James Lighthill House

JLH was one of the older accommodations in comparison to some of the newer ones like SPW. I had an ensuite room and shared a kitchen. The room itself was average and had all the necessary furnishings like desk, bed, wardrobe, shelf etc. It was convenient having Kings Cross as the closest station as most tube lines run from there as well as overground.

The location was overall very good (very close to bus station and King's Cross tube station), despite not being that close to the main campus compared to other halls (20min walk). My room maintained an ideal temperature during the winter months and although it was located on the first floor there was no disturbing traffic/car noise. Kitchen appliances were in overall good condition and any reported problems were immediately solved. Laundry facilities were great; sharing these with the other building/halls made them a bit overcrowded sometimes.

Location very central near kingcross station, but a 25 min walk to UCL. The ensuite room was quite small for that you are paying but the ensuite was worth it for me, might not be for others. Quiet halls not like Ramsay. 8 people have their own ensuite rooms and all share 1 kitchen.

~20 min walk from uni which is a bit more than most but offers en-suite facilities and is fairly nice in comparison to other halls. The staff are very good at fixing anything that breaks straight away however, lots of things do break. I think Halls will always be unpleasant but I think James Lighthill House isn’t too terrible.

James Lighthill House is located between Kings Cross Tube/ Rail Station and Angel Tube station, which means that there are good transport links. It was a 20 - 25 minute walk to UCL campus or a 10 minute cycle. The closest shopping areas were near the tube stations and Brunswick. I love how convenient everything was - I was able to go grocery shopping on my way home from lectures. The 24hr MacDonald is on Euston road, so that's a plus after a night out. There are lots of choices of restaurants, bars and pubs nearby. However, Penton Rise and Euston road are very busy roads. If your room is located on the road side, as opposed to the court yard side, it is noisy regardless of the time. Once, roadworks were taking place at midnight. People who lived next to the road sometimes wore ear plugs to sleep. The common room is very basic. Sometimes people watched Tv and played pool. Most nights people who are going out gather for pre-drinks in the common room. It's good that there is are cluster room and printing facilities, but the printer was constantly breaking down and the receptionists are not responsible for repairing the printer - UCL is - so you have to call a number to get them to come and fix it. The rooms were decent. Single room with ensuite. But the rent is expensive. The showers are very narrow. You each get a kitchen cupboard to put food in. There are 2 fridges and 2 freezers to share between 8 people and 8 stove tops. It's not really possible for everyone to cook at the same time. The kitchens get very crowded. There are cleaners who clean the common areas, such as kitchen and common room. These areas are generally clean. You have to borrow the hoover from the security office to Hoover your room, which is inconvenient. There is 24 hour gated security and lots of CCTV, which is reassuring. The reception is always helpful, but only open during certain hours. This is annoying if you have lectures from 9am - 5pm and these hours are the same as the opening hours of the reception.

Not as close to the university as I would like and it is a lot less social than the others. However the facilities are good.

The room was nice and had an en suite however it was always damp and didn’t smell very nice. The tumble dryers never worked properly and the washing machines are very expensive - not good. Unfortunately I was placed in a flat with all U18s, majority of whom were international and nor sociable so this was not ideal during freshers when I was trying to make friends and go out with people. It’s a good location near Kings Cross however not the closest to uni so depends what you want to prioritise - en suite or proximity. Looking back I would prefer proximity to university.

Rooms are a good size. Kitchen a bit small and dated but still decent. Good location near to kings cross and angel and a 20 min walk to uni

The halls weren't particularly social and cost an absolute fortune considering they weren't THAT close to campus

Nice room and kitchen, both very spacious and clean. Only problem was that it was not very sociable, not the biggest halls so difficult to meet people that were outgoing and wanted to go out.

Around 202 per week for small rooms with a little ensuite. This is quite expensive even for central London. The Wardens would wait outside peoples rooms to see if they could hear anything, meaning if you were speaking about something private, they would be able to hear everything you're saying. They also started imposing bans on us being outside after 11 without the universities consent and issuing fines without the proper reasoning.

Great room and location. Large rooms, although bathroom is old. Good kitchen, with regular cleaning.

Social experience varies year to year but it was very friendly and integrated when I went to the halls, usually dispersing after a few weeks. Facilities were all very standard but floor by floor it was being renovated and new appliances were being installed. Location was good, very central and accessible. Room is very standard but has what you need.

Fun halls, basic utilities, welcoming stand nice reception staff, some fun activities in the common room.