Saint Anselm Hall Reviews

St Anselm Hall is far more than a place to sleep. The hall provides a unique communal experience which, in turn, feeds into strong pastoral provision. At St Anselm, you are known as an individual but are also part of something much greater. Going to dinner together every night brings the hall together in a way which is unrivaled and the opportunities offered to students, many of whom are fundamental to the running of the hall, really are unique. If you are looking for a small hall with a lot going on, then Slems is a definite winner.

St Anselm Hall isn't just a place to sleep in between lectures and parties, it's a home. For anyone interested in balancing the academic life with a social life it's the perfect hall. When I moved in it was the first year of it being mixed gender (although trans women had been allowed prior to 2017). The returning students (2nd and 3rd years) looked after us freshers so well, they provided a community in which we developed. The traditions may be seen as outdated by people looking in from the outside, but in reality they serve a greater purpose than making us look like Harry Potter. We have formal dinners because they allow for proper dinner time discussion, if people sit and eat together they bond so quickly and tightly it's something that dining alone in a gloomy flat in Fallowfield won't ever replicate. We also have our own bar (the cheapest in Manchester), gym, squash court, snooker table, chapel, music room, the list goes on! I loved every year in Slems, and highly reccommend it.

One of the best halls at the University of Manchester. Everyone’s so friendly so it’s so easy to make friends. It has a very strong cohesive community feel. It even has its own bar that parties take place in ! Definitely choose St Anselm Hall if you’re planning to come to the University of Manchester

Slems is an amazing place to live, I’ve lived here for a year now and I will be coming back next year. It sounds odd to come back but that is the way Slems is. 40% of students are returners because people love it. If you want an experience of a “college” like Oxford (but better). There is an amazing community feel, everyone knows each other because there are only 130 people, as opposed to Owen’s Park where there are thousands. There are formal dinners every night (Mon to Fri) where you have to wear a gown (like a graduation gown) and be on time, but it’s actually a really good idea because it brings people together at the same time so you don’t just stick to your friends, and you can get to know everyone. There is a gym, a squash court, a snooker room, a TV room, a library, and a chapel with drums and piano for practice. There is also a really cheap bar which you can work in! Events like karaoke, themed socials and comedy nights. There are so many ways to be involved, rarely boring!

takes the most time to reach any leactures from this location even though it is physically closer than fallowfield, as well as horrendous formal dinners forcing you to be present at exactly 6 15pm otherwise you will not be served dinner

The hall was very old and run-down as well as facilities. The heating was centralised so you either got frozen or suffocated, and it broke down often. People were nice but they lacked bathroom etiquette. You can find poop stains and even poop on the toilet seat (amazed by the fact that university students do not know how to use the toilets). People never flush the toilets so the bathrooms are a nightmare. But cleaning is only twice a week so very often we had to tolerate the super gross bathrooms for days. The kitchen is as well dirty and filthy as people never took out the rubbish when it was their turn, and housekeeping would just issue warning but did nothing to the bags of trash. Food was always stolen from the fridge but nothing had been done to stop the situation. You can report issues to a team of people called Reslife but they would simply tell you to report on the online maintenance system. Food was average but usually bad. In overall bad experience.

Best place to live in Manchester by far, totally unique. Lots of traditions like daily formals, gowns and chapel- a very communal atmosphere. People are great, excellent facilities, quality rooms and a very cheap student run bar. And it's not Dalton Ellis

St Anselm Hall is an amazing place to live! It has great sense of community, people are very friendly and helpful! There are always people in common room which is well lit and has cozy armchairs. The hall has it's own bar which is open 3 days a week and is quite nice and cheap and where social events are frequently run. The rooms are quite big and have plenty of storage room and are just as good as in other halls. There's a library which is accessible 24/7, which has lots of books, several desktop computers and a printer. Common Spaces ( common room, corridors, kitchens and bathrooms) are cleaned twice a week by cleaning staff. Location is quite nice, there is a park in couple minutes walk, and hall itself is surrounded by greenery. Main Campus is 20 min walk. North campus is a bit far but there are bus stops right outside the hall which will take you to North campus ☺️

When i first walked into this hall, i was horrified at how old it was, the corridors are dark and it was very quiet. The rooms are pretty big, especially in summerfield, and there is a lot of storage and wardrobe space. However, the rooms are very old, carpets are quite dirty, and there are lots of gaps in the walls. The ground floor had cockroaches in, and building maintanance came round various times to clear them but they kept coming back. No social space, except the bar which is quite good and cheap. Kitchens are quite modern, but no nowhere to sit, and the catering is not great, often went hungry in this hall! Victoria park as an area is horrid, don't want to walk around at night alone as will probs get mugged, or at least followed home, which is horrible About a 25 minute walk to main Uni campus which isn't bad. Overall, not great but okay.

This is a collegiate experience in an otherwise ordinary university - the community is tight-knit. It's catered every day of the week which allows people to get to know each other very easily. The hall has a lot of traditions that seem quirky and unnecessary at first, but do a lot to bring the residents together. It has its' own gym, squash court, snooker room, ping-pong table as well as large common rooms and its' own bar - The Cellar Club - run by the students. The socials are very frequent and well attended during term time which brings the community together even more. Overall I'd say this is the best place to live in Manchester, at least the best university accommodation available.

History, camaraderie and intellectual stimulation - that plus the bar makes this place rock!