Armory House, champaign-il

My son just concluded his freshman year at UIUC and our experience at Armory House was great! Not sure about some of the negative reviews... each time I was at Armory House (at least 6 or 7 times over the year) the facility was exceptionally clean, friendly staff and very quiet. The dining hall was great and if you couldn't make the serving hours they had a grill station that would take your order and have it ready for you at the time you requested which was very convenient for my son. I don't normally leave reviews, but one incident very early in the school year confirmed we made the right decision on leasing at Armory House. The very first week my son was there, he had a medical emergency in the middle of the night and the RA's stepped up and helped facilitate the care my son needed while my wife and I drove down from Chicago. They stayed with him at the emergency room until we got there. Wow! First kid going to college and you just want them to feel safe and secure and the Armory House staffed stepped up when we needed them the most. As a parent who wants a safe, quiet and great dorm in a great location, Armory House would be a great choice!

First the short version of my review: My son absolutely loved living at the Armory House this past year (his sophomore year at UIUC)! He (and we) couldn’t be more pleased! Now the long-winded version: I really don’t know where to begin, because I have so many things I want to say and so many positives to relay in this review (and so many people I wish I could thank personally). My son lived in a regular campus dorm his freshman year and for a variety of reasons had a bad experience. So in year two, he begged us to look at other options. That’s when we learned about Private Certified Housing (PCH) at UIUC and the various options on and around campus. After a lot of research, we settled on the Armory House. Since day one, everyone there has been so helpful! (Quick shout-out to Fiona for all of her help during the entire process over the past year!) The Armory House is in a great location. It’s close to campus but much more relaxed and peaceful from a traffic flow and pedestrian standpoint. It’s a quick walk to Green Street and everything it has to offer. And because of its location, move-in last fall was a breeze! We were able to calmly move all his stuff up to his new room without feeling like a line of 56 cars was lined up behind us waiting for our spot with a timer going. And within that first month of my son living at Armory House, my wife and I could sense an absolutely huge difference with my son in comparison to his freshman year. He finally had a place that I think he considered home down in Champaign. It was like he was in an apartment complex with his own cafeteria that offered a much more unique and diverse set of meal options each day. And if he didn’t particularly care for an offering, the kitchen staff was happy to make him a made-to-order cheeseburger or chicken sandwich. Not that he passed too often on what was available. I can’t tell you the number of pictures I was sent at meal time last year from my son saying, “MY LUNCH!!!” excitedly. After the dining hall lines (and average to below average food at Ikenberry), he was so happy (and well fed) this year. And a well-fed kid is a less stressed and healthy kid who can focus on his studies (and bug his parents much less frequently). Speaking of the kitchen staff, they treated my son so well and with so much kindness all year! As we moved my son out a week ago, one of the staff was on break and yelled over to my son (by name) and asked if he was leaving, where “home” was, and to have a good summer. This kind of stuff matters more than most people might think. My son was happy to be going home for the summer, but I could tell he was actually a little sad to be tearing apart his room and his little place at Armory House that actually finally felt like a “home” away from home. And as a parent, it made me feel like the people who work at Armory House actually care about our kids. One additional thing about move-out this year. Because my son is staying there again next year, they allowed him to leave his fridge, television, chair, and a few other items down there saving us a HUGE amount of work (and probably one additional 7 hour round trip car ride) both last week…as well as next fall! I know this review is long, and most people won’t read it. But I had to write it. I am so glad we found the Armory House. Living there made a HUGE difference in my son this past year and made the school year a hundred times less stressful on him. And less stress for him means less stress for parents over 3 hours away from him. Thank you again to EVERYONE who made his year at Armory House a great one! I don’t think I can fully put into words how much it meant to our entire family. THANK YOU!!! And lastly, how much do we like the Armory House (and trust them with our child)? Enough that our youngest son will be rooming with his older brother down there this coming fall!

Our son lived in Armory House his freshman year at UIUC and we could not have felt better about leaving him in a home away from home. The dining room and kitchen staff all knew him by name, and the day we moved him in Candy even told us she makes sure everyone eats! We truly felt like there were others watching out for him in our place. Any maintenance requests he had were immediately taken care of, and every time we visited everything from hallways to bathrooms were always clean. The owner even reached out to us after our son had a medical emergency to ensure he was okay. We would highly recommend Armory House to any student who wants a clean, quiet, family-like atmosphere for their son or daughter.

I lived at Armory House until I graduated from the University of Illinois, and overall I had a very positive experience there. I stayed in the Suite building, which I found to be quiet and comfortable. It was a good environment for relaxing, studying, and focusing at almost any time. On the rare occasions when there was noise, it was usually easy to handle by politely letting people know or by reaching out to the resident advisors if needed. Although there is a fraternity nearby, in my experience the windows were quite soundproof, so this was not a major issue for me. I was still able to study and rest comfortably. There were some air conditioning issues about one or two years ago, including some overheating at times, but the settings were later adjusted, and after that the temperature became much more comfortable. Another thing I appreciated was that Armory House organized many events for residents, which made it easy to meet people and socialize. This helped create a friendly community atmosphere while still allowing me to have a quiet place to study and rest. Overall, I really enjoyed living at Armory House. The staff and management were helpful, the environment was friendly, and it was a convenient and pleasant place to live during my studies at UIUC. I would recommend it to students looking for a quiet, supportive, and welcoming place to stay.

During the 25-26 academic year, I lived at Armory House and, unfortunately, had a subpar experience. While the kitchen staff deserves credit for being friendly and working hard to accommodate various dietary restrictions, the food quality itself was disappointing, at times undercooked, poorly seasoned, lacking substance, or incorrectly labeled. Additionally, due to the building's age, the windows are quite drafty, so you should be prepared for the cold during winter, especially if your bed is positioned near one. Finally, I and several other residents had negative or uncomfortable interactions with an RA, which significantly detracted from my time living there. Although these concerns were raised to office staff, I never saw or heard of any meaningful resolution.