So I love charlton, Been living there since September and so far it's pretty good. Close to town, which is good on nights out when the busses have stopped running or you're simply too drunk to get on one. I feel like being off campus is better because you don't feel like uni is dominating your life. They're comfortable, beds are big, don't know how i'll cope without an en suit next year :/ The social side is good too, there's loads of party's so you get the opportunity to socialise a lot and meet new people. I also got lucky in that i spoke with my flatmates,as well as the flat next door before we moved in and now we have a really close friendship group (3 from my flat and 4 from next door) and we always hang out in my flat. But there are problems. It's dirty, we have a massive white stain on our sofa from before we moved in and they haven't done anything about it, as well as marks on the walls, stains on the carpet and the oven was a grim sight. As well as this, the security is useless, the side gates are always open for anyone to walk in, and i've seen one of the guards asleep in the common room on multiple occasions (the common room is great to be fair). It's also annoying that it's so hot in the flats all the time, but if you leave your window open your room stinks of weed from the courtyard. The washing machines are also useless, overpriced and the reliance on an app is annoying when your phone's dying like mine is and can't handle it :( The wifi is also ABSOLUTELY Terrible. I'm not making it sound great, but honestly i love it, i'm having the time of my life and I think Charlton contributes towards that.
A very useful location for students, between handy shops, 20 min walk to city centre, and several important bus routes on the doorstep. The rooms are nice, for halls, with big beds and nice little en-suite. There is also a fortnightly cleaner for the kitchen. However, overall, Unite are very much focused on getting your money and not offering good value for it. Near the start of term this year, the internet was lost and we were without hot water for several days too. No compensation was given despite students' protests. The security gates were left broken for weeks too. These are just the first examples which spring to mind, but there have been many issues throughout my stay. Also, they give you a number to ring should you wish to make a complaint or call security (a noise issue from neighbours, for example). However, no action is ever taken; you just have to suffer the noise, which can be very frustrating if you need to sleep or study.
Overpriced and poorly run. Gates were broken for long so security was mediocre. Contracts are rigid because its privately owned rather than university owned. Common areas were lacking, no nice outdoor area and incredibly poor laundry room. If you are looking for a filled with fun noisy hall with loads of people to meet I wouldnt recommend this either given that the flats are 6 person max, and after the first few weeks it turns incredibly quiet. the rooms are good though and kitchens are large if that's what youre looking for. I would definitely get something cheaper because the price isnt an indicator of luxury if thats what it looks like on the website.
I had to spend two weeks without a key to get into the building because it was deactivated by mistake and they took a really long time to fix it. It meant that i had to wait to be let in by security for up to 40 minutes late at night. Overall I think that its really badly run and clearly needs more staff.
Simply put the staff that work here are fantastic but the string of problems was unacceptable and there was never a hint in the reduction of our rent. Money thieving management
Had problems with wifi and hot water a couple of times Washing machines are expensive and unreliable! Had my clothes locked in over night, they also tend to eat people's money. There are usually average about 3/4 machines working for 300 people. Not enough. The halls say it is not their responsibility but it is. The gates weren't locking - therefore some of the security was not great for a while. They are way over priced, the halls next door are 2k cheaper and don't seem to have as many problems. The halls haven't got a wild atmosphere but that may be seen as a plus. There aren't really enough people in each flat, recommend putting foreign students together as I'm sure that they would feel more comfortable, having the same language. However interior of the actual rooms is great, a cleaner comes to the kitchen every 2 weeks which makes a difference. Cleanest halls I've come across. The security staff are very helpful and patient! However some of the overall management doesn't seem quite right - hence the problems with the washing machines which they aren't fixing! Location is good, half hour walk into town!
