urbanest Westminster Bridge Student Accommodation Reviews Summary

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Everyone in stuff is so friendly, helpful and nice, they made me feel like home."
• "The staff is friendly and if any maintenance is required its available."
• "All the staff made my stay easier, they have always helped me with any problem."
• "The maintenance and reception staff are good - always warm and able to help."
• "Staff is also very friendly and helpful."
• "The staff members are always smiling and very helpful!"
• "The staff is very friendly, the building is clean/modern and the facilities (including the gym and the pool) are super nice!"

Cons:

• "From the management being absolute jokes, to the lack of privacy (I've woken up to someone in the room & arrived to unannounced staff members), to the lack of support/follow up (my stuff was taken from a shared bedroom)."
• "Phone lines don't work, emails go unanswered, (most) staff is inefficient, pretty terrible service all around."
• "Staff at the reception lack training and consistently give inaccurate information."
• "They refuse to even show affected students CCTV footage."
• "Some staffs are RUDE and RACIST (especially the night staff)."
• "Rude and unhelpful personnel, cold water half of the time, key never working and help desk unable to repair it correctly."
• "Rude and unhelpful staff at the reception."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

• "With a good gym, a pool, amazing views, and a sociable atmosphere all within a very central London location."
• "The gym/pool/sauna are also a plus."
• "There is a floor available for students to study and a four corners cafe in the lobby which serves drinks and snacks."
• "The building is clean/modern and the facilities (including the gym and the pool) are super nice!"
• "We have 3 full entertainment rooms with amazing views of all of London, pool tables, ping pong tables and a cinema."
• "The building is modern and offers several facilities as the gym, the swimming pool and a lot of study rooms."
• "It's in a very central location, has lots of awesome facilities (fitness, table tennis, swimming pool, little cafe with great croissants, to mention but a few!)."

Cons:

• "The rooms are so tiny and you pay peak Central London prices for facilities that you probably will never use in your tenancy because of COVID-19."
• "Laundry machines are generally broken."
• "Gym staff are nowhere to be seen, and the place is in disarray with machines that don't work."
• "The video game consoles that were advertised on the website had been stolen by students and have not yet been replaced."
• "Overly loud music in the 'study areas', even during exam period."
• "Swimming pool is said to open seven days a week but no one arrives to open it on Sundays."
• "The TV/videogames room comes with unusable TV's, dead HDMI cables and a broken XBOX."

Location and Connectivity

Pros:

• "Urbanest is equidistant from Westminster and Waterloo stations which makes the connectivity phenomenal."
• "The location is exquisite, you are right in the middle of the city, with breathtaking views no matter where you are in the building."
• "The location is brilliant...waking up every morning to the view of Big Ben and the London eye is a treat."
• "Despite adjacent to a railway station, there's hardly any noise if you get the window closed."
• "The location is perfect and you have grocery stores, banks and fast foods nearby."
• "The area is safe and King's College and BPP waterloo campus along with both Westminster and Waterloo station are at 10 mins walk."
• "The placement is also ideal for students at King's and LSE who have courses in Waterloo and Aldwych/Holborn."

Cons:

• "The view is usually not what is shown in the pictures."
• "If you are on the side facing Waterloo station, you'll hear trains coming to a screeching halt and any ongoing work on the tracks below at all hours of the day and night."
• "If your room is facing Big Ben there is a chance your view will be blocked by Park Plaza hotel."
• "Trains are extremely noisy."
• "The location also is not very ideal if you are attending the London school of economics."
• "There is very little ventilation in the rooms and the view is usually not what is shown in the pictures."
• "If you don't mind spending the whole academic year with your windows dirty and with small details everywhere that shows the bad administration of the place, then you are fine."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The apartments are more expensive than average, but you get what you pay for."
• "Nice gym and swimming pool for a decent price."
• "You really do get what you pay for!"
• "Plus, the rooms are really nice and the accommodation has a lot to offer, such as a nice pool, a big gym (for student accommodation standards, it's a big gym) and an amazing rooftop terrace."
• "The hall has a great location and amazing facilities (gym, swimming pool...)."
• "Good location and facilities with a great gym and amazing view from the common room of the 18th floor."
• "Fantastic 18th floor terrace."

Cons:

• "Don’t book this accommodation! At this point Urbanest strategically rip off students during the pandemic."
• "Worst value for money EVER! Paying £350 p/week."
• "To sum up, you pay way too much for what you get for that price."
• "They’re unlawfully charging people’s accounts for rent without permission."
• "It is incredibly expensive for a student accommodation and you’re better off getting a shared flat with your friends."
• "High rental prices with low return in satisfaction."
• "Living here is making me depressed, and also poor - this place costs money you're probably better off spending at the casino."

Internet and Utilities

Pros:

• "The internet is flawless."
• "Within the building, the staff is super friendly and proactive about solving problems (I had my shower fixed within 2 hours of alerting them of the problem)."
• "The staff is very useful and very polite."

Cons:

• "However I have had problems with hot water supply (which lasted for 2 weeks if not more)."
• "Internet either not working or being slow."
• "There has been no wifi for the past 4 weeks and they refuse to take any action despite repeated complaints."
• "NO bloody WIFI half of the time!!!!"
• "Internet speeds are far below what are promised. Water goes out intermittently, as do the elevators."
• "Boiler not working for straight 20 days."
• "Fire alarms go off every now and then without any real cause, deliveries go missing, laundry machines, refrigerators and lifts breakdown frequently."

Safety and Security

Pros:

• "Moreover, the residence is super safe and I am impressed with the compliance with governmental guidelines regarding safety now in the pandemic."
• "The staff and management have been very lenient and helpful."
• "It’s extremely close to the Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Westminster Abbey."

Cons:

• "False fire alarm? EVERYDAY, you'd really doubt how would you get to know when a real fire happens."
• "People’s laptops are getting stolen from inside the building, which means there are little to no safety measures."
• "Fire safety is completely sub-par and dangerous."
• "Urbanest has demonstrated zero flexibility in cancelling contracts, expecting us to pay 6 months of rent while not being there."
• "The company repeatedly lost my packages, responded dully when students demanded wifi, and were slow to change their ways."
• "Missing parcels even it is being signed for."
• "They overcharged my friend £1000 without telling him and only refunded him when he reviewed everything and noticed."