Look. I knew this was a student accommodation so I wasn't expecting much, but this place has some serious problems to sort out. For the positives: the kitchens are large and functional, and there is a weekly cleaning service for the kitchen which is wonderful. On to the negatives: I did not have hot water for a month when I first moved in, and had to move rooms eventually because the issue persisted. You are treated in a bit of a patronising way by security, and I have friends who were harrassed constantly to prove they lived here. There is also a rule that you cannot bring a guest after 10 pm, which has been incredibly frustrating for me and other people with friends/ family arriving on late-night flights. Finally, and I will admit that this is absolutely not the fault of the accommodation, BUT Stratford is just...not a great place to live. You will live across from the Westfield Stadium which means there will be a LOT of noise whenever there is a match or event (and honestly even when there is nothing on), and it is impossible to get to and from Stratford station when there is a concert (I once spent over an hour pushing through crowds to get to the dorm, which is in theory 10 minutes away!).
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Karrar Hashim
7 Apr 2024
UCL Cruciform Building Reception Team:
This is serious! If UCL takes its students' feedback seriously, I would appreciate it if they could take action on this matter!!!
I am a UCL student, and today, Sunday, April 7th 2024, at 10:48 AM. I showed my ID to the reception guy, and I wanted to go to the hub, but he didn't open the main door, although it was just 12 minutes before the hub opening time (not the building opening time)! The problem is not here, and the problem is that guy was "Very Rude" and not nice or a normal person at all!!!
Speak to you in a way as he is fighting with you!!!!! This guy and there's another one; their place should not be at a world university like UCL. Other staff members are friendly and big respect for them!! I included the date and time to allow them to investigate who that guy was! I very much hope that UCL management can kindly take this matter seriously and give them some training on how to be nice or at least normal with students. I want to study with good mood not with someone get you upset in the main door for no reason!!!!
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Francesco BacchiniLocal Guide
14 Mar 2024
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this place, despite its appealing exterior. The rooms are very small (especially in Tower 1), and the luxury of having a 'private' bathroom does not necessarily compensate for that. The heating system also has its flaws: it's centrally regulated, meaning your room could be extremely cold or extremely warm, with no way to adjust it manually. You need a magnetic card (similar to the ones used in hotels) to access every space of the building, including your room, which can be troublesome at times - especially when going from the kitchen to your room, since you constantly have to remember to carry the key with you. The same key is also used to open the multiple security doors present at every level and in every space, making the space feel overly secure at times to the point where the extra security becomes more of an annoyance than a benefit. Clearly, the designers of the building and its policies did not consider the user's perspective. From a user/student perspective, it may feel that this won't be a place you could call a 'second home,' primarily because of the extreme security and the hierarchical distance between the personnel and the occupants of the building. Last but not least, as someone mentioned in another review: the security is so strict that you can't literally bring anyone from the outside in or have any guests. Despite this being possible (by signing up for guests to stay overnight for a maximum of 7 nights per month), the process is made so complicated, with many caveats, that it almost feels like that's a no-go. Essentially, my suggestion is to opt for this place only if you're in extreme need of a place to stay or you value the location as a significant selling point.
Edit: All these details and information were not revealed to me prior to arriving here, that's why I'm warning potential future tenants.
I stayed here until the date of the contract , and now I miss there🥺At first, as others mentioned, there was a heating problem. But it has been solved thanks to many stuff and engineer :) the accommodation has 247 security( they are kind and wonderful. They always welcome me when I get back home). Around the accommodation, you can enjoy the view of nature, at the same time going to big shopping mall(Westfield). Enjoy your life here😊
I’ll introduce some memorable pictures.
On May 19 2023 UCL cancelled a Cruciform Building booking by a fierce Putin critic Viktor Shenderovich, without any explanation, an hour before the concert start time. This can be seen as supporting Putin's war in Ukraine and an act of suppressing the freedom of speech, which is a shame for UCL.
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Yaman KalajiLocal Guide
18 Apr 2023
There has been a lot of debate about this accommodation, mainly because it was rushed in 2022/2023 which caused multiple problems in heating, water temperature, laundry, and other minor issues to students for that academic year. Being one of these students, I felt I should describe my experience:
- Heating and water temperature (1/5): the building is designed on sustainability principles, which don’t give you full control over how warm your room would be, not to mention the consistent distributions because it’s still a new building. The accommodation team have been trying to fix them, yet it’s not totally solved but it got better since I moved in.
- The view and the area (5/5): honestly living in a park was a unique experience- you can see the pictures. Also the area is 10 minutes walk from the tube station (Stratford station). A TfL bus usually comes in front of the building so you can take it easily and go where you want if needed. You have a close Westfield under your fingertips, so you can find whatever you want. I can say that One Pool Street was intentionally built in a strategic location.
- Laundry (2/5): it‘s relatively small, only 8 washers/dryers per tower. Some of them break and need time to get fixed.
- Room and flat size (3.5/5): there are 9 en-suits in a flat. This could be a large number but the kitchen is ridiculously big so it makes difference- see the pictures. The room itself is tiny, sometimes I had a difficulty in moving.
- Quality (4/5): kitchen tools were new and state-of-the-art, there is a big TV screen too connected to Wifi. Sometimes things malfunctioned because they are still new and were still being calibrated, but clearly quality was put in mind when this building was constructed.
Note: I noticed that students’ experience differed because they lived on different floors and different towers. Some floors had more issues than others.
Disclaimer: I lived and studied in the same building, so I didn’t have any commuting.
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Simon SuthersLocal Guide
28 Feb 2023
A beautiful historic building Britains first ever quarantine hospital
Horrible ventilation, it's either too cold in winter or too hot at other times of the year. The seats have no chargers even at the sides.
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veiledessence1
9 Jan 2023
I don't recommend One Pool Street as an accommodation at all. Your basic daily needs as a human being will not be met. Inconsistent hot water to shower, and often you will have to finish your shower in freezing cold water when it's -3 degrees outside. Heater rarely works inside the room, so you will be freezing most of the time. Toilet has not been flushing properly for several days. Lights in the kitchen don't work. Ventilator in the kitchen doesn't work. Poor kitchen design. Washer and dryer in the laundry rooms are always breaking, leaving 300+ residents to argue over 2 dryers, when there should be 4 working ones. We were rushed to move into this building which clearly was not ready for us. Too expensive for the lack of facilities we are able to use. Too much of a hassle to commute to and from main campus.
