Cranborne House, Bournemouth

Campus Living Villages, the owners of Cranborne House, have consistently prioritized profits over the well-being and safety of their students. This has been extremely evident throughout the time I have spent there, let us start with the room itself. The walls are paper-thin, you can hear everything in the flat as well as whatever the person in the room next to you is doing. This noise is made louder by the huge gaps on the bottom of all the doors, which also allows dust to accumulate inside your room. There is also silverfish present in pretty much all the rooms, so at least you are not lonely throughout your time at Cranborne House. On arrival, my room had a broken mirror light which only got repaired by the time I had left, and it appeared the toilet was smashed to pieces and glued back together. There were also constant issues with the internet not working or cutting out, this was especially annoying throughout exam week. The kitchen or "social area" of the flat did not come with a toaster or kettle, which was annoying but not that big of a deal compared to the other issues. The floors were damaged, and the couches were ripped, we had leaky pipes and broken hinges on the cupboards. There were two elevators in my wing of the building, with only one of them working throughout the whole time I was there. Construction was also always happening to the roads which created even more noise (yay). The cherry on top is how CLV and Cranborne House has treated their tenants throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of their tenants had left the building and emptied out their rooms in response to the University recommending us to go home. Despite this CLV has demanded students pay their 3rd rent installment and has told us to not return as we will not be given access to our rooms. The large majority of accommodation providers in Bournemouth, on the other hand, have treated their tenants fairly by either waiving or reducing rent fees. Profiteering during a national pandemic is extremely unethical and gives you a good idea of CLV priorities. Cranbourne House only saving grace is their kind and well-mannered staff and receptionists, other than that I would not recommend any accommodation run by CLV. There are many more ethical companies and accommodation providers that are available in Bournemouth for first years even if it costs more, don’t make the same mistake I did.