heartedly choose Clifton Hill House and can't think of anyone who shares the same views as that of the previous commentator. |
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- 20/05/06 Firstly, as a current student at Clifton Hill House (CHH), can I say how disappointed that a fellow student here has felt the urge to write such an off-putting, and, dare I say it, venomous review.
Some of the items stated as fact are actually opinion, whilst others are downright untrue. Whilst there is some basis for some of what is stated, I urge anyone who reads this review to check with other sources first. Main sources of information are:
- cliftonHillHouse.co.uk - official site
- chhjcr.co.uk - resident students' site
although others may be available. Whilst not meaning to upset the author, I wish to point out the following major problems I have with this article:
1. '...the rules ARE strictly enforced...'
This has to be the most major deviation from fact I have seen. Whilst the conditions of residence booklet is stupidly thick, it seems to me that it is virtually impossible to live here without at least bending a few of them. I have always found the staff here willing to accept situations and compromise. Where major situations have arisen, I must agree that sometimes, from the point of view of the student(s) concerned, they can seem somewhat heavy-handed. However, in general, if you are prepared to act sensibly, then the staff normally leave well alone.
2. 'Fines and community service are common place.'
This is absolute rubbish. I have been here the best part of a year now, know people who have been here for 3 years, and can honestly say that 'community service' has never, to the best of my knowledge, been used. As far as fines are concerned, the only 'fine' one is occasionally expected to pay is if you lock yourself out, for which £1 is sometimes requested - this money invariably goes to charities.
3. 'Noise after 10pm is not tolerated - 'noise' being talking in your room...'
Again, I must disagree. This is not a reflection of my time here so far, as I have experienced it. The official cut-off for noise is actually 11pm, and once again, this rule is very laxly enforced. The quietest sections of hall are the female-only OC & Callander wings, but even there one is perfectly at liberty to talk! Frequently, I have been in others' rooms, talking and/or listening to music with several other people, well into the small hours.
4. '...drinking is frowned upon, games and having fun are banned.'
Whilst the Warden is known not to encourage excessive drinking, she generally intervenes only if the disruption caused is significant and physically damaging to the structure of the building (for example, early in the first term some ceiling tiles were damaged). Otherwise, one is generally left alone. The second of these two statements is so obvious as rubbish that I do not feel it even merits an answer, so my only reply is that if a 'game' has been extreme enough to be both officially and prectically banned, then it must have been downright dangerous.
5. 'Kitchens must be kept spotless...'
The communal kitchens on each floor are cleaned daily (Mon-Fri) by experienced staff whose main job is to ensure everything is hygenic. As such, they normally require that dirty dishes are not left lying on surfaces or in sinks, but are removed or cleaned before they arrive each morning. If anyone has been led into believing that anything less than 'spotless' is unacceptable, they should pay a visit to the kitchen on E-Fry of a Sunday night.
6. '...the hall bar is pathetic...'
Part of the problem is that people have not been prepared to go there this year. Even a really posh club will look dreary if there are only a handful of people inside. Admittedlym the bar is not as well kitted out as some hall bars, but when it serves what is purportedly the cheapest drinks in Bristol, who cares? It's still a great place to hang out and catch up with friends, to play a round of pool, or listen to the odd live music gigs that occur there.
7. '...the entertainments provided are lame...'
Obviously, being close to the city centre means that the hall common room is less required for evening ents. This means that the focus is mainly on fewer, larger events, such as the excellent theatrical productions, the Christmas Snow-ball, summer Garden Party and similar. Part of the problem is that some events are poorly advertised, both within hall and to the outside world. A series of events to run in co-operation with Manor and Goldney Halls (either side) is likely to improve this situation. As with any set of events, it does depend on personal preference as to which events you find stimulating. The fact that CHH is a small hall also means that there is less funding available for regualr events.
8. I cannot comment on the specific case mentioned, but I can state that a particular floor has been rather singled out for poor behaviour - partly due to events occurring during the first few weeks of the 1st semester. Some of the attenetion given to this particular floor has appeared over the top, if not unwarranted. I have been led to understand that people have changed rooms away from that floor, although I do not know the circumstances.
My basic advice on that point is to make sure you don't annoy the Warden during your first month (which is fairly difficult to do), and then everything is usually fine.
9. 'The rooms ... are old and the bathrooms dirty'
This depends on what you class as 'old'. The oldest part of the building dates from 1750, the newest from the 1970's. Whilst the design of the bedrooms can look a little tired, this is only the case with any room not recently refurbished. Anyone who complains that the rooms are stuck in the dark ages is sadly mistaken. The main point againt this view is that, in common with all UoB halls, each study bedroom has a telephone and seperate faster-than-broadband internet & University computer network point, which any student is entitled to use (for payment of the appropriate fee, about £45 for an academic year during 2005-6).
As for the bathrooms being dirty: they will only be as dirty as the people who have already used them have left them. Whilst some of the bathrooms in Fry Wing are in need of some 'touching up', they are cleaned daily, as with the kitchens.
In direct contrast to the original review, I can wholeheartedly say I have enjoyed my time here so far, and suggest that you reconsider the validity of this review. I will also add that if you have any interest in music performance, this hall is the place to be, as with at least 2 dramatic shows (at least one musical), regualr choir and orchestra, and several promising bands from within hall all coming forward, there is much to get involved with.
CHH is the kind of place that expects a little participation in hall life. If you are prepared to spend some time at events rather than shut in your room or out clubbing all the time (as some this year appear to have done), you cannot fail to enjoy yourself. |
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- 17/01/06 I'm really glad you wrote this review, I am applying to Bristol later this year and will have to start thinking about which accomodation I apply for soon, I'm glad I know to rule that choice out!!! Thanks, and welcome to dooyoo!! |
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