Bluebell! Worth it?

Picking an on-campus accommodation is always challenging, and as someone who lived in my first year in what is perhaps the most revered accommodation in Warwick, I’d like to put my two cents in!

For those who don’t know about bluebell, it is a central campus accommodation (less than five minutes walking from the piazza and student union). Due to its conditions, it is one of, if not the most expensive accommodation Warwick offers.

So what makes it so popular?

THE ADVATANGES

Well for one thing it is an ensuite, which means that each room has an individual bathroom and shower. This is something that makes people more comfortable settling in to university and affords privacy which a lot of people value, especially when you don’t know your other flatmates. Bluebell also has the least amount of flatmates per flat. This means that you share a kitchen with fewer people than most or all other accommodations. This is also something that affords people more comfortable, and also makes the accommodation less noisy. Its own laundromat is actually a huge plus. It is not the only accommodation that offers this, but having the washing/drying machine within the building really saves time and effort every week when you have to do your laundry, and for all the lazy college students it makes it less difficult to put off laundry for the week. Finally, bluebell has an elevator, which may sound like a small perk, but it is also what makes it a more accessible accommodation for people with certain disabilities.

So to all these advantages, Bluebell sounds like it is worth the price. However, although i had friends who absolutely loved staying at bluebell, I encountered some cons that made me rethink if my choice to put bluebell at the top of my list was really wise.

REVIEW

First the ensuite. This was a no-brainer advantage for me. Not only was I a minor when I came in, which meant that legally the school had to offer me an ensuite accommodation (unless for budget reasons i professed a preference against), but it is actually a great advantage. It affords privacy and comfort, which when adapting to uni life is something you really wanna strive for. However, I have many, many friends who didn’t think it was that big of a deal sharing bathrooms/showers because there are privacy concerns around that (it isn’t a locker room type of situation). So this advantage does really come down to you as a person, but for me it was a huge, huge plus and worth, in my opinion, paying more for.

Second, fewer flatmates. Bluebell is very much less noisy than many other accommodations. Rootes is the first to come to mind, and I do remember a friend complaining to me about that. However, it also makes it much less sociable. I have not yet met people from Rootes who don’t get along with their flatmates, but in bluebell, you tend to not hear of as many flat friendships as in other accommodations. However, this is just what I experienced in my year and I do recognize a lot of friendships can obviously be built in bluebell corridors. Especially because, although bluebell is less noisy than other accoms, it is nevertheless noisy at times. Flat parties still occur and if it’s within your flat you will for sure hear it all night, however, if it is within another flat the sound will most likely not travel, bluebell has great insulation that way.

The laundromat as I said is a huge plus, it makes laundry, which is a boring weekly job, such easier and faster. Especially because it’s pretty easy to just set a timer, go back to your flat, and come down when you know it’s done. It’s only accessible by people in your bluebell building which also limits the amount of time you have to wait for your turn.

Elevators. I won’t dwell much on this, I think it’s also a quick no-brainer for most people, you either know you’ll need/want it or you are kind of indifferent to it. I, personally lived on the first floor, so i rarely used it, but it is nice when you have to come down/up with a suitcase whether you are moving in/out or going/coming back from holidays

WORTH IT?

So is it worth it? To many people, yes! Me, I don’t know if I would choose bluebell again if I had to. To be honest I think Jack Martin is a good medium in terms of price and quality of accommodation. But if you are going to bluebell, I would say enjoy, because when you live out of campus next year I can pretty much assure you, you won’t find many of the perks bluebell offers!

I hope I covered all the cons and pros of bluebell but if you would like to hear about anything else drop a comment below!

Until next time!

-Jo