What I love about Jack Martin accommodation

Recently, I was asked for advice regarding accommodation on the university’s campus. While I was able to suggest other accommodation which fitted her preferences, it made me recognise how much I appreciate and would recommend Jack Martin!

By now, you should hopefully be familiar with Warwick’s system of accommodation and how it all works. If so, you will already know that students do not necessarily ‘choose’ their place of stay but rather, they list their preferred accommodations (with some limits) and fill out a questionnaire in order for flats to be similarly matched. I personally believe this is a great system – the questionnaire must have definitely worked for my flat and I as we all get along and 8 out of 12 of us are even living together next year! And so, with this, I want to strongly reiterate that wherever you end up, there is a high chance that you will love it regardless! And if you don’t, it is FAR from the end of the world – there are several other ways you can befriend others.

If your budget and requirements allow you, these are my reasons why you should consider placing Jack Martin on your accommodation list:

1. It is en-suite.

It most definitely would not surprise me if most people put Jack Martin for this reason. For some, shared bathrooms are not a big deal but for others, it is. Frankly, I am a neat freak and I really wanted my own bathroom at university. Throughout the year, I also came to appreciate the bathroom as my own space that I could refuge in whenever I needed time for myself. That meant long baths, facials and a whole array of other spa-like treatments. Of course, while I would have adapted with a shared bathroom and it would not be the end of the world, having an en-suite was almost a must for me.

2. It is on Central Campus.

Jack Martin boasts a magnificent location. Being bang-in-the-middle of Central Campus means you can get to anywhere very easily. Whether it be Cannon Park shopping centre or your seminars, it seems as though nothing exceeds a ten minute walk. As someone who likes to sleep in at the wrong times, being on Central Campus has definitely been a massive advantage for me – I was once able to get to a seminar in 3 minutes (not without looking like a hot mess though unfortunately)!

3. It has a big kitchen.

You are probably thinking, “Why is a big kitchen such a good thing? Surely I don’t need that much space to cook”. A big kitchen equals a bigger flat, which naturally means a higher chance of a more sociable flat . Jack Martin kitchens typically tend to be up to 13 people so, if you’re a social butterfly then this is definitely something to appreciate! As a self-declared chatterbox, a kitchen of 12 was heaven for me as I could simply just walk into the kitchen whenever I fancied a chat (which was very often!).

4. It is reasonably priced

Jack Martin is somewhat on the mid-range for en-suite accommodation. At the time of writing, it is costlier than Sherbourne but cheaper than its sister Arthur Vick and Bluebell. While it is not the cheapest around and still makes a dent on your loan, Jack Martin is relatively reasonably priced in comparison to other Warwick accommodation – especially considering it is en-suite and its envious location. If you are looking for some ‘luxury’ but want to save on some pennies, Jack Martin is a good compromise.

5. It has great history

Did you know that Jack Martin was the first en-suite accommodation at Warwick? Aided by the Martin family (hence the name), two grants of £500,000 were awarded for the university in 1986 to create hotel-like rooms with en-suite facilities which would enable them to expand student numbers. Apart from being a great place to stay in your first year, it also has interesting historical roots!

It may be biased coming from me but, as you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed staying in Jack Martin and I truly could not recommend it enough. Although the accommodation you stay at does not at all determine your first year experience, it is certainly memorable – whether for the good or bad part!