front court

29 - Blantyre

Grade: 3

Living Room: No

Basin: No

Network: Wired and Wireless

CUDN Access: Yes

Floor: First

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Year	Comment
2016	Lovely Room. There's not much to add to what people have already written. The 2 huge windows are fantastic with lovely surroundings, bird song in the mornings and very low road noise. There's also loads of floor space, so it's great if you want to have a few friends over for dinner. Heating- previous occupants have said it's cold at night but I've found keeping the radiator on high keeps the room perfectly warm (even if the energy wastage is shameful). I'm quite aghast to hear that there have been "juicy spider" issues, as I have not come across any yet...(I'm nervous now). I can indeed vouch for the ladybird issue though - I had 200 this Michaelmas (yes, procrastination made me count them), which is fine if you're into nature but not so fine if you can't deal with them flying around your room while you sleep in November and slowly dying on your floor in January. One other downside, although quite clearly stated is that there is no sink/basin, which can be quite frustrating at times but having said that, the room is right next to the biggest and probably least busy kitchen in the house. This room is the perfect getaway from Cambridge's hecticness and great value for money (still at grade 3).
2015	Fantastic room - loads of space for very little money, and the two huge windows make it feel even bigger. Plenty of sunlight which makes it a really nice place to work, especially in the evenings when lovely sunset colours come in through the smaller window. Loads of storage space except for the fridge, which can only fit about one meal's worth of food in - but with Tesco just down the road this isn't really a problem. Its also right next to the biggest kitchen in the house, and as I'm a rugby player I definitely appreciated having baths and a washing machine in the house. The showers are also far better than they were in my old room - good water pressure, even if lots of people using the water at once. Two points to bear in mind - the room is quite hard to heat in the winter, as it is single glazed with two external walls, so loses heat very quickly overnight but sunlight coming in through the windows heats it up a lot in the day. Basically it will be warm in the day time, then plummet overnight so it is cold in the mornings. The second point is that as mentioned above, the room does have its own ecosystem. Opening the windows in Michaelmas leads to an invasion of ladybirds from the colony outside, which seemed to survive pretty well for most of the term then started dying out in the last few weeks. This corrosponded with a number of large, well-fed looking spiders appearing. We are on freindly terms and they have been keeping me company throughout Lent term, but if you are not happy to offer lodgings to such guests this may not be the room for you. But overall: cheap, loads of space, lots of light, big kitchen, washing machine, baths and really not as far away as people think. Also super convenient if you are in the chemistry department a lot.
2014	Fantastic room. Pros: Very quiet - as far away from the common room as you can probably get, which could make it slightly less sociable. faces the garden so almost no noise from the road at all Very bright - 2 large windows means that the room is always brightly lit (notice the 2 potted plants by the windowstill ;p) some people may not like the sun shining on their face at 7am in the morning, but the windows have blinds if you need them. Very spacious gyp room - right next to the room, which is very convenient Spacious - medium sized, but the interesting heptagonal shape of the room makes it feel much larger than it actually is. Nice view - of the garden and the neighbor's garden. Cons: Directly over housekeeper - so if you're hoping to host lots of parties, this is probably not the room for you. having said that, if you're a reasonably quiet person, then it's never a problem. Drafty - 2 sets of windows means the insulation can be a problem. this room is always a few degrees colder than the rest of the house, which makes it quite cold during the winter. Lots of spiders - i've noticed a couple of fairly large spiders crawling round the place, i don't mind them, but the previous occupant was absolutely terrified. keep in mind if you're arachnophobic. oh yes, there was also a small ladybug colony hibernating in a small corner of the ceiling over the winter. Poor wifi - but wired internet is great, so that's not a problem Conclusion: Really value for money! it was only a grade 3 during my time (2012/13) probably one of the best deals ever! the draftiness and spiders probably kept the cost low.
2014	This is a great room. It has two massive windows which face south and east over gardens, so you get a nice view and loads of natural light. The curtains are good at keeping it dark enough to sleep in in the mornings, though. The downside of the windows is that they are single glazed, and it can get quite cold in winter if it's a grey day - bring a hot water bottle and obtain an extra blanket! The room is an interesting shape, which makes it seem more personal. I really like the layout, and you can move stuff around if you want. Large built in wardrobe with ample space - I converted half of mine into a pantry instead. Nice decoration, and close to a good sized kitchen with two hob rings and two microwaves in it (apparently we're not allowed a combi oven though). Furniture includes bed, desk, desk chair, comfy chair, chest of drawers, fridge on table, coffee table and built in wardrobe. There is a bathroom and shower/toilet room on the same floor which is handy, but there are two more showers downstairs which have much better water pressure. Laundry room also downstairs with a washing machine and dryer, although the dryer doesn't usually dry your clothes all the way. Next to the laundry room there's another kitchen which has a combi oven, which I've used a couple of times. I was warned that this room had the reputation of being the 'spider room', but I haven't seen any so far this year. I put conkers on the windowsills because apparently that discourages spiders. If you do get spiders, I heartily recommend this method. One last tip - this room is a favourite ladybird-hibernating location. If you open the windows during Michaelmas term, hordes of ladybirds will take up residence in the corners of your room over the winter. I personally didn't mind, but they tended to start dying all over the floor come January. Overall a really good room, with great value for money. It's a less than 5 minute cycle to college, so it's easy to go in for stuff. I didn't tend to use hall very much because the kitchen let me cook for myself and my friends much more than I could last year.