Generally very good (Halls Of Residence At The University Of Leicester in general)

Member Name: beckstrous

Product:	Halls Of Residence At The University Of Leicester in general
Date:	01/07/02 (911 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean, Good social life, Botanical gardens

Disadvantages: Not close to the uni

Leicester's student accomodation was nothing like I expected. Instead of dimly-lit, breize-blocked cells in dingy tower blocks, I was pleasantly surprised to see bright, well-furnished rooms in pleasant grounds and in a pretty posh area, too.

Most of Leicester's halls are in Oadby, a well-to-do and leafy suburb that really isn't the sort of place you'd associate with student life. The disadvantage is that you face a 40-minute walk (or ten minute bus/cycle ride) to the university itself, but I stayed in halls for two years and I can't say that was a major issue.

Beaumont Hall (where I was) is often considered to be the "poshest", but I think that the Oadby halls are all pretty similar. Beaumont backs onto the University's botanical gardens, which are wonderful all year round but especially in summer. Stamford - opposite Beaumont - has the largest bar (or so it seemed at the time). Gilbert Murray is closest to the excellent sports centre and gym.

We used to enjoy our little "bar crawls" around the various halls, mixing with people from outside Beaumont. The bars were great, and we didn't really visit any of Oadby's pubs (I don't think they're that student friendly anyway).

If you end up on the JCR committee (do publicity - it's a doddle!) you stay in halls for your second year and get the best rooms. Mine was huge - probably the biggest room I've ever lived in, in fact.

The food isn't bad, though it tends to deteriorate as the term wears on. Sometimes it's very good and sometimes it's awful, but most of the time it's just average. I wouldn't complain about it, though, and didn't.

Cleanliness is excellent and the cleaners do a great job, although it can be annoying when the hoover wakes you up at 8am! The social life is very good - there's lots to do every week - the rumours about haunted houses are amusing (but proba
bly not true) and the hall balls are always a laugh.

College Hall is often considered to be the "poor relation" to the Oadby halls. It's closer to the university but everyone I knew that lived there said it was nowhere near as nice as the others. So be warned!!

Summary: