Something for everyone. (Halls of Residence at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth)

Member Name: nks62

Product:	Halls of Residence at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Date:	04/08/08 (779 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There is a hall to suit most types of people

Disadvantages: Nothing major if you choose carefully

I thought I'd add to this, because the last review was written over two years ago, and there have been a few improvements since then. This review mainly focuses on the Penbryn halls of residence.

In my first year here (06/07), I stayed in Penbryn. I'd heard all the stories, seen pictures, and I even remember reading reviews on here. However, at the time I couldn't cook myself a meal, and liked the idea of the halls being so sociable.

To start with, Penbryn isn't for you if you're a fussy eater, or in fact, if you're fussy about anything in general. The majority of blocks have 4 floors, and around 20 people to a floor. I shared with 21 other people. For this you get a TINY kitchen, with ONE cupboard, a cooker that more closely resembles a camp stove, the other usual kitchen electricals, and two large fridge/freezers. Oh, and no chairs/tables. This sounds bad, but the only realy time spent in the kitchen is sitting around on the worksurfaces, people make their breakfast/lunches here, but that's about it.

As far as bathroom facilities go, we got 4 toilets, 3 showers and 2 baths, which was more than adequate. I think over the whole year I didn't have to wait more than once or twice to use a shower. The best bit here is that in catered halls the kitchen, bathrooms and corridors are cleaned for you, 5 days a week.

In my year, the catered restaurant was known as Branwens, a large hall, which roughly resembled a school canteen, albeit with more choice, and looking a bit more attractive. The choice of food was generally decent, providing you weren't a fussy eater, there are around three main options and one vegetarian each day. There are also a varied selection of veg/salad. The meals are graded from bronze to gold, and priced accordingly. On the whole, the food was reasonable. Over time, you got to know which were the better tasting meals, and always went for those when they came up. There are also occasional special theme days, such as Chinese, Indian and Welsh. The main thing to emphasise here is the social aspect, most people from each floor went down together to eat at the same time, and some of the tables were big enough to seat 12 or so.

The restaurant has since been rebranded as TaMed Da, and completely refitted. Not to see it needed refurbishment, but it is now a real selling factor for Penbryn. A new conservatory and decking area have been added in the past year, new chairs/tables and flooring in the main hall, and sofas in the conservatory. They have also added a new coffee/sandwich bar for lunchtime, and have big screens with Sky tv.

The Rooms:

Describing my room in one word, I would have to say basic. The vast majority had no carpets, but the size was generally good. You also get a sink, desk, bedside table and wardrobe. Some rooms had bookshelves and larger wardrobes, but this was more a case of pot luck. There is more than enough space for most peoples belongings, and it is fairly easy to make a room seem more comfortable by adding posters etc. People tended to spend alot of time in each others rooms when we were in during the evening, so again the social advantages outweigh the lack of luxury.

Last year the majority of the frontage to Penbryn was repainted, and new windows were added, and I believe the rest is being completed over this summer, the first proper external refurbishment in 50 years really.

Other halls:

I have limited experience of these, but will cover them briefly.

Rosser and Trefloyne are both of a similar style, both self catered with a reasonable sized kitchen, and Rosser rooms are ensuite. However they have been deemed less sociable than other halls due to the layout of corridors.

Cwrt Mawr is one of the largest self catered halls, consisting of a number of blocks, all reasonably modern, and holding up to around 12 per flat. The rooms are slightly smaller than those of Penbryn, but have similar (albeit alot newer) than Penbryn, and are carpeted. Most Cwrt Mawr kitchens have been recently refurbished, with decent cooking facilities and storage space.

PJM is the student village, made up of 100 or so houses, each holding 5-6 people. Less sociable than Cwrt Mawr, as it's harder to get to know all your neighbours, but rooms are of a fairly good standard, with the upstairs ones being larger (again, pot luck). This is located just opposite the main Penglais campus.

Pantycelyn is the hall aimed at Welsh-speaking students, and is catered accomodation, with a canteen similar to Branwens.

Finally, just to make a point about noise levels, this can be an issue in any of the halls. The walls are fairly thin, so loud noise can travel a long way. However, there is an option to tick on the accommodation form to say you would prefer to be placed in a quieter area. And generally, PJM and Rosser will be quieter than Penbryn and Cwrt Mawr.

Summary: A case of finding the right personal balance between the different characteristics of the halls.