Student Only Albany Student Village

Residents have secure entry, and the complex has modern facilities: gyms, a cinema, an outdoor multi-sports pitch, table tennis, snooker tables and an in-house laundry. Internet is high speed. It’s a brand-new student residence serving Coventry and Warwick universities, with modern furnishings throughout.

I’m a first-year student and only a month into living here, but so far it’s been a poor experience. There’s no parking for students, and moving in was awful: the gates were shut, so I had to carry all my things from across the street. Reception is empty most of the time. When someone is there, collecting a parcel can still be a struggle. I’ve been told to come back later after getting a collection notification, or they haven’t sent the QR code needed to collect it. This place also seems poorly suited to freshers. If you lock yourself out, whether anyone comes to help depends on the time and how they feel. At 11 pm last night, I called the out-of-hours number after locking myself out. It wasn’t useful at all. The person told me, “I don't get paid for this,” said he was “waking up at 6,” and told me to sleep in the kitchen and call back at 8. That wouldn’t work for me, since I need to leave by 8 to get to a 9 am start, and the buses are rubbish. When someone eventually came to let me in, I found out they could unlock the door from their phone. Suggesting I sleep in a shared area, with the safeguarding concerns that brings, instead of opening my room remotely was incredibly frustrating. Buses only come every 30 minutes and can skip you at busy times. There is a gym, but the cinema and study rooms are often locked. Construction starts at 8 am and can be loud until the afternoon. I wasn’t told there’d be deafening work or a man outside and inside my room at 11 am. The only notice was a “friendly email” saying there would be MINOR construction outside. The place looks kind of nice and is cheap, but it has made living here frustrating and feel unsafe, especially as a fresher in a new city. I’d choose somewhere else, preferably on campus. Cleaners don’t seem to come into the flat or clean the shared areas. That’s left to you and your flatmates with the basic equipment they provide. Other hostels I’ve used supplied a decent mop and hoover even when they didn’t offer cleaning. For reference, laundry currently costs 1.75 for a 30-minute dry and 2.75 for a 30-minute wash. You need to bring your own detergent. They use Wash Net, not Circuit Laundry, and I haven’t had a bad experience with the laundry so far. I also don’t think the positive student reviews here can be trusted. Management offer prizes for five-star reviews with more than 30 characters. I rarely write reviews, but I feel I should warn freshers who’ve ended up living off campus. I’d give this zero stars if I could. Please steer clear.

My son had a complicated situation, and Nicky R gave us advice and guided us through the process until we’d sorted everything out. The facilities are really good, and he’s now very happy with his room at Albany student village. The customer service was second to none. Thank you, Nicky!

I really like the common room and private kitchen, which are great for having friends over. The building is clean and modern, and the staff are kind and helpful. They reply to emails quickly and give support when you need it.