Student Only Oldway Centre

The shared kitchen and fridge became unusable for me because I was genuinely afraid I'd get sick. The shared area was left so filthy that it was beyond sanitary, while my flatmates played football in the corridor, screamed every night and bullied and physically threatened me when I complained. I reported this repeatedly, but nothing changed. I was told, “we know they aren’t good people but we can’t do anything”. I was an international student, freshly 18 and alone in a foreign country when I lived at Oldway during my first year at university. Those nine months felt like hell. After months of bargaining, they offered me a smaller room than the one I was paying for, just a few weeks before my lease ended. I was the one who had to move. It let me get through the last stretch and barely pass my exams, but the whole experience wrecked my mental health. I went back home and dropped out, lost thousands of pounds, and received no monetary compensation from Oldway, despite losing access to the shared amenities and being moved to a smaller room after weeks of asking for help. Two years later, I'm only now realising how dangerous the situation was, especially the adults' failure to act. I'm still recovering. Please save yourself the trouble and live somewhere else. The pictures are screenshots from a video I sent to reception.

The location is nice, but students thinking of living here should be very cautious. There have been serious concerns about how staff behave, including reports of discrimination and mistreatment toward students and other staff. Before signing a contract this year, I'd strongly suggest looking into the environment carefully and thinking it through.

I've loved living at oldway for two academic years and would recommend it to anyone who wants their own place instead of a shared house. You can book rooms in the same flat with friends, or choose a studio. For the price, the rooms and on-site amenities are great quality, and staff are social, communicative and quick to sort maintenance issues. It's in a handy spot: about ten minutes on foot to the clubs, town shops and food, two minutes to the train station and a small tesco, with a bus stop right behind the accommodation. The bus gets to campus in 20-30 minutes. The gym is good quality, open 24/7 and doesn't usually get overcrowded, though early morning is best. It saves paying for a membership elsewhere. The rebooking offers helped a lot. I saved £900 by booking the same room again, which made it easier for my parents and me to cover what my loan didn't. I'd recommend it to anyone heading into second or third year, or a masters.

The location by the train station is great, with easy access to the city centre. After three years here, though, I've seen plenty of reasons to avoid Oldway Centre. Water was unavailable for an extended time on floors 10-12, and residents were left coping with it for far too long. For the already high price, basic water service shouldn't be an issue. Management has made living here consistently unpleasant. The general manager openly speaks badly about current and former residents behind their backs, and legitimate concerns are treated as if the person raising them is the problem. Since I spoke up, I've been ignored and treated as a threat to their reputation. I have mental health challenges, and the lack of empathy and respect has made things worse. I've experienced two-faced behaviour and disrespect instead of support. I've also seen what looks like review manipulation around the Global Student Living Index (GSLI): management suddenly gets very friendly, offering free laundry or event rewards for 5-star reviews, and discouraging feedback if they think it'll be less than five stars. That's not honest feedback. A hate symbol was left in the courtyard for over two months, too. It wasn't removed until I escalated the matter through a formal complaint, even though it should have been dealt with right away. The place may look good on the surface, but poor management, no accountability and disregard for residents are the reality. Don't book Oldway Centre. You can do much better elsewhere.