which on-campus accomodation?

adorna

Hi,
I'm going to come to UCD for the next two semesters as an erasmus-student. I'm not sure which on-campus accomodation to choose. Maybe you can help me and post some experiences? That'll be great!
My particular question is whether the more expensive accomodations Glenomena and Roebuck Hall are worth the money compared to the cheaper possibilities Belgrove and Merville. Are the rooms larger? Is there space for a friend to stay in a sleeping-bag on the floor for a few days? Do you have your own toilet AND shower or do you have to share on of these in Glenomena and Roebuck Hall? I find the description at the UCD homepage not very satisfying, so it would be great if you wrote me some of your experiences.
Thank you!:)

damselnat

Hi Adorna, I've lived in both Roebuck and Belgrove in my time in UCD and I would definitely recommend Belgrove over Roebuck. There;s three people in a flat and you share a separate shower and bathroom, whereas in Roebuck and Glenomena you have a whole bathroom to yourself.
There's plenty of room in all accommodations for friends to throw a mattress on the floor or a sleeping bag on the sofa. The rooms in the more expensive accommodation are not larger, though the storage space for clothes is a little bit, as is the cupboard space in the kitchen, but then that's because there's twice the amount of people living there.
I would recommend Belgrove personally, having lived in both, there's more craic, the atmosphere is better and for some reason there's more of a communal spirit, it's easier to meet and get to know people, even though less people share the apartments. Belgrove is also the nearest to the lecture halls and libraries, shaves a valuable few mins off your commuting time Also, I can't speak for Glenomena, but the staff in Roebuck are not the most pleasant. I had friends who lived there though, and it seemed nice, though much the same as Roebuck. Having experienced the two I'd definitely recommend Belgrove over all, it's far from luxury, but all the fun is there:D:D

damselnat

PS watch out - none of the new accommodation (Roebuck anyway, and I think Glenomena) has ovens!

himynameisbob

hi there

would you recommend renovated merville or belgrove?

swatch

If you're looking to stay where most of the other erasmus students are staying then I would recommend Glenomena. I stayed there this year and I landed up being the only Irish person in my apartment. It seemed as if most if not all erasmus students were staying there this year! Glenomena is lovely, having your own ensuite is great and the apartments are really new. Also Glenomena shares the same entrance as merville so at night time when the gates are locked you can still go over to visit friends in merville without having to hop any gates!

supernutrino

damselnat wrote: »

PS watch out - none of the new accommodation (Roebuck anyway, and I think Glenomena) has ovens!

...and thus it doens't have fires. :cool: like Merville did last year..

damselnat

supernutrino wrote: »

...and thus it doens't have fires. :cool: like Merville did last year..

weeellll...depends on how good your neighbours are at frying things! In Roebuck House 3 alarms used to go off every second night, at ridiculous times, it was really annoying

supernutrino

Just so people know:

http://www.ucd.ie/residences/residences/roebuckhallresidence/

That is not what Roebuck Hall looks like, thats Glenomena, for some reason they have the same pictures for the two.
Roebucks very nice, but its not identical to Glenomena as those pics suggest, dunno why they don't just send someone up there with a digital camera and change that :rolleyes:



This is what the inside of a Roebuck common area looks like:

unknown13

himynameisbob wrote: »

hi there

would you recommend renovated merville or belgrove?

Renovated Merville.

**Timbuk2**

From just being in Glenomena and Roebuck, they seem very similar - does one have an advantage over the other as such? I mean they're both the same price, both have 6 rooms with ensuites and a similar-sized living area (Glenomena is possibly slightly bigger). Are the rooms bigger in Roebuck or Glenomena or are they the same?

unknown13

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

From just being in Glenomena and Roebuck, they seem very similar - does one have an advantage over the other as such? I mean they're both the same price, both have 6 rooms with ensuites and a similar-sized living area (Glenomena is possibly slightly bigger). Are the rooms bigger in Roebuck or Glenomena or are they the same?

I have been in both and If I was choosing I would go for Roebuck. I thought Roebuck was nicer but the living room in Glenomena was bigger. Don't know about rooms specifically. That is just my opinion.

supernutrino

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

From just being in Glenomena and Roebuck, they seem very similar - does one have an advantage over the other as such? I mean they're both the same price, both have 6 rooms with ensuites and a similar-sized living area (Glenomena is possibly slightly bigger). Are the rooms bigger in Roebuck or Glenomena or are they the same?

Either are a very nice place to live, Roebuck has a very "on your holidays" feel to the place probably because it looks like place you'd stay on your holidays in Greece or something, it has that kinda feel.

They don't have a similar common area, Glenomenas common areas around 1/3 bigger and just feels far more spacious.
Most Glenomena common areas also have nicer sofas
Most Glenomena rooms are pretty much the same as Roebuck, a tiny bit bigger maybe but not by any noticeable amount.

adorna

thanks for your advice, I finally booked my room at Roebuck

RQ89

Hi! I booked a room in Glenomena but I stupidly chose apartment 1 and didn't realise that it would be on the ground floor until after everything was finalised. I'm really really happy to have a room but I'm just worried that the ground floor will be...a bit crap

**Timbuk2**

RQ89 wrote: »

Hi! I booked a room in Glenomena but I stupidly chose apartment 1 and didn't realise that it would be on the ground floor until after everything was finalised. I'm really really happy to have a room but I'm just worried that the ground floor will be...a bit crap

The groundfloor shouldn't be much different. It should still be quite safe, the only problem might be there'll be a slight bit more noise as people enter via the groundfloor, but I don't think it will be a problem. Having said that, I'm in Glenomena too and I chose a high-up apartment, but at least you won't have to worry about the lift breaking down and needing to walk up 5 or so floors to get into the apartment (Which can happen!)

RQ89

Haha true! Thanks for the quick reply! I was just so panicked after all the dramas with the site yesterday that I just clicked on a random room and went with it. Didn't even think about which floor I'd be on! Oh well. I'll be on exchange from Australia next semester, so I want to have a good room and be able to enjoy my short time there. I don't want to be stuck in a freezing dungeon on the ground floor with weirdos peeking through the windows all the time! Haha I'm just be silly though.

Congrats on getting a room. It was a bit of a mission, wasn't it?!

**Timbuk2**

It was a lot of effort to get a room, but I'm glad I got one eventually - if I hadn't I would have been gutted as all the refreshing would have been for nothing

Actually I was friends with 3 exchange students from Brisbane who were also in the ground floor of Glenomena last year, but they were only here for the first semester - and they liked it!

RQ89

Yeah I know! 14 hours worth of refreshing! We're 9 hours ahead here, so I wash refreshing until 3am my time. Exhausting! Pretty sure I had about 5 heart attacks.

Ha really?! I'm from Brisbane too, so they are probably from the same uni. University of Queensland? If they liked it, I suppose it's ok then! How many apartments are on each floor?

**Timbuk2**

Yep, University of Queensland! I can't actually remember whether they were second or third years, but they were all architecture students!

I'm not sure exactly how many apartments are on each floor, it's either 2 or 3, and each apartment has 6 bedrooms!

XxAmy21xX

Hey guys, anyone have any experience with house 2 in glenomena? I lived in Merville last year and Im not that familiar with glenomena, where abouts is house 2 in relation to merville, centra etc?!

supernutrino

XxAmy21xX wrote: »

Hey guys, anyone have any experience with house 2 in glenomena? I lived in Merville last year and Im not that familiar with glenomena, where abouts is house 2 in relation to merville, centra etc?!

A crash Guide to the Glenomena Neighborhood:

**Timbuk2**

Thanks for the guide supernutrino - the numbering seems odd, I would have assumed 7 and 8 would have been beside 9 and 10

Are certain Glenomena houses renovated or newer than others? Somebody told me that 9 and 10 are nicer than the other ones?

supernutrino

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Thanks for the guide supernutrino - the numbering seems odd, I would have assumed 7 and 8 would have been beside 9 and 10

Are certain Glenomena houses renovated or newer than others? Somebody told me that 9 and 10 are nicer than the other ones?

The numbering takes a turn to the right into the square then follows the square back around, and picks up back at 6 before continuing.
Remember 9 and 10 were not part of the original design they were tagged on at the end, look at it without 9 and 10 there and it starts to make more sense.

Glenomena was built in 2002 (houses 1-8) and two new houses built in 2006 (9 and 10)

Belgrove and Merville needed renovation because they were built in the 80s and early 90s, many current students were not born when they were built.

Glenomenas still all shiny and new, Roebuck even more so, so did not need renovation.

In the case of houses 9 and 10 they learned a few lessons from 1-8 so 9 and 10 are a tad better in terms of insulation etc (wifi seems better too must have better routers) but they're fundamentally all alike most diffrences are in design like 9 and 10 have wooden framed windows on inside just has a more pleasant feel.

**Timbuk2**

Thank you! I used to have friends that lived in House 10 so that's all I've seen of Glenomena, so hopefully the one I'm in will be nice (I'm sure it will be!).

supernutrino

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Thank you! I used to have friends that lived in House 10 so that's all I've seen of Glenomena, so hopefully the one I'm in will be nice (I'm sure it will be!).

Three key differences with other houses:

• Other houses are a bit more chilly at times (but now its flat rate heating so that does not matter anymore)
• The hall between rooms may have green tiles instead of carpet.
• Ironically, the 1-8 buildings sofas are more comfy.

oh and the lifts in 1-8 are more narrow

**Timbuk2**

Thank you you're a wealth of information

An odd question but do the windows open much in Glenomena? I remember being in Roebuck Halls and it seemed to be too hot all the time but the window only opened a minuscule amount which didn't really make it any less-hot!

supernutrino

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Thank you you're a wealth of information

An odd question but do the windows open much in Glenomena? I remember being in Roebuck Halls and it seemed to be too hot all the time but the window only opened a minuscule amount which didn't really make it any less-hot!

Bring a small alan key with you, theres a way to loosen the catch to allow it to open all the way, don't think you can do that in Roebuck.
Glenomena won't get as insanely hot as Roebuck but if you wanna open it all the way thats how you do it.
Just be careful your drunk friends don't fall out the window!

XxAmy21xX

Thanks so much house 2 seems to be in a good location so Now just crossing my fingers that the people Im going to live with are nice! Anyone here living in house 2 in september?!

moppethead

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32946767@N03/4011323840/in/set-72157622583293852/

Could someone confirm if these pictures are actually Merville and Roebuck?
Thanks:)

damselnat

moppethead wrote: »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32946767@N03/4011323840/in/set-72157622583293852/

Could someone confirm if these pictures are actually Merville and Roebuck?
Thanks:)

The Roebuck ones certainly are, assume the Merville ones are though I was never in a Merville house that looked like that. And don't expect them to look *anything* like that when you move in! Those Roebuck sofas are the most uncomfortable buggers

frser32

Do the new merville apts. have ovens?

moppethead

Awesome thanks heaps!! Hahaha yeah they're probably trashed by now:P

supernutrino

Be careful what you wish for with Ovens.
You may have seriously brain dead room mates who would leave it on too long while ROFL LOL'ing on facebook and only realize its on when they hear that ear splitting fire alarm.

Its happened before.

._.

I'm pretty sure i'll be in Glenomena #9 next year, looks like it suits me

capt.caveman

I ended up in Roebuck Castle, anyone have any experiences with it? Also, what does the ensuite have as in tub or shower? I've been trying to find a pic of an ensuite with no luck at all.

**Timbuk2**

capt.caveman wrote: »

I ended up in Roebuck Castle, anyone have any experiences with it? Also, what does the ensuite have as in tub or shower? I've been trying to find a pic of an ensuite with no luck at all.

It's the catered one, yes? It is nice. There's 12 that live in an apartment, with a shared kitchen and shared living room (two separate rooms), and each bedroom has an ensuite with a shower, toilet, sink and mirror (no bathtub :P )

capt.caveman

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

It's the catered one, yes? It is nice. There's 12 that live in an apartment, with a shared kitchen and shared living room (two separate rooms), and each bedroom has an ensuite with a shower, toilet, sink and mirror (no bathtub :P )

Yeah it's the catered one, I'm just there for a one semester exchange so I figured that would be easier. I hear that I get a private fridge in my room which I'm happy about. Hopefully it will be a good place for parties.

**Timbuk2**

capt.caveman wrote: »

Yeah it's the catered one, I'm just there for a one semester exchange so I figured that would be easier. I hear that I get a private fridge in my room which I'm happy about. Hopefully it will be a good place for parties.

Yea there is a mini fridge in the bedroom, but there's no fridge (or freezer) in the kitchen so the mini fridge is all you have. The kitchen has hobs but doesn't have an oven or grill, but as it's catered it shouldn't be too much of a problem!

Emzer92

Hoping to study Radiography in September. I'm trying to make a descision between the new houses in Merville and the ones in Glenomena. I'm not a party animal and I hear that the Radiography course is a bit intense, so nothing too loud would be ideal! Any suggestions?

michellelslai

Hi guys, I'm going on exchange to UCD next year for a semester and I'm planning to stay in one of the dorms in the campus.
First I'm choosing between en-suite dorm or non-en-suite dorm. I'd like to have my own bathroom in my room but it really is more expensive, right?
Also, how is the private bathroom in each room? Like, is it so small? Are the shared bathrooms in other dorms much bigger than private bathroom?
And, between Glenomena and Roebuck Hall, I suppose that Roebuck is more modern, is it true? Overall, which is better?
Lastly, is dorm guaranteed for international exchange students because I'm so afraid that I wont be able to get a room in dorm...
Accommodation seems to be very expensive in Dublin, I hope I can find the most suitable dorm.
Thanks for your opinion!

Dave26992

The en suites in the rooms are quite small, however in Belgrove, where the done up apartments have now 4 people to an apartment have a separate bathroom and shower. And in the bathroom there is a bath and toilet. I personally don't see roebuck to be worth the added expense, considering you are going to be living with more people and the living space isn't that much larger. Are you on the waiting list for accommodation?

michellelslai

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your reply!!! I'm so glad that I can hear your opinion.
Well, in fact, I'm going to UCD next academic year so I guess that the accommodation registration hasn't started yet, am I right? It seems to me that accommodation in Dublin is so so expensive!
You're right that more people will be living in an apartment in Roebuck (6 students I suppose) where the space won't be so much larger. So what about Glenomena, do you personally suggest this (same price as Roebuck indeed)?
For Belgrove that you've mentioned, does it consist of single bedrooms or 2 students will be sharing a room?
So, overall, you recommend Belgrove, don't you?
Oh! And, I'll be coming as a year 3 international exchange student, will Belgrove be suitable if many of the students are freshmen?

IrishWelshCelt

Merville is probably your best bet, in my experience they have the biggest living space and 2 bathrooms between 4 is grand.

michellelslai

Thanks for the advice.

But for the registration stuff online, how does it work? How should I choose which house, which apartment and which floor...

Dave26992

Its a toss up between belgrove and Merville really, as for glenomena, if you're willing to spend the extra cash its supposed to be quieter, if thats what you want. I would recommend looking into getting on the waiting list. go to the residences site for international students.

michellelslai

Well I think en suite bedroom might be more suitable to me. However, is Glenomena only for 2 semester or 3 semester stay students? Cuz I am only staying in UCD for 1 semester, so am I eligible to apply Glen?

IrishWelshCelt

Yes, semester 3 is the summer and its optional if you want to stay for it for all students.

michellelslai

Even if I won't take summer courses in the summer semester, I can pay and stay in dorm, do you mean that?

electrictrad

supernutrino wrote: »

...and thus it doens't have fires. :cool: like Merville did last year..

I hear the Irish house still managed to make a fire this year without one. Toasters will be the next thing to go.

michellelslai

Is the on campus residence that expensive? I mean I have checked the fees online, like Roebuck Hall costs €3498 for ONE semester. Can barely afford it...

haro124

Yea its really expensive, and they put prices up by 12% this year