Murano - Party Central - Glasgow University's liveliest Halls! (Murano Street Student Village)

Member Name: Penny_Wise

Product:	Murano Street Student Village
Date:	21/09/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of potential friends - you'll never need to walk alone

Disadvantages: Twenty minute uphill walk - though it does wonders for toning those legs

Accommodating almost one and a half thousand students within it's student village, Murano Student Halls is where the majority of first year students to Glasgow University find themselves allocated. It's an incredibly popular place to stay and each year finds more and more people placing Murano at the top of their accommodation wish-list. In recent years people are increasingly disappointed not to get in, so early applications are essential if you are to get a chance, as the earlier you apply, the earlier you will get allocated a place to stay.

At first glance Murano may not look like a wonderful prospect being 20-25 minutes walk up (or down) a long hill and through a slightly less attractive area of the city's West End. It skirts the area of Maryhill, which has a certain rough reputation, but which rarely causes any problem for students alert to potential trouble. In any case a night-time minibus shuttles between the Univercity and it's two Unions, and the outlying halls at regular intervals during socialising hours. It's a rare thing not to have someone to share the walk with in any case, as the route between Murano Halls and Glasgow University is a very well-trodden one at most hours of the day and evening! Murano is a very friendly environment and a good place to get to know lots of fellow students.

Perhaps because it is such a big halls, Murano is often considered as party central and is without doubt the most lively of all the Glasgow University student residences. There is a mix of small flats (up to five students) and larger flats (up to twelve students I think) and each student has a small but perfectly formed room complete with bed, desk, wardrobe, cupboards and sink (very handy). None of the Murano flats are en-suite though there is plenty of provision when it comes to showering facilities and loos. There is a common room on site and a number of laundry rooms. The shops are a bit more of a hike down the hill and many of the students avail of the supermarket delivery services, so Asda and Tesco delivery vans are a frequent sight. If a few people club their orders together it means they will get free delivery, so why not!

If a student finds themselves unhappy with their accommodation for any reason, the University Residences Office operates a scheme whereby after four weeks at the University;long enough to get a feel for things, they accept applications to transfer to alternative accommodation. Obviously this depends on availability, but beyond that four weeks it is still possible to apply for relocation. Not everyone appreciates the fire alarms being set off with such regularity, and being at such a big residence, it seems inevitable that some nights are noisier than one might wish.

A big advantage to having a room in one of the large flats is that the public areas/kitchen/bathrooms are cleaned weekly by a team of cleaners, unlike the small flats which are left entirely for you to sort out. Your Call!

Summary: Popular, lively halls - get on the list early if you don't mind the walk