Calthorpe Court, Birmingham

Spacious room with en-suite with a large sized kitchen-cum-dining room (based on what you get within the price). Nice area close to Aldi. Only problem is a bit far from University of Birmingham - but walkable in 30 to 40 mins, so not so bad. Generally clean, but could have done a bit better (as there were lots of spiders & cobwebs). This is based on first impression, need to see how they respond to any maintenance issues.

Pretty horrendous place to live, really wouldnt recommend moving here, if your wifi goes down they will take 3+ months to fix it (whilst still paying full price for bills included) leaving you completely stranded, not to mention other issues which just take months to get fixed even if its basic maintenance.

(If 0 stars were an option I would have clicked that!) I just want to warn anyone and everyone who is considering to book this accommodation for the next academic year. Don’t book it !! Don’t live here unless you want to leave with insect bites and mould related health problems ! Initially, when I moved here, I faced numerous problems including, a used shower with hair and mould everywhere, no chair, false advertising and insects scurrying around. I’m pretty confident no thorough cleaning was done after the last tenant left. But I didn’t lose hope all at once I informed the management about the issues and while some things were sorted others including the insects and mould were ignored. After complaining and sending photos of the insects the staff would come in and spray something and leave but that never helped. Eventually the poor staff member who kept coming up to deal with the insects felt bad for me and told me to order my own insecticide so I could deal with the issue on my own. And so I did. I learnt to live with the insects. Over the course of my stay I have found numerous insect bites and possible bed bug bites all over my body and now I’m taking antihistamines on a regular to compact the symptoms. While compared to the rest of Birmingham this accommodation is located in a quiet and comfortable area, insufficient maintenance and lack of adequate cleanliness is what made my stay here unpleasant. Things like this can be worked on and I really hope they are for future tenants.

I have a single bed en-suite and when I first moved in the room seemed claustrophobic but honestly after decorating and settling in it’s completely fine. The only issue I have with the size of the room is that I like to stretch on a mat in the morning - this is very difficult to do in my room. The desk is a huge plus. Its very long and as I have a PC setup with 2 monitors I still have nearly half of the desk left. Storage is fine but it would have been a problem if not for the under the bed space. There is a good size mirror in the room and bathroom which is nice and I was given a slim mattress topper which was a pleasant surprise. The bathroom size is good I just wish there was a little storage space for bathroom amenities. My shower, although a bit small for me (I’m 6ft bigger build), is superb. The pressure and heat is phenomenal. Honestly this is my favourite thing about the room I love the showers. The toilet is of good design but little space around the sink for soap and cup. The Kitchen/living room is good, nice island, good induction stove and a good oven. Enough space for sit n chat. I heard that they did not provide a microwave which scared me but thankfully it was there and its a good one. In my experience the number one issue with this accommodation is the lack of toaster and most critically, no kettle. As a tea addict this has left me with severe mental and physical damage. The area is decent, thought it would be louder but with a closed window its nearly silent which is great. There is a chippy, morrisons local, pub and a late night shop across the road which is just brilliant. Aldi is 5 minutes away and there are very frequent busses to city centre and UoB with 10p tickets - absolutely lush. The building at the back includes a really good study space I use it alot and I appreciate that its there because in my opinion its better to seperate work and living area, there is also a movie room and a games rom with a pool table!!! While you have to pay 3.50 per was and like 1.50 for a dry, they are big enough to fit 2 large washes of your typical home washer. There are some events that happen here and occasional food vans that come which is nice. The move in process would have been very hard had it not been for helpers that had shopping trolleys and helper carrying - huge shoutout to the people that ‘acquired’ the Aldi shopping trolleys xD. For the good price, honestly the only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is the lack of kettle, there is no reason not to include it and it’s a pain to get one - everything else completely fine - great place

Do not book here if you want to stay warm during winter!! Since the new heaters were installed, the rooms are freezing. The maximum temperature is capped at 22°C and only lasts for about two hours, which is completely inadequate in winter. Management claims they have no control over the decision to replace the heaters—but if that’s the case, who does? The old heaters worked perfectly fine and there were never any issues before. Tenants should have been consulted before such a downgrade was made. Paying over £9,000 a year in rent only to be cold in your own accommodation is unacceptable. It’s absolutely not worth the price, and I will definitely be moving out next year.