In comparison to other university halls, the rooms and building is lovely, like it doesn't feel like a prison and I really love my room. I agree that the location is great, and you get a really nice view from most of the windows. The staff in the office are approachable and friendly, however I do feel that there needs to be more and people available during the times that they are away or not in. The social area outside the office does not get used much, and so students in the building don't really mingle or meet new people, but it is a nice place to chill. Yes you can hear people in the stairwell and sometimes parties that go on, but I do think that that is unavoidable considering it is a university accommodation. I am aware of some issues that have occurred throughout the building, such as lack of hot water and such - but the maintenance men are friendly and fix problems like toilet blockages or plugs reasonably quick. Overall, I recommend this place for the location, staff and rooms.
Norwich University of the Arts Hall Rankings
| Pablo Fanque House | #1 |
| Crown Place - Norwich | #2 |
| Heathfield Norwich | #3 |
| All Saints Green | #4 |
| Duke Street Riverside |
Not Ranked* |
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StudentCrowd University Rankings
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In comparison to other university halls, the rooms and building is lovely, like it doesn't feel like a prison and I really love my room. I agree that the location is great, and you get a really nice view from most of the windows. The staff in the office are approachable and friendly, however I do feel that there needs to be more and people available during the times that they are away or not in. The social area outside the office does not get used much, and so students in the building don't really mingle or meet new people, but it is a nice place to chill. Yes you can hear people in the stairwell and sometimes parties that go on, but I do think that that is unavoidable considering it is a university accommodation. I am aware of some issues that have occurred throughout the building, such as lack of hot water and such - but the maintenance men are friendly and fix problems like toilet blockages or plugs reasonably quick. Overall, I recommend this place for the location, staff and rooms.
Read Duke Street Riverside Reviews
Lift is always broken, staff don't care if its the weekend, people getting locked out of their rooms and staff not fixing it till morning, disabled showers never working and if they do, they leak through to below rooms causing extreme water damage, all doors super heavy and I'm able bodied making it super difficult for wheelchair users, light fixtures are just there to look pretty and hang super low so shorter students are always banging their head, floor and ceilings super thin so you can hear the floors above/below you just doing meanil tasks such as walking or talking, kitchen chairs super uncomfortable (another thing there just to look pretty) with super high stools and weird bars instead of a full normal chair which are so uncomfortable to sit on.
Good location, right next to uni buildings and city centre, good WiFi. The rooms are modern with a large desk, the under-bed storage is a bonus. The management of the building is extremely lacking, there are regularly no staff in the office during the office's working hours which causes problems with post being delivered and students being unable to communicate with staff when there is an issue. Some issues ie. maintenance are reported and take weeks to resolve, or are never resolved due to poor communication and organisation from staff. Facilities are ok, only two washing machines and dryers for the whole building, there are regularly issues with there being no hot water, and poor water pressure. The social space is effectively a corridor with chairs and a TV, no one uses it as anything other than to get to the main accommodation block. There are no arranged student socials or things to get involved with which would be expected at this price range. Overall not worth the price.
Lift frequently breaking, making higher floor living for disabled students harder. Lack of regular office staff so post often not able to be delivered. Lack of general communication. While the location is really central to university buildings, the lack of communication from the accommodation team and the safety issues such as melted through wiring for the ovens and accessibility issues regarding lifts, you'll need to weigh this up in your decision.
_Pros_ Good location near NUA. Amazon Locker in the Premier Inn. Wifi good. TV in common area. Mattresses surprisingly comfy. Little electric heaters in rooms are very toasty, good for cold weather. _Cons_ There’s about 5 hours on a night where the building is unstaffed, the security guy turns up around midnight. No offence to the daytime staff but they’re a bit useless. Parcels get missed and they’re never there when you need them (the cleaning lady is a sweetie though) Water is a nightmare. Left in winter without any hot water, staff didn’t apologise or explain for days. No compensation. They couldn’t care less if it’s out of working hours. Water pressure unpredictable. Lift always broken. Building is not accessible. In order to access the building you NEED there to be office staff there. Front door is hard to open and I’m able bodied, lift can’t fit a wheelchair. Paramedics hate it. Would leave longer complaint but I’ve run out of characters.
In comparison to other university halls, the rooms and building is lovely, like it doesn't feel like a prison and I really love my room. I agree that the location is great, and you get a really nice view from most of the windows. The staff in the office are approachable and friendly, however I do feel that there needs to be more and people available during the times that they are away or not in. The social area outside the office does not get used much, and so students in the building don't really mingle or meet new people, but it is a nice place to chill. Yes you can hear people in the stairwell and sometimes parties that go on, but I do think that that is unavoidable considering it is a university accommodation. I am aware of some issues that have occurred throughout the building, such as lack of hot water and such - but the maintenance men are friendly and fix problems like toilet blockages or plugs reasonably quick. Overall, I recommend this place for the location, staff and rooms.
Honestly I do not recommend anyone live here. The pipes always have something wrong with them, hot water left off for days at a time. People getting stuck in lifts often or the lift just not working at all. And no staff in sight to get a hold of in emergency. The office staff are dead set on shifting blame and being defensive. Ovens with melted faulty wiring. H***** needles found outside. Not accessible at all for wheelchair users due to lifts never working. Cracks opening up everywhere that we’ll probably be charged for when the deposits are due to come back. I’m not sure I can list all of the issues we’ve had. Students having to call the police as the security either hasn’t shown up or is incompetent. Lights falling out of sockets. Toasters burning. Sound dampening awful between floors you can hear above and below you just doing menial tasks.
The location and overall living quality is good. It is a safe, well situated building a short walk away from the centre, shops and class. However, there has been a lack of care with the property management. The elevator has broken numerous times, causing frustration to those on higher floors. There has been heating and water issues, only being fixed working-days after. Some peoples showers don't work properly, some radiators, some taps. The sound proofing is also not that good - you can hear classes on the ground floor which vibrates the walls and becomes annoying. Very expensive, but you're paying for the fact it is a brand new building, not for the quality of how it was furnished - expect things to not work properly.
I live on the first floor. The accommodation is really great in terms of location, but everything else is pretty bad. Since I'm on the first floor, we can regularly hear the acting students as their classroom is below us. It vibrates my whole room and wakes me up early on my days off. The elevators are broken 99% of the time and there is no wheelchair-accessible room on the first floor. The building is already falling apart and its only the second year its been standing. If you go here, take photos of absolutely everything. Some of the ceilings are cracked on other floors, some people have had their shower doors fall off, some peoples radiators do not work. You can tell the people at the front desk this, but sometimes they're not fixed for days. There was one time in the building where we didn't have hot water for 4 days because they refused to get someone in on the weekend because that's their time off. Its not the only time we have had no hot water either.