Chapter South Bank, London

I moved to chapter Southbank while doing my second degree. Having not lived in London, with no family support close by, Chapter Southbank was appealing for its central location, safety and community aspect. It was also appealing to me as someone in their late twenties as I was not keen to go into the regular uni halls. I had a great first year at Chapter and rebooked within months, the staff was kind and bent over backwards to make sure everyone was looked after at the property which made it easy to look past the building flaws that come with aging (for example re-occuring mold in the bathrooms due to the plastic they are built out of, no air conditioning in the rooms). I am sad to say Chapter has taken a turn for the worse this year with its new management. They seem to ignore their clients (students) needs and are focused on making money. Having fired half of their old staff they kept the only staff member that is rude and unhelpful. The new staff have implemented an extremely strict guest policy not allowing guests to ever be in your room without you (making it difficult for far away guests to visit) yet Chapter is keen to make money and Airbnb's empty rooms to strangers who are not students... They will not let you sublease in the summer when your room is too hot to live in but will allow you to move out early (without refund) and rent it for you. The front gate took 6 months to fix and is still not exactly safe taking its time to open and close. The mirror in the gym was cracked for several months and while they advertise community events in the skylounge I have not witnessed one with the new staff. The new property manager has told me he is not interested in making this a communtiy as such and claims the strict guest policy is for the safety of others. Yet, I have seen staff evict young women at 9pm into the streets of London, not allow law students a one or two day move out extension to finish exams and even have had some of my POC friends experience racist comments. The only competent caring members of staff at the property are Ibriham the maintenance man (who I have seen be bossed around by other staff) but who works hard to make sure your dated rooms try to fulfill your needs and the security guard Daniel who is one of the few security guards who does not sleep on shift and has dealt with security threats appropriately. I have tried to escalate all my concerns on the survey and to management but they don't seem to care. If you have the money to pay for Chapter Southbank I would highly recommend spending it elsewhere, properties like "UNCLE" Elephant and Castle have property management, security and are 10 minute walk from Chapter without the drama of incompetent, rude staff who care too much about the non-important matters. Please do not believe the reviews on their website or facebook as they do not allow anyone to write them and take off the bad ones.

Great Suffolk Street is right in the centre of London, with brilliant transport links to pretty much everywhere. The highlight is the amazing common room with 360degrees view of London, recently refurbished with pool tables and TVs. There is a newly refurbished study room, gym and laundrette, which are all brilliant too. The 5 person flats are clean, functional, the kitchen has everything you need and the bedrooms making great use of the space with the en suite. The management/on sight staff are so friendly and helpful, and arrange a variety of mixers so you can meet other people in the block. The maintenance man is a legend.