CEU Conference and Residence Center

I spent a year in the single dorm room, which had its own bedroom and bathroom, a definite plus. The location is great, with frequent buses, M2 nearby, and a 24/7 pharmacy close by. I did enjoy my time overall, though I think replacing Krisztina would make a big difference. The pool hasn’t worked for over three years, and the tennis court was often out of order. A lot of the front desk staff were rude. Deliveries can’t be brought to your room, which is frustrating when you order food. Laundry is another hassle: there are long queues unless you go at off-hours, and the old machines can take two hours for a cycle listed as 1.5. When the weather gets warm, bugs and cockroaches keep showing up no matter how clean your room is. Cleaning stops after you move in, and requests for it are often ignored. You can rent a vacuum with a 10,000 HUF deposit, which you get back, but the card refund takes several days. That’s inconvenient if you don’t carry cash. There’s an ATM on-site, but it works only about 20% of the time. The restaurant has meal options, though its prices went up a lot near the end of my stay. The gym is small, old, and not cleaned regularly. Despite what people say, the bar doesn’t open on weekends. Social life can be awkward too, with cliques forming, especially among some nationalities. The downstairs convenience shop is handy, but service can be slow when the owner is chatting with friends in their native language and ignoring English-speaking customers.

I stayed here for three days with my friends from CEU. The price was cheap for us, but the alumni booking management is a mess and could be improved.

The rooms are nice, but the staff are very disrespectful. There’s no privacy when the cleaning service comes to your door, since you have to let them in. Laundry is a constant problem too, with at least half the machines always out of order and queues as a result. In summer they don’t turn on the AC, maybe to save electricity costs. Whenever we asked, we got the same response: “we can’t help you.” It’s impossible to stay inside in hot weather. The shared kitchens are very dirty, and some students behave bizarrely and wreck them. I wouldn’t recommend it. You can find private apartments with better prices and conditions.

The staff were really impolite and disrespectful. I bought two laundry tokens, but one didn’t work. Reception called a technician, who said I hadn’t put the token in the machine even though I had. He was rude and pretty mean.