CB1 Reviews

My experience with Host as a first-year student during COVID-19 has been very memorable, I have never felt so neglected. After paying full rent for accommodation I cannot legally return to, I am scared to return to Host again. I have paid over 2,000 GBP for something I can't have and Host has refused to repay this money as the accommodation is still "available" to me. During the lockdown, you are not allowed to travel for non-essential journeys. You should not be forced to travel and risk yourself catching COVID in order to get value out of your accommodation. I one hundred percent believe it is not available to those stuck at home because for many it is not an option. For cases like mine, I have struggled financially due to COVID so to pay rent while stuck in another location I have no money to return to Host and pay for essentials to live. I have to stay with my family because I am not receiving support. Moving into my room, hairs were found everywhere and my chair was stained.

As a parent of a student living here. I found the staff very unhelpful in dealing with situations and also not be able to prevent students from having partys in blocks that are not even where they live causing disturbance to the residents there. Maybe check on blocks more often over the weekend to monitor parties especially during a pandemic and a 6 bubble only. Also the price you have to pay upfront for nothing special I think is ridiculous.

I am a parent living over 300 miles from Cambridge, I would like to say how great the staff are at CB1. My daughter stayed in Aston House for her first year and also her second year. I need not have worried as they gave her whatever support she needed. They were her Cambridge mothers'. My daughter stayed down there during covid. Now in her third year, she has another flat in Cambridge. She is missing John who fixed everything and reception for taking in her parcels.

You won’t go a day without staff sending out aggressive unprofessional emails about the residents. It is a very hostile environment and the staff also have no respect for personal space they will just walk right into your room even when you say not to come in. Got walked in on while i was in bed and the guy never even left he just said ‘i’ll only be a minute’ and carried on. So uncomfortable. The rooms are nice but it’s not worth it for the environment you’re living in.

THE WORST experience. The staff especially Kelly are rude and downright mean. There are constant issues that takes ages to fix. They are forcing rent still showing their lack of care for their lodgers and their only interest in money. Doubt I will see my deposit again. The accommodation was nice but everything about the staff and people running it was absolutely disgusting. I am appalled.

I wouldn’t recommend this place as they are still making students pay for rent, knowing that most students are unable to stay in the accommodation. Other accommodation has allowed students to terminate their tenancy if they wish to do so.

Attempting to get anything fixed was usually a waste of time due to the fact it either would take weeks or wouldn't even happen. The staff were rude. I would not recommend this at all

John is literally the best person you could have working for maintenance. He is also so friendly and helpful. If it wasn't for his excellent customer service I am not sure how I would have managed. I had serious plumbing issues with my toilet for 3/4 of the first trimester and I had initially felt as though my complaints were not being heard as I was told to "use the common area bathroom" which completely defeated the point of me paying for a deluxe studio. After two weeks of that same response I met John who immediately worked assiduously to solve the problem. Despite that issue I do love living here and have been recommending it to other students.

staff are just mean plain and simple. they seem to have bullying tendencies and can be very aggressive and accusatory. ie, you make a mistake with something and then they will blame every incident on you. during a fire drill one of the staff shouted at everybody because they were standing in the wrong place. also they are very strict and there is just far too many rules. i know you need to have policies but they go a bit far and if you slip up with something expect a passive aggressive email very shortly after. just not good treatment of the residents.

I do NOT recommend this accommodation for anyone with disabilities! I have a disability that means that I can occasionally suffer from low energy levels, making it near impossible for me to walk up and down the stairs. I had made the management aware of this 6 months before my tenancy began, but was placed on the top floor, and when the left broke down I had to walk up the entire flight of stairs, resulting in the next day me being bed bound. I made a complaint to the staff and Kelly, the hall manager gave me nothing but abuse, and accused me of lying about sending my information to her, but luckily I have proof of this. When I first came to collect my keys, I was met with passive aggressive comments from Jules, one of the receptionist. This has led to a very hostile environment, making it near impossible to request anything to be done in fears of rude remarks and bullying. I would NOT recommend CB1! Peter Taylor offers the same facilities but has a MUCH nicer environment :)

On the first day of moving in since there was a £900 advance rent payment that had to be paid before collecting my keys which I did not know about. I explained to the receptionist that I had not been informed and knew nothing about it and she proceeded to patronise me telling me I ‘should be checking my emails regularly’ which I always do. Then upon moving into the studio the shower was broken and the window was also broken it could not be opened which had to be fixed by maintenance. The place was also extremely dusty. The heat within the flat is almost unbearable even with the window wide open and using an electric fan that I’ve bought it’s like living in a slow cooker. There is a bus stop outside beneath my window and from around 5pm to 5am every single night so far there has been people loitering around the bus stop screeching and screaming all night. and i mean SCREAMING. So yeah, not a great experience so far.

Just moved into s deluxe studio in Bragg cb1. First impressions.. Good but not excellent. Walked in and it was still dirty with black hairs on my door and shower. Filled a form out to say what i did and didn't have and they said that they don't include those things (why put it on the list?) The Internet is good for your phone but hard and a faff to get on your computer. Social space is good with there being a cinema and reading area. The location is also good with it being 15 mins from town and uni and there is shops, cinema, arcades and bowling 2 min walk away. Overall it's good for my first day, the only thing I'm not happy about it the cleanliness. Also i had to pay 1000 deposit up front which they hadn't informed me about.

I've stayed in CB1 for two years now (first yr in Crick and second in Bragg). I would say i was lucky to get a disabled room as my first room (it was massive and had very little problems in my first year). My second room however was way too small (the space between the table and bed was literally one step). The shower constantly was blocked with a dirty shower head provided. The bottom of the toilet was rusty however they demanded I pay for the damage when i left?? The fire alarms went off CONSTANTLY whether or not they were testing it or if it was a real fire (no body would know!). The lift in Bragg was broken occasionally and smelt v bad not to mention the vermin issue happening in in the basement by the bins. No on made and effort to clean the bin area. The washing machine tore my clothes and a towel which i wasnt happy about as I paid to wash my clothes (the dryer also did not dry the clothes properly) and there were only 2 dryers and 2 washing machines for the WHOLE block.

Paid for a deluxe studio. Apartment itself is cramped but not terrible. The room smelled horribly and cigarette wafted through the windows at all hours of the day and night as there is an ash tray at the bus stop directly under the apartment windows, but its too hot in the Summer NOT to keep the windows open. Apartment came with a reeking dust pan covered in cigarette burns and no brush. The toilet seat was broken. Constant issues with water and pluming. Shower never worked properly even after several complaints. If you live in the "deluxe studio" you are forced to cart a heavy vacuum from the front office through courtyard and up to the apartment every time you would like to use it. Management is very unpleasant and unwilling to help and often hostile. Very disorganized system of management. If you do decide to rent here (I don't recommend) ALWAYS double check payments have gone through. If payments do not go through (by no fault of your own) they will make you pay a late fee anyhow.

The halls are a good value for money and there is 24hr security however when it comes to maintenance jobs they are not always carried out as quickly as we would like.

Halls are located in a good location, being 15 minutes away from the city centre and ARU. However, management do not care when you have a problem! Some of my flatmates refused to tidy the kitchen to the point where nobody was willing to cook or sit in there because of how disgusting it was. Management did nothing about this situation and the most they will do is "flat inspections" which you are told about a week in advance and so therefore have time to tidy up the flat. Some management staff are friendly but they can be hostile and it can be intimidating when you have a problem which needs reporting. They also did nothing about fairly heavy drug use in my flat which made living there very uncomfortable and because of this I went home every weekend. I dropped out of ARU after my first term and this was significantly influenced by my living situation. I would not recommend CB1. It does have good points but the cons definitely outweigh the pros of living there.

What an awful company, I would never recommend them. Seems like they’re VERY quick to take your money, especially demand for it, but extremely slow to return your refundable amounts. Completely overpriced for what it is. If they’re so ‘short staffed’ to be able to even reply to my email about my money back, employ more people or stop standing around chatting in the office all day and actually get on with things! They have about 2/3 people in the office doing management work, and employ too little people to take on the amount of work that they have. The funny thing is, I've emailed them before and they replied within the same day, even the next hour, if not the next day, yet when I emailed a complaint or asking for my money back, they take over a week to reply (still haven’t heard anything.) and when I telephone: ‘sorry but we’re short staffed’? No, I think it’s just crap organisation skills, get yourself sorted before you try to manage the biggest accommodation site in Cambridge.

It’s brilliant. Great people and great facilities

Halls are great except the fire alarm goes off all the time

Was okay place to live, wasn’t well kept after and student advisers and office workers were unoleasent sometimes

I don't live in halls however have friends who have lived here and really loved it and feel it added to their experience

Lived here for two years only improvement would be better kitchen area (e.g. sofas and general environment could be more cosy)

Ive not been accepted for an accommodation

great value halls with big beds

I paid for the deluxe apartment student housing in Crick 1 CB1, the word deluxe should not even be used when describing this cramped room but that's a small issue compared to the awful smell of smoke and the filthy room I moved into. The worst problem is there is NEVER enough hot water if you are lucky enough to have ANY hot water - the hot water issue has been ongoing since I moved in and when you call the housing department you a nasty lady with a very bad attitude telling you someone is looking into it with an additional snide comment at the end of the conversation. My advice to anyone coming to Anglia Ruskin is run don't walk away from this accommodation it's not even close to worth the cost which is particularly high!!!

Only just moved in but first impressions count. Premises team are friendly and helpful as were the reception staff. Overall, kitchen/communal flat spaces were moderately clean, bedroom/ensuite was better. Social areas, laundry etc were very clean and welcoming. Mixture of 1st/2/3rd yr students, everyone seems friendly too. Compared to rooms at some of the uni I’ve seen, CB1 is luxury !

overall, it’s alright I don’t fully regret living here. I have the worse flatmates ever but i’ll review the accommodation. The room has good facilities but it wasn’t clean when I moved in. It was so dusty and the mattress is horrifically uncomfortable. Good sized bed, wardrobe and desk and a decent ensuite though. I live on the station/bus stop side and it’s awful. I can’t explain how dreadful it is. The sound reverberates throughout your room and walls when the window is open. When the window is closed it’s not any better. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night assuming my window was opened because of the noise but it was closed so the windows are awful at keeping the sound out. I get woken up at 6am everyday as I have bus stop directly beneath my window. I can’t get to sleep until past midnight when the buses stop and then I frequently get woken up around 3am from drunks outside. Everything is only okay.

I am a first year student who received an email from the managers informing me I had been receiving noise complaints from other residents when I hadn’t made any noise in weeks. In this email I was informed of a drug use that I was supposedly involved in (in which I have never and will never do) as well as the “bullying” of flatmates. When I spoke to the manager I was informed of behaviour that my boyfriend had also done, which I can assure you never happened as I have been with him during every stay in CB1 he has had. Was disgusted at the lack of understanding the old manager had for me as he seemed to believe every word that my flatmates said, yet refused to listen to anything I had to say. The security guards once also tried to “bar” by boyfriend from CB1 when he was trying to open the door when it wouldn’t open for us after a night out? Beautiful building with great location yet senior and security staff weren’t pleasant at all. The ladies in reception were always lovely and polite.

Awful. Never go to any student accommodation in Cambridge, specially if you have a romantic relationship with someone. They will be really mean to you and won't talk to you personally but call you in at the Anglia/CRIC office immediately. Only one member of the staff is actually nice and fixes your problems the others will just be really fake towards you. A friend had one of her friends coming over and said friend got yelled at for no reason. Also you never know who your flat mates may be and they also may be mean and leave the kitchen dirty which you will have to pay for. If I could I would have moved after two months to a flat and never have gone to a student accommodation.

In all honesty for what you;re pay you're better of staying in peter taylor or swinhoe. Because the service i received from CB1 and what a pay isn't compatible. They will do anything to get money out of you. ANYTHING!. So think about it the rent is already expensive, you pay £250 deposit, plus £150 application fee, £50 utility fee and your rent, Cambridge is crazy expensive so if you don't get a lot of student finance you will struggle. on top of that i am letting you know now you will be fined for the smallest thing ever. And if you're black trust me you'll get it worse even if you clean your mess and turn into an anti social loser, you will get penalised and bullied. talking from experience, they won't even listen to what you have to say, and i'm not one to pull out the race card, but i'm talking from what i have experienced.

Great value for money, but management is awful.. the building is so noisy all the time (been threatened with an asbo) and the fire alarms can go off multiple times a day which is so dangerous as people dont go outside. Walls are paper thin and when you do complain about blasting music at 5am nothing is done. If you want a place which never sleeps come to crick house!

Not great value for money although one of the "cheapest" student accommodation places available. The staff sometimes rude and don't do very much to help you. Upon moving out, they take full advantage of taking as much of your deposit back as possible; and I'm not the only person who's had issues with this. Overall, they just want your money and as much of it as possible.

I have lived in Crick house for all three years of my course and I love it! I made some friendships that will last a lifetime. The rooms are nice you get a 3/4 bed and a bathroom so you don't need to worry about anyone else's mess. The kitchen can be a problem if you're living with messy people like I was in my first year... and difficult or loud flatmates aren't really dealt with by the accommodation team so noise/mess can be an issue. However I now live with only the girls from my first year and some new boys but the staff have placed us with students similar to us so we have no problems! The security team is much better than it was when I started uni (2014). The staff working in the office are lovely but can take a while to get anything fixed. If you're a fresher I would 100% recommend living here as you will meet amazing people who are always ready to have a good time! but you will need to be prepared for the noise levels.

Too expensive. Too many strict rules. They have some privacy violation issues.

Best thing about the place is the internet. Don't stay here if you're disabled, either.

I absolutley love the team at cb1 aswell as the actual accommodation. It's in a perfect position for students who travel long distances home as you are next to the station. I love this place and I'm living here again!! 11/10

Okay, SO. When I first moved in I loved it, it's modern, it's red, it's nice. The common room is great, although nobody reaaaally uses it... Staff didn't fix our broken fridge freezer or extractor fan, blocked sink and blocked alllll year after so many complaints - so you don't get everything you pay for. The price to wash your clothes is £3.90 for one wash and dry, but it doesn't really wash your clothes or dry them at all so that sucks. I'd hand wash if I were you - only I couldn't, due to a blocked sink that never got fixed. The fire alarms are A N N O Y I N G and sometimes go off at like 3am for a good 20 minutes. At LEAST 3 times a week. The neighbourhood is loud and keeps me up pretty much every night. The "24 hour security" don't actually answer their phone through the night. The buses and trains are so, SO loud and literally wake me up at 6am every single morning. The blinds don't actually block out enough light either. So overall, you don't sleep and everything breaks. Say no.

CB1 is generally good with the rooms being a good price, less than most private and uni accommodations , quite close to the uni and transport links. the quality of the accommodation is good better than most here in Cambridge certainly for the same price. However there are some issues like yes its close to the university but crossing station road at peak times is quite dangerous, and yes it is close to transport links, however, those who are placed station side do say that they are kept up and woken up by the trains and busses. the quality of the rooms/ flats varies from flat to flat with differing quality of kitchen equipment and seating, The worst things are the lack of washing machines, 4 washers and driers for crick house causing people to do their laundry at obscene hours and the internet which is useless it is over priced and struggles to load youtube i have been forced to go to uni to work as the internet cant load up more than one tab at a time.

The best place for the best student experience! Met most of my friends there.

Nice distance from uni, comfortable rooms and cambridge. Staff good as they sort any issues quickly. Fantastic common room

Fire alarm goes off all the time, 20 minute walk from town centre but good value for money & has good transport (train station & buses just outside)

Nice digs next to the train station and a 20 min walk to the uni and the city centre. Plenty of shops and stuff to do in surrounding area. Bad signal though (Vodafone)

Where do I start? I'm all for a party but the area is extremely loud. I was top floor which was extremely hot and I had to have a window open. However this meant I could hear all the arguing going on below, partying etc until early hours. There was 0 control. I had a broken toilet which took 2 weeks for any one to sort out properly. I also had a broken oven which I was left without for 3 weeks (broken on arrival) and was given a cheap microwave to live with. Not great considering the £600 a month rent I was paying. And then, when I went home for the summer (but was still paying rent) all my remaining belongings were removed into storage (without my permission) and I still haven't got them back (including a large flat screen tv). And to top it off they moved someone else in my flat when i was at home without me knowing until they told me I couldn't go back for a week as someone else was living there. DO NOT STAY HERE. IT IS A JOKE. I am even taking legal advice on the matters.

Value for money: I'm a tight Yorkshireman so anything in the South is too expensive. Location: CB1 is a really nice development, lots of stuff nearby, and not too far from uni. Hall management/cleaning: Had no problems so far, we're a bit more civilised in Aston than the animals in Crick so it stays quite pleasant in between cleaner visits Common Room/Social spaces: Shame every building doesn't have a common room, we do like to socialize too, and there isn't so much a living area, just a couple of sofas in the kitchen. But,me make it work and it's really not an issue. Internet: 2 devices is not enough, and I really begrudge paying extra for things. The standard package is decent though, not had any major issues with the download speed and the connection is consistent enough. Overall: Pretty happy to be fair, yeah it's a bit pricey, but it's a nice place to live and not too far from anywhere of importance.

It's an ok accomodation, although the staff are friendly, they do take a long while to follow up on any issues you may have. The internet is very overpriced and only allows you to use 2 devices unless you pay an extra £15 to get 4 more. There is also only one working ethernet port in each room. The fire alarm system is horrible and can go off 3 to 5 times a day at worst. Once every couple of weeks at best. You never know whether there is actually a fire or not and become desensitised to it. Cleaning and repair over the summer period are also almost none existent. The front doors also keep breaking far too easily!

I love it, I love the staff they were great and I made great friends and the location was great because it was close to the shopping centres and uni

Wifi is awful, maintenance teams take ages to deal with problems, constant fire alarms at ridiculous times!