Castle Leazes (Castle Leazes Halls)

Member Name: Lowsy

Product:	Castle Leazes Halls
Date:	05/04/03 (1377 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Close to everything, Its sociable, Safe

Disadvantages: Expensive, Bad food, lots of fire alarms, Limited Freedom

Having spent this last year at Castle Leazes I have found it to have a lot to offer first year students at Newcastle.
Castle Leazes is so close to the university and the town centre which makes it easy to get around without getting lost. it also saves alot of money on travel as everything is in easy walking distance. The quayside is only a twenty minute walk away, and nothing is much further away than that. Other than the location, Castle Leazes offers the biggest source of accomodation in halls in the area and therefore gives you plenty of opportunity to meet new people, and in the first week this is so easy as there are always people walking around. The laundrette is excellent too as you can pretty much chat to anyone when you're doing you're laundry. The floors are seperated into houses and around 13 people live on each floor in each house, but they are all connected in the halls and if you don't get on with people you live near there are people in the next house just along the corridor! Each house has between 2 and 3 toilets between 13 and also 3 showers and a bath. It doesent seem like much, but its very rare that you queue for a shower as everyone does different subjects and therefore have varying timetables. Other than the above Castle Leazes provides each of the three halls with a TV room and dining hall. The TV room is also a good place to meet people. There are game roomas and a computer room. if you're into squash you can book ot the squash court!
Although Castle Leazes has a lot to offer it also has a few down points. The rooms are fairly small, but liveable. (in my case I actually thought it was pretty big, but it depends what you're used to!) The kitchens are quite small and have little ventilation which tends to mean that the fire alarms go off regularily, especially in the early hours of the morning when people come home from a night out and try to cook. There is also a lot of security, you have to show your hall card w
hen you come back after a nigt out which means that some people find it a little like being at home when youre parents want to know where youre going etc, but its only for our security so randoms don't get into the building. The food is not so good. The meals tend to be bland and repetitve, and consist of various "yellow foods". Sometimes its so bad you dont want to eat. There is also a lot of queuing to be done. You queue for dinner. You queue for computers as theres only 30 for a population of 1,000 + and you have to queue for washing machines as there are about 8 washers and 5 driers for again 1,000 people +.
Overall Castle leazes is a really good place to spend your first year. Theres plenty of people, its close to everything you need and most of the staff are reasonably friendly (look out for two cleaners/janitors in freemens hall-2 guys that sing a lot and mess about they are really friendly and always willing to help you out even if its carrying washing back from the laundry room-they are sound guys!) Castle Leazes has made my first year at uni fun and easy and although it has its downsides i'm glad that i chose it as my home!!

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