University Halls

The most popular student halls include:

Highfield Hall - right by the Highfield Campus Mayflower Halls - one of the biggest and newest halls, located right in the heart of the city Archers Road Halls - right by the entrance of the town centre; 10 minute walk to Avenue Campus and 30 minute walk to Highfield Campus or buses U1A or U1E. Glen Eyre Halls - the biggest and most sociable halls at University, very close to Highfield Campus but furthest from the city centre. Winchester: University Erasmus Park Halls or private (and more expensive) Riverside Way, where you can also rent a room.

As a Fresher, a room in one of these halls is guaranteed in your first year of studies. You can apply for one via the Residential Services website (https:// accommodationservices.soton.ac.uk/portal), using your university email. It is a very convenient, but slightly more expensive option which takes away the stress of paying bills, as they are included in the price.

Below are some of our members’ reviews of living in halls:

Archers Road:

“Half a year in one building, another half in another. £126 per week and if I remember correctly, only a noncatered option. Tiny rooms and one of the oldest halls. There is only one laundry room and one reception, so you have to cross the road and take a bit of a walk to do your laundry or collect your parcels. The kitchen, on the other hand, was quite big for university halls and compared to other halls. Living there wasn’t too bad, but I wouldn’t recommend staying there longer than a year, although I know people who have lived there for two or three years. It was the cheapest university accommodation when I was living there. The campus was a bit far away, about 10-15 minutes by bus, but a bus pass is included in rent price. During the exam season, I recommend taking an earlier bus, as sometimes buses don’t stop if they are overcrowded. Coop [a shop] is fairly close, so it is convenient to pop in if you forgot to order something from Asda for your weekly shop, and sometimes you can even find good products on offer. We often had false alarms when someone burnt a toast in the kitchen and opened the kitchen door rather than the windows.”

Chamberlain - South Hill:

“Size-wise one of the biggest rooms in uni halls, but at a lower standard. Single bed, small wardrobe, big desk and shelves on one of the walls. Extra storage space under the bed. There was an issue with limescale on the showerhead, but maintenance came in to change it every month. Overall I enjoyed living there, though I was expecting something more modern, but because South Hill is one of the older halls, my room felt very cozy. The kitchen was pretty small; everyone had two cupboards, one fridge shelf and one freezer shelf. Eight people per flat. Bus stop right next to the building, so you can get to campus in 5 minutes by bus or in 10/15 minutes walking to Highfield or 20 minutes to Avenue. I thing living in university halls is a great experience as everyone is on the same boat and it’s easy to meet new people.”

Erasmus Park, Winchester: “10/13 minutes down the hill to get to campus, so a very nice walk. 15 minutes to the city centre. A relatively old hall, but very clean and in neutral colours. Water pressure was great, but the walls were very thin. Laundry room was very nice, but the kitchen was tiny and smelly. You can’t have an iron or a kettle in your room. You can access a printer in the reception the same way as you would on campus [same option applies to Glen Eyre]. I recommend these halls over private rooms as you can meet new people and the standard is very decent; if even I, a massive aristocrat [joke], was happy with it (except for the kitchen), anyone will be. It cost £140 a week and then the price went down to £130 a week. The uni handled terminating the contract very well during the pandemic. Overall, i do recommend/ Riverside has a much better standard as it is newer, but costs £180 a week and is a bit further from campus and the city.”

Here is the link to up-to-date halls prices on the University of Southampton website: southampton.ac.uk/uni-life/accommodation/rooms/en-suite-1.page https://www.