Cook and Llewellyn Mews Reviews

Price is amazing but pretty much everything else is s*** tbh. There are no washing machines so we have to walk to another accommodation to wash stuff and collect our post from there too. It’s really far from the centre of campus and we have to walk up ‘cardiac hill’ for 15 mins to get there. There are only 30 people in each building so we know each other really well but we’re also pretty isolated and there’s no communal areas. WiFi is flakey af. And I’m pretty sure there’s a silverfish infestation cos they’re everywhere which is really gross. Only decent features are price, proximity to wetherspoons and the 24 hour garage next door. Pretty much just live in Lafrowda if you can.

Overall the halls is good value for money. It's essentially the one of the cheapest accomodations around, and it has everything you need. Rooms are comfortable, 2 bathrooms between 5 people is not bad at all and the kitchens are cleaned regularly. It is on a road with locals, and they often complain about noise (which I am not blaming them for, some of them have children); however, naturally a student block is going to have parties that run until late. Often these parties get shut down due to noise complaints. Also, this accommodation is a fair walk from town (20 minutes), and campus (15-20 minutes). That doesn't sound too bad, but it is further than most other halls to campus and town. This also makes things such as food shopping more difficult. However, there is the 24/7 Esso petrol station (albeit slightly expensive!). Location and also often means certain students complain about being a bit isolated and find it harder to meet other students compared to students more central.

I'm having the time of my life living in Cook Mews! There aren't that many of us in a block compared to Birks or Lafrowda, but this allows us to get to know each other extremely well. I got along with everyone in the block, especially my 4 flatmates. People in Llewellyn are good fun as well (though none of them pronounce 'Llewellyn' properly!). In terms of location, Cook and Llewellyn are a bit far away from campus; everyday one would have to conquer Birks Hill and Cardiac Hill (no, it's not a myth) in order to get to campus. However, if you are a fitness freak (like one of my blockmates), this should not be a problem at all. Also, if you would like to work out yet you are not motivated enough to go to the gym like me, I'd like to think of climbing cardiac hill as free gym membership. And you'll get used to it, believe it or not! One good thing about Cook and Llewellyn is that there's a 24h shop (Esso) right on the street. Perfect to buy drinks for unplanned nights out!

As they say, you get what you pay for. This halls is on the cheaper end of the scale amongst the halls of Exeter. In terms of location, there is a petrol station open 24/7 which is very near to the halls and comes in handy. However, town is a good 20 minutes walk, and the campus is about 15-20 minutes away. The biggest downside is the fact there is only 80 people in these halls, and the fact its located on a residential street. All in all, I would describe these halls as 'hit or miss'. Because there are not many people in these halls, if you don't get along well with, or have much in common with the people in these halls, you may miss out on the experience of enjoying your halls, but on the other hand if you happen to get along well with them you can have a fantastic experience. So yes, hit and miss.

decent size rooms, clean and a shared lounge/kitchen between four people (very good for halls). but very far from everything and have the big hill each day!

the common rooms are not useful- location and price are very good

I chose this accommodation as it was the very cheapest the university had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the room that was spacious, had convenient facilities and also had good storage space. The smaller student size gives a community feel that means you are bound to form bonds with those in your block and indeed the rest if the building.

Our five people flat allowed us to be social in the kitchen for instance, while still allowing for a lot of privacy in our rooms. I felt able to be very independent and have made a lot of friends in other accommodations as well. The only negatives are cardiac hill and the distance to lectures/town. A lot of other accommodations also have a lot more common space.

Sadly, Cook and Llewellyn aren't very well advertised on Exeter's accommodation website. I applied because they were cheaper and was very pleasantly surprised. The rooms are big with plenty of shelving and storage and you build a close community really quickly with everyone because there are less people in each building than some of the bigger locations.