Accommodation In And Around DCU - Part 3

gizmo

On Campus Accommodation Continued

Shanowen Hall Apartments

FACTS

Size: 46 Units
Rent: €3960
Rooms: Four or five single en-suite bedrooms
Facilities: Shared kitchen, living, dining area
Bedrooms: Bed, bedside locker, study desk, office type chair, wardrobe, shelving unit.

SUMMARY

The bedrooms are nicely sized with a bedside locker, wardrobe, desk and plenty of overhead storage. The desk isn’t as big as those found on campus however and you won’t be able to fit your computer on it if you have a CRT monitor. Outside that though it is perfect for any other kind of use. You also have plenty of storage space in the shelving/cabinet unit above the desk. There is an NTL connection in each bedroom as well as the broadband access point. The NTL package is the basic one of Sky, E4 etc… so no music or movie stations.

The bathrooms are of a decent size. The shower is very good however you have to keep an eye on the heat/emersion/thermostat to make sure there’s water. There isn’t an everending supply like in College Park unfortunately.

The kitchens are nicely sized and with a large fridge and plenty of cupboard space. The fridges however, are very small and not suited to 4 o5 people sharing them. The oven and grill units are also better than those found on campus I have found. The living room is also adjoining the kitchen where there are two comfortable two seater couches and a one seater. There are also two coffee tables, one for the TV and one for putting your feet up on. There’s also a dinner table in the corner with enough chairs for everyone.

OPINION

I spent this year in Shanowen Hall up until I started INTRA. This year was however, not the best for the complex. Back in late November/December the complex changed hands and in the interim period control of the flats switched back over to the landlord which meant it was harder to get things repaired/replaced in many cases. This however was rectified and the complex is now being run buy a different company.
The security guard, Alex, is the same however. If you have a party he’ll call over and tell you to break it up otherwise you’re pretty much left up to your own devices. Its just as secure as campus but far more relaxed in every other area. To cut a long story short, you are allowed bring home guests at any time, that’s what people care about most really. Overall it’s a cool place to live. There’s a great atmosphere about the place and it’s only across the road from the college. In my opinion it’s the best place to live after first year.


Shanowen Square

FACTS

Size: 86 Units
Rent: €4346
Rooms: Four or five single en-suite bedrooms
Facilities: Shared kitchen, living, dining area
Bedrooms: Bed, bedside locker, study desk, office type chair, wardrobe, shelving unit.

SUMMARY

The rooms in Shanowen Hall are rather similar to their Hall counterparts. They are not all identical however so they vary between the same size and quite bigger than those found in Hall. Since the complex itself is newer also, the rooms themselves are nicer. The desks and shelving units are the same though.

The bathrooms in Square are much different to those found in Hall. They are both newer and nicer in general with a much “cleaner” white look to them. While I don’t live there I can’t really comment on the showers but I’m told they’re grand. Heating is the same as Hall however so it’s just something to bear in mind.

The kitchen/living area in Square is far bigger than that in Hall. The only downside is that the couches aren’t as comfy as those in Hall however it is a small price to pay for the extra room. All of the units also come with a microwave which is a bonus. Outside of that the facilities are the same with the only difference being that everything is just newer.

OPINON

This is where I’m going to be living next year. Why did I move from Shanowen Hall? Well really it’s just that I’m used to living someplace different every year so moving over to Square was the next logical step. The complex itself however, because it is newer, is also nicer. Everything is just more “finished” in terms of both the apartments and the grounds. There were also some complaints regarding mattress and TV connections. These, I have been told, have all been sorted out and so kudos must go to the office for sorting it out. I’m told they’re rather nice down there which is no surprise really since some of the former staff from Shanowen Hall work there now. Overall, like with Shanowen Hall, theres a great atmosphere around the place, security is friendly and tbh I'd also recommend it as the best place to live after first year.

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Well thats it really, outside of living in a house thats all of the various forms of accomodation in and around DCU covered. As I mentioned before this is just my opinion so I'm sure its going to differ from person to person, it should however give you a good idea of what to expect from each place so that you can make a somewhat more informed decision when choosing where to live.

Cina

I was thinking of Shanowen next year over College Park (which is what res offered me) but the only thing that slighty puts me off is that I heard the internet access there is very slow and makes things undoable at times. That said I've also heard it's not firewalled.

gizmo

Ah the internet issue. Right basically the connection in Shanowen can be rather tempremental however it is far from "unusable". If you want to game online (that'd be CS in your case Cina) then you can only do so comfortably from around 10pm onwards during the college term. This is due mainly to everyone torrenting the **** out of the connection.

Outside of games the connection is fine for web browsing. Average download speeds are around 30-40k and jump up to about 60k at night. This all may seem rubbish compared to Res however bear in mind it is completely open, no firewalls, no proxy....no anything really.

So basically it boils down to whether you wana a fast connection that can do sfa or an ok connection that can do everything reasonably.

phantom_lord

Faceless Man wrote:

This all may seem rubbish compared to Res however bear in mind it is completely open, no firewalls, no proxy....no anything really.

What are the res restrictions like? Are poker sites playable?

gizmo

No poker (that I'm aware of), no games (with the exemption of Steam based ones), no P2P, no Torrenting...nothing useful really.

Cina

my flatmate can run VC Student Poker, and it's possible to get games unfirewalled if you ask nicely, I did this year.