Margaret Rule Hall, portsmouth

Our daughter has lived there during her first year at university. The reception staff have always been very helpful, and the location is excellent, close to all university buildings, shops and other essentials. However, maintenance is a major issue. When something in the room, kitchen or bathroom needs fixing, it almost never gets resolved. Basic issues such as a blown fuse are attended to, but underlying problems remain. For example, the plug socket in her room trips every time she uses her hairdryer, and despite reporting it repeatedly, it has never been upgraded. The kitchen extractor hood has never worked. Whenever anyone cooks, the steam and smoke have nowhere to escape because the windows only open a fraction. This often triggers the alarm system as the kitchen fills with smoke. It has been reported multiple times, yet nothing has been done. The bathroom is also in poor condition. Floor tiles are broken and lift when stepped on, allowing water to run underneath and cause mould. The floor under the shower is cracked, with similar issues. All of this was reported at the start of the year, but no repairs have been carried out. I understand the safety restrictions around window openings, but a gap of barely half an inch makes it impossible to ventilate the rooms, including the kitchen. This creates an uncomfortable living environment and contributes to many problems. Surely, opening another few inches would still be within safety range allowing some airflow. Overall, the location and staff are great, but the lack of maintenance and failure to address reported issues significantly let the accommodation down.

Not that bad of a student accommodation compared to the other options. The bed is surprisingly comfortable and sturdy, and the desk is a good size. However the paper thin walls result in being able to hear your flatmate whenever they use the toilet, which is disturbing. It’s near impossible to get a decent sleep if you have loud neighbours or are situated near the roads. There’s genuinely no point of the dryers, it takes about 3-4 sessions to actually dry your clothes. Ended up not bothering to wash until the holiday times. The fire alarm will drive you insane, going off for up to 8 minutes at a time every single Tuesday. It makes you numb to the actual prospect of a real fire, as absolutely no one takes it seriously. Only 10 people leave the building during real fire alarms, as we were used to it constantly going off. My biggest problem was the silverfish and spider infestation. The second I opened the door when moving in, I walked into a giant spider web and was greeted by a family of silverfish under the bed. Ask anyone who has stayed here, they will tell you their experience with silverfish. It gets to a point you become used to it. Overall, it could be worse. At least it’s near Tesco.

It's a decent accommodation which also provides summer stay for those who want part-time work during studies. It's all inclusive, which is great during these times through the cost of living. Reception are lovely, and they are always happy to help and listen to my concerns. The rooms are decently sized, and the toilet and shower are functional. I was lucky with the kitchen size; but, for those who are unlucky, it can be a bit of a squeeze between the counter spaces and the island tables especially when you have to share with 5 other people. Both lifts are working as of now. WiFi is pretty alright to stream HD videos and play games. It can run a lot of devices at once without bottle-necking. The downsides can be that maintenance is on and off sometimes; they've fixed a couple of my issues very quickly, but my kitchen light hasn't been replaced for a couple of months and, as of now it still hasn't. During winter and cold weather; the radiators are timed, so you'd constantly have to keep putting it back on to high just to get consistent heat. It doesn't help that the windows do let in a draft as it looks as if it's not well insulated, so my curtains are shut during those times. I've seen complaints that the washing and drying are ridiculous pricing, but you won't get a better price at normal laundry shops. They do the job.

Washing and drying facilities are run down and barely work, if you manage to find a washer and dryer that work, good luck getting anything above a half load of clothes clean and dry and not smelling of damp for the next week. After a full “dry” cycle clothes will still be absolutely sodden if you have any towels or jeans in there. To add insult to injury it’s fairly expensive to operate these machines. Other reviews have mentioned the fire alarm, this issue is not nearly as bad as the fact that the elevators have not been working for the last ~2 months. Rooms and staff are nice enough but the washing and drying facilities are so mind bogglingly bad that this is lucky to be a 2 star.

Friendly reception, decent room sizes, not too expensive, good facilities and location. Only one star because despite this it’s infested with silverfish, front door & lift have been broken for most of the year, and you’ll have people turning up at your door at random times for “inspections” & maintenance. So yeah could be positive but your bed will be full of bugs which they’ll refuse to do much about besides a bit of spray. And expensive faulty washing machines which consistently don’t work.