Student halls

Proximity to campus and general location

Seb

Kitchens can get very dirty since they are shared with so many people, especially compared to other halls. Not something you can control, but don’t be scared to talk to your flatmates and tell them directly 
Union bar is close – football nights are packed but so fun.

Seb

Nice food can get stolen, so label it with your name, pack it tight and hide it in the fridge (not everyone is like that, but beware especially if you’re getting pricey food) 

Seb

South Kensington also has so many restaurants nearby so go and explore, there’s something for everyone. Honest Burgers is my favourite.

Seb

I really liked its proximity to campus – just 3-5 min walking distance, which made it very easy to go into early morning lectures as well as the library at very early or very late hours.

Ecem

Proximity to campus and the student union. Also just over the road from the library and socials every Thursday!

Alexia

Staying with my roommate, hanging out with corridor mates

Leo

I was very frustrated with how there was no kitchen cleaning rota. I really appreciated the cleaners coming in once a week to clean the kitchens, but because we had no idea when they were coming, we could not tidy in advance. This meant that many of our dishes ended up in the garbage, which happened to me probably over ten times.

Ecem

My drain was clogged frequently, but every time I emailed they would send someone to sort it on the very same day.

Alexia

Difficult to maintain kitchen cleanliness, but having a group disciplinary meeting sorted the issue well

Leo

Maybe how much we would be expected to pay which would have helped with some budgeting beforehand. For example, I didn’t know we had to pay to do laundry before I got there.

Ecem

The proximity to grocery stores. It’s much easier to deliver big batches of groceries to Beit than walk.

Alexia

Having houseplants around makes a big positive difference!

Leo

Because Beit Hall is so close to the Union, I would say all of the events that happen there and in Metric. This makes it very easy to meet new people and participate in society events, but also to go back home when your energy runs out. Also the cafes in Exhibition Road, such as Farm Girl, which are expensive but lovely for a treat every once in a while. I also really like the shops there – I go to Kensington Books and Kensington Chimes (music store), which both offer 10% discount to İmperial students.

Ecem

Student union, metric and the Beit brunch every Sunday!

Alexia

Next to campus so able to use all campus services eg. Canteens, library at convenient times. Lovely walks through Hyde park. Near Ethos gym

Leo

Wilson House is positioned in central London in Paddington which is such a lovely location to be in. I really enjoyed walking through Hyde Park everyday on my way to campus. Wilson is also a very social hall and it definitely allowed me to make lots of friends in my first year!

Stefaniia

My favourite part of living at Wilson was how beautiful the short commute was every day through Hyde and how conveniently close it was to shops! also the social events that are carried out throughout the year are an amazing way to make friends

Char

While my overall experience was amazing, the building is not brand new and so there will be some maintenance issues as with any house. I think the supervisor team were amazing at fixing everything promptly as soon as you report the issue and finding a temporary solution before the issue was fixed if needed.

Stefaniia

The annexe kitchen was usually awful – cleaners came in on the weekdayss and did a great job at cleaning everything, but as a 60 person kitchen it was stressfully messy and got filthy over the weekends

Char

Be prepared to make friends and socialise quite a lot!

Stefaniia

That societies were so heavily subsidised – the ‘rich’ activities were even available to me, but I thought it’d be too expensive.

Char

Marylebone and Notting Hill are absolutely lovely for super cute and aesthetic coffee and brunch/lunch/dinner places! Pret subscription was also such a lifesaver in first year (if you are not picky with the taste of coffee).

Stefaniia

There’s a really cute park around the corner of Wilson that I love going to with my friends! Also I would definitely reccomend trying the different types of cuisines around the accommodations since it’s usually not too badly priced

Char

Getting to socialise with people, hall events like free breakfasts and social events, convenience.

Shanaya

People and the kitchen space

Masao

I loved the rooms, mine was small but it didn’t feel cramped, and I loved that I had my own bathroom. The people were also lovely.

Larissa

When there were any issues with my room they were addressed promptly after I contacted reception

Shanaya

Tidiness, never really addressed

Masao

The commute was the hardest, but as long as I woke up on time and left early, I had no issues! Just be mindful of tube closures.

Larissa

I enjoyed my time but I wish I knew that cooking would be something I have to actively make sure I do so I don’t eat out

Shanaya

Talk to as many people as possible!

Masao

You get out of it what you put into it! people are really lovely, just talk to them!

Larissa

There was a nice Costa and a falafel food stand which was good, also there was westfield nearby by train which had everything.

Shanaya

Some kebab places or westfield

Masao

DOMINOS!

Larissa

Kemp porter is the newest accommodation block out of all of them, the kitchens are cleaned 2-3 times a week and your room is also cleaned once a month. They have free breakfast every Sunday at 10am and the events/trips they put on are really good value for money. It’s also one of the cheapest ones without having to share.

In my opinion, Kemp porter and Woodward are the most social halls at imperial because there’s like 1200 imperial freshers across from each other so its really easy to meet new people/find out someone lives nearby and be able to hang out with them easily. There’s also not much to do in north acton so legit the only people you see around that area is imperial students. The best flat parties were also in North Acton.

Another thing is that the closest supermarkets in North Acton are asda/lidl which is good for saving money. In general, I think Kemp Porter or Woodward are really good places to live

Ivy

My flatmates were (mostly) really nice, Kemp Porter is a really new and nice hall, so the rooms and bathrooms are not rundown at all.

Sara

The actual space: the kitchens and rooms were very nice and new. There was lots of light however I still witnessed the death of many house plants.
The people as well were really great and I very much enjoyed the ginger bread house building.

Jacob

People, very nice rooms

Ella

I was very lucky with having a small flat (5 people) and an en-suite so we didn’t encounter any of the typical problems such as cleanliness of communal areas or noise. Sometimes we would encounter minor maintenance issues (such as oven not working or kitchen fan not working) but those were resolved once we raised them with reception within the week.

Livy

Not really, maintenance were helpful if things broke and my friends were also given temporary rooms whilst things were fixed. I genuinely had no issues aside from the fact that one time someone stole my laundry bag LOL.

The only thing is that there isn’t much to do around North Acton specifically but I guess you bond with people over that fact. It also kind of forced us to just hang out in our flats with each other and in doing so I made a lot of friends that I ended up moving in with in 3rd year!

Ivy

Kitchen cleanliness was the main issue, 9 people sharing one kitchen meant it could get pretty gross. It got cleaned once/twice? A week but it stayed consistently messy throughout the year, after a while you get used to it but it’s not the best.

Sara

One of our fridges broke. We got a replacement the day after we reported it. So speedy.

Jacob

A few like blocked sinks, but you’d report them online and they’d be sorted very quickly, sometimes same day

Ella

I wish I knew to pack lighter and knew that storage space especially in the kitchen was very limited. Specific to kemp porter, the wardrobe space is also very limited but the under bed storage is huge so having pull out boxes to store clothes under the bed was very helpful.

Livy

You’ll most likely pack more than you actually need. Also make sure you buy the right sized bedsheets.

Ivy

Definitely consider where you are going to store your stuff over the summer, especially if you’re an international student. Storage services can get expensive.

Sara

You don’t realise how much stuff you have until you have to pack into several ikea bags.

Jacob

Bring a shopping trolley coin 😀

Ella

Zak and Sam’s is an amazing Lebanese place just a 10 minute walk away on the way to the Park Royal Asda. If you’re looking for a quick dinner there’s chicken land which is a staple north acton chicken shop. Westfield shopping mall is also really close by at White City which is only two tube stops away. Holland park is also close by being 4 tube stops away.

Livy

Wormwood scrubs is a nice place to go on a run! Shepherds bush/holland park is also not too far away. Notting hill is also a nice place to go for walk/shop with your friends

Ivy

North Acton is a pretty uninteresting and quite ugly area compared to some of the other parts of London, thankfully the central line is right there, so the rest of the city is pretty easy to access!

Sara

I love big asda 😋 it allowed me to live my Betty Crocker dreams with Sarah.

Jacob

Nothing much in Acton, there’s a costa, subway, dominos that’s about it, but very close to tube to Notting Hill, Holland park etc

Ella