Wilmslow Park, Manchester

I love it here, the office staff are really nice and the social areas are great and really big.

It honestly makes me sick when I think about the fact I am in debt over this atrocious accommodation. Horrifically high cost, misleading gym advertising, lazy maintenance, awful social spaces and the security is VERY lacking. Anyone can get in. On top of that the management doesn't give a f*ck about you. They just want your money and won't hesitate with threat of eviction if you are a little late on payment. To ANYONE reading this, do yourself a favor and find another accommodation. I ignored the bad reviews when I was searching and it bit me in the ass. You can find much better for much less.

Where to start. The amount of parcels that have been "misplaced" here this year is untrue. It took 3 months of constant pestering for them to correct my tenancy agreement before I moved in with staff telling me that "oh yeah I've just sent that email over to you". Its beyond a joke. Staff do not respond quickly to emails. i emailed them with a problem 3 times and got a reply 2 months later. That is not acceptable. My room was not properly cleaned when i moved in as the drains in my shower were blocked and the sink was blocked with hair. The quality of the rooms is not worth the money that they are charging. They're out dated and nothing like the photos. Constant building work happens starting from about 7 and some evenings carried on until 10pm while I was trying to revise for my exams. the location is good and they try to spruce it up by putting new shint communal areas everywhere - I'd rather have a nicer room thanks. Really REALLY dissapointed

I spent my first year here after doing a Foundation year and hearing good things from friends who had spent that predegree at Wilmslow Park. I'm from Manchester anyway so getting MMU halls would have been impossible as they prioritise students who have come from further so I booked private through Wilmslow Park. First few days were fine - when we moved in, there were a lot of faults like light fittings not working, toilet leaks, loose carpet fittings etc. Bit annoying considering they had all of summer to sort things out. Me and my friend (we emailed to be put in the same flat, thank god they arranged it for us - would probably have lost the will to live had I not had her living there too!) deep cleaned the kitchen the day we moved in, found all sorts of grime and even bits of rice and food lying around, again suggesting it hadn't been cleaned like these places supposedly are. Bit annoying. Complaints got registered on the online system and 8 months down the line some things like missing freezer drawers haven't been fixed. Obv not a major issue but, still?! We found out a week and a half into living there (soooo many temptations nearby food wise so it took us a while to cook properly) that the cooker hob didn't work, again, a bit annoying. Two weeks in we had a blue bottle infestation... Not just a few flies. About thirty or forty in the kitchen. Now this was not at all our fault - no rubbish gets left in the flat, we would clean the communal area properly every three weeks max etc. it seemed like they'd come from in the strip light fitting but at times it looked like they were coming from below the cupboards. We went to reception to sort it and for three days they just kept sending people up with fly spray. Fly spray is great for killing flies but it does cock all to solve where they're repeatedly coming from every day!! This kept happening and they didn't do anything major until my dad called and threatened to alert environmental health! After that, things weren't too bad, just the odd maintenance issue here and there. I've got friends who've had cockroach problems and there were rumours of rats being spotted occasionally too but not sure how true the latter was. The rooms at Wilmslow Park have been pretty basic but you don't expect much from halls. The ensuite is a massive bonus, and a 3/4 size bed was a nice thing to have. The decor is pretty basic as you'd expect but they're renovating over summer 2015 (typical). I had a problem with my shower just before Christmas where the drains got blocked - spent 45 minutes plunging it and as a result all sorts of grime and shit came up, a million percent more than what I could have created in the three months of being there. I had to get reception to unblock it twice but haven't had problems since.After that my shower head completely fell off the wall and it took two days to fix. Marvellous. The communal area is basic too, with some appliances on and off working. We've had leaks as well as the fly problem there. I wouldn't rate Wilms for student experience - as a first year MMU student, I felt miles away from what was going on. I know it's only a £1 bus ride away to the university campuses but when it's the first few weeks before you've started your course and you don't really know people outside of halls yet, it's difficult to make pals that aren't in the same place you are! I've legitimately made 3 friends in these halls, all only because they're on my course or my flat mates course. No one seems to say hi or let on - could just be down to our block or whatever. Haven't got a clue who lives in any of the other 3 flats on our floor, never mind the floors below or above. Music n stuff from other blocks gets a bit annoying at times because it's kinda like - we aren't in party kinda halls where it's normal or constant, so when it goes off at 3am when it's deadly silent otherwise it's a bit of a pain. The staff are quite friendly but upon emailing they've not been 100% helpful. My dad emailed regarding the problems we had during the first few weeks (I'm talking a list of 20+ maintenance and cleanliness problems) and they refused to refund any kind of rent/money as it was apparently "habitable" - habitable spread over a two week period, yes but had it been in the space of a few days there's no way that would have been the case. The £250 booking fee/"deposit" gets taken out of your rent payments per term - I and around 5/6 other people I asked weren't aware of this and we were all under the impression that we'd get that money back at the end of the tenancy... Yknow... The way a so called deposit works?? You also have to pay £350 which is for the three weeks you'll probably move in before your course starts. £120+ is so steep for the accommodation. I honestly do feel like I've been somewhat robbed this year. My boyfriend stays in halls in Salford, pays less than £90 a week and has never had any problems. Same with people in MMU halls which are mum more basic than these. Cheaper rent yet less problems, how does that work out?? I do wonder what exactly I'm paying £5300+ for! I know this is a lengthy post but I honestly wish I'd had something this insightful to read when it came to choosing halls. I wouldn't recommend Wilms, really. It's been fine for what it is (as a basic accommodation) but its daft expensive and a million miles from the way they describe it on the website!

I love my room in wilmslow park and my flat is lovely but the walls are made of paper. Being in F block and overlooking the park, all I can hear 24/7 is Oxford Road; the busiest bus route outside of London. Buses, cars, people's conversations on the street plus the sirens of ambulances and police cars- all this, despite being four floors up. That's not to mention the noise from inside the building. All the doors squeak and bang (although i am glad they are fire doors) and I can hear people's drunken conversations as they thump up and down the stairs. I understand that uni, for some people, involves partying and alcohol but being on a course that has 35 hours of contact a week, I need my sleep. I hate having to have to listen to thumping bass all night long and people screaming and shouting. There is always some sort on mess on the landing in the morning that I have to avoid. I remember coming downstairs to find a massive hole punched out of the wall of our block, near the postboxes. This did not fill me with confidence of security. It is surprisingly easy to be let into the building without a fob. I've also had people banging on my flat door so hard that it splintered it near the lock. The door did hold but again I was rather worried. The hole in the wall was speedily repaired however but I don't know what was done about the culprits as there is no security camera in that corridor. However, on the nights I have called security, they have responded quickly. Ultimately, I strongly suggest that all acting and nursing students or any other students with long contact hours are put together in halls for the future. I do not wish anyone else to suffer the lack of sleep I have with such a demanding course.

Stayed 2 years in a row in a standard single room first then a premium standard double room second. Laundry services could do with improving, security is very good, right next to many bus routes, right above a choice of 3 supermarkets, a pound shop, Superdrug, wetherspoons and cafe Nero. Free gym (ONLY IF YOU BOOK THROUGH MMU). We booked privately and didn't realise you have to pay for the gym unless it's through mmu. 10 minute walk to mmu, 5 minutes to UOM or 5 minute bus for £1 on the 142 or 143 buses. Also a 141 bus straight to the birley fields campus if you're there for £1. There's also a bus straight to Piccadilly train station from opposite the entrance for 80p which I didn't realise until my second year there. Car park is £600 for the year but there's limited free parking on Rusholme place on the other side of the halls. Overall very good and I'd recommend.

If you're looking for a place to stay that means you can get up as late as possible and still make it in to uni then go for it, close as you'd like. If however you want to be part of the manchester student population prepare to spend a lot of time on the bus to and from fallowfield and withington. The gym and pool membership built into the building don't come free either, unless of course you're a Manchester Met student in which case it's all yours, sorry Manchester Uni students.