Benyon

The hall's location is fairly close to the university but comparatively a longer walk away than the other halls situated on the main campus. This has its benefits such as being slightly less noisy and lower disruption from having less students around these halls in comparison. They are also cheaper but have more students with their family that live close by. There's an easy to use laundry room with dryers for residents, a little student hut to hang out in next to the lovely pond in the middle of the halls that's quite scenic and peaceful to look at. There's social events made by the Benyon JCR that are mainly during fresher's week but other activities directly from the hall's planners that occur regularly throughout the year and allow you to mix with other hall's students and gain new friends from all over the university, even those not living in the university halls. The rooms are fairly sized with lots of plug sockets and storage available and includes an ensuite that is adequate for the year, any problems found or that occur can be solved through the hall maintenance team.

Lots of green space which is always a positive, good set of friendly people although locations a bit out of the way if you're lazy and don't like walking

I really like Benyon hall, it is comfortable and near the university. The room is quite big and cosy, there is a big desk to study and it is spacious.

Moving into halls was an incredibly exciting time and I would always recommend going into halls instead of commuting to university. The key thing for halls I believe is that the bigger the halls/flat, the more friends you'll make .

I liked Benyon location, sitting on the outskirts of campus because it meant I ventured in and out of campus. The facilities within the flat were of a good level and standard (apart from the oven which was slow), but there could be improvements to facilities such as the laundry rooms. Very limited number of washing and drying machines for the number of students living in Benyon. The bedrooms were perfect for what I needed in terms of bed, storage and bathroom, although the windows were old and sometimes would not open and shut very well, creating draughts. The JCR was useful for hanging out as the individual flats do not have living rooms, and Benyon reps were easy to get hold of for tickets etc for social events.

The halls at University of Reading are all extortionate, Benyon specifically cost around £142 per week when I lived there (2014/15). The facilities are pretty basic - ensuite (wet room), single bed, communal kitchen area. One negative is that the kitchen with a table is the only communal area - therefore if you're looking to socialise, its more comfortable to be in someone's room. When I first moved into the halls there was no wifi, which is shocking considering the cost. We had to use an ethernet cable that was provided to access the internet on our laptops for about a month until wifi was installed. Overall the wifi was pretty good but occasionally would cut out sometimes. If I ever had a problem with my room I was able to ring the halls hotline and would respond to my request within a few days which was great. Beynon is located off campus however is only a short walk to get to the lecture buildings. It one of the more scenic halls with lots of greenery and a large pond - I had a great view from my room and kitchen - however beware of the geese as they chase you! I also heard from other people that if you leave the kitchen windows open birds fly in and peck at food left on the side. Near to Benyon is the university doctors surgery which is handy. One downside is that there is no Tesco express or a similar supermarket equivalent nearby, there is a Today's Local which is essentially a corner shop and can be quite pricey.

Room was expensive and off of campus but it was a nice environment to live in but ideally you would want to be on campus.