| Product: |
Accommodation in general |
| Date: |
13/01/07 (190 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Central, Good Food
Disadvantages: No atmosphere, anti-social, not great rooms, expensive
Clifton Hill House is in a great location. It's in the centre of Clifton, with easy access to shops, the Student Union and only a short walk to lectures. This has the obvious convenience benefits and also makes you feel more involved in a life beyond the student bubble.
Clifton also has the best food of any catered hall. Although at slightly early hours (who eats dinner at 5.30pm?!) there is always a choice of two or three mains, plus salad bar, plus desert, plus fruit, plus yoghurt which is considerably better than other places. And it tastes good.
Clifton is also a registered building, which means the old part is beautiful, as are the surrounding gardens. But the majority of people who live here are actually in the two newer wings: Fry and South Wing which have box rooms, and toilets and kitchens shared between about 30. The kitchens are poorly equiped, they have microwaves, toasters and toastie machines. Hobs and ovens are prohibted for fire safety reasons. This seems a little excessive as self catered halls, and most other catered halls manage fine with them. Cooking becomes significantly more difficult - baked potato again anyone? Fry Wing bedrooms don't even have their own sinks.
I've found it feels more like a boarding school. Rules are strictly enforced and drinking discouraged. The bar has no atmosphere - set in a huge orange room with plastic tables and chairs stuck randomly around and a big stage at one end it feels like a church or assembly hall. The cd player doesn't normally work, or if it does the music is generally terrible. Oh! but don't let me forget - it does have some flashing lights! In reality it is just a big room that serves alcohol. Small modifications would be required to change it; pull the wooden shutters across to half the room, put the sofas around the tables, fix the CD player and let the students choose the music. Perhaps paint the walls white - but i can see that costs money so it isn't necessary. But the warden is unwilling to make it more conducive to drinking and socialising as that would encourage drunken students.
Although it is beneficial to be in the centre, the result is that the hall loses it's sense of community as everyone can leave and go out into the city. The halls in stoke bishop, although a 30 minute trek away, retain a sense of unity and have a better social atmosphere.
This is the most expensive hall, but it isn't worth the cost. If your priority is to live in the centre, look at either Manor Hall or Goldney. If you want catered, put up with bad food for a year and go somewhere in Stoke Bishop.
Summary: Not recommended
|
|
