+ quiet and safe + very nice location (but, as it was stated in one of the previous reviews, it is indeed right that they don't like to cut the grass which looks really strange from ground floor) - you won't get a sleep on the matresses. They seem to be very cheap and everybody struggled with them, so brace yourself for sleeping on the floor on an air matress. However, this is probably not the fault of the management which is helpful and friendly - the heatings do what they want. Sometimes they work, sometimes not.
Firstly, I'm a harsh reviewer, so when I give a score of 7, that's pretty good still. I was honestly, pleased and very comfortable in my apartment. It's relatively spacious, well maintained and decorated, it's quiet and comfortable. The location is excellent in terms of access to shops, bars and restaurants. Carlton Hill is just a couple minutes away. However, there were couple little things that need improving...however I'm be nit picky here. 1. The kitchen counter space is ridiculously small. Good luck if you cook a lot because it'll be a nightmare. This is mainly for the 1 bedroom and studios. Some of the larger shared apartments had larger kitchens. Similar Unite apartments have a kitchen literally 3 times larger (in counter and storage space). 2. Cost is a bit expensive, but not unreasonably so. 3. Location isn't super close to the University of Edinburgh (central), but it's a 20min walk or 10min bus ride, which wasn't a problem at all for me, but might be for some. 4. For some reason a lot of the students here seem very anti social. Not all of them obviously, but a lot of non-English speakers keep to themselves. Again not a problem, but if you're expecting a bubbling hall life here this isn't the place for it. 5. Smoke alarms are too sensitive, basically anyone who cooks had to put a plastic bag over their detector because it will go off from even boiling water on the stove top. 6. Bed is too small 7.
Location = excellent Shops, bars, cinema and restaurants all nearby, and within good walking distance to the centre of town/uni. Right beside Calton Hill, gorgeous place to go. Facilities = excellent Cinema room is a great space for having friends over, little gym also handy if you have time. Wifi is really fast and is pretty consistent. They don't like cutting the grass however so the grounds can look untidy. Staff are friendly and do try to help out whenever they can if there are any problems. Really handy to have a reception desk that will sign for packages for you. Generally the place is very quiet as appears to be mostly postgraduates and is not directly on the main road. Have found studying during the day in the flat is grand because the place is quiet. Bedroom in 3-bed flat Pros: Modern. Very well laid out for students, lots of shelf space and big enough desk. Room A has lots of floor space too. Having your own en-suite is brilliant, with hot water available at any time. Lots of storage under the bed. Lighting in the room is very bright. Cons: The bed is only a small double (4" wide). Would suggest you request a room that is not on the ground floor if possible - not much natural light gets into the room as we are overshadowed by buildings, no view out the large window except a brick wall and unkempt grass. Also a ground floor room has been broken into recently as a window was left open. No phone coverage at all in the rooms. Can hear loud water noises from floors above, presumably from flushing toilets - staff said engineers who looked into it couldn't think of a solution to help. 3-bed flat kitchen/living area Pros: Bean bag couches are more comfortable than they initially look. Lovely large picture of Edinburgh on the wall. Hot water on tap at all times for washing dishes etc. Proper oven to cook with and proper freezer. Nice to have a breakfast bar with stools to have somewhere to sit and eat. Cons: Small fridge - not big enough to really share between three people who like to cook. The tv is too high on the wall to be really comfortable to watch as the beanbag chairs are quite low. There are apparently two sizes of 3-bed flats so if you get a bigger flat then you'll have a bigger fridge and the rooms are a better size. Our flat is the smaller size so there is nowhere to store the vacuum cleaner, mop/bucket etc other than along the wall under the tv.
The gateway apartment is a wonderful place to stay in as a student. The rooms were modern and it comes with facilities like a gym, a cinematic room, laundry etc. Overall, I am satisfied with my apartment and I am indeed thankful for the management to be patient with my complains. The only issue I had in this apartment was my noisy neighbours. On one side, I had two boys who are in love with their bass music that somehow had installed music equipments in their room and blasted them nearly every night of every day of every week of every month. It was a never ending complain and it did made my life in this apartment very enduring. However, the management were very kind enough to tackle my problem and as for now, the noise has died down but I am unsure of future events because these boys had the tendency to be stubborn and rekindle their nocturnal ritualistic bass craving music now and then. On the other side was a student who somehow has unpredictable screams and laughter at 4am. He and his girlfriend (i am assuming because there was a female voice with him) would burst out laughing around that time. But once again, the management took care of it and the noise died down. To me, personally, Gateway apartment is an awesome place, but the walls are made of paper and noise travels through it like as if there are no walls at all. And students will be students with their ritualistic nocturnal parties. So everything in this apartment is perfect except the noise. If you wanna pick a room, pick the one at the most end because I was dumb enough to choose one in between two noise making party craving bass loving nocturnal tenants.
