Highbury - iQ Student Accommodation London — Attraction in London

Awful experience, couldn't wait to leave. I could deal with the extortionate fees, the aggravated theft at knife point outside the building and the gun shots that were heard recently, but when the front door broke and it took over a month to fix, causing homeless people to break in, drunk people to enter the building, hop the barriers and assault people in their kitchens it, became a bit much. On top of the violence of the area, the staff were horrible, unhelpful and rude. 3 microwave ovens between 13 people is all you get, in my flat, 2/3 of these 'ovens' broke. After 6 weeks of begging they replaced them but not with the same small ones we had before, but with even smaller ones that couldn't fit a plate and were actually grills. Our fridges broke on a Friday evening but wouldn't be fixed until Monday as they weren't a priority wasting off all of our food. luckily, Because there was only 2 small freezer shelves between 13 there wasn't much frozen food to go to waste. When complaining about the conditions we were patronised, spoken down to, and myself singled out because I had the strength to stand up to them. When our kitchen door broke so no one could get into the kitchen for food or water, this wasn't a priority and were told to take shifts over night keeping the door open by hand (as we were not allowed to prop the door open because of fire safety). Sure IQ attempts to make this place more palatable by ordering pizza once or twice a year for us to share, or by replacing expensive non-stick pan that they broke, or admitting to when their cleaning staff stole our tequila, sure they try and make it homely with banners and Indian food on occasion, but it never made up for their gross negligence and poor attitude which made us feel unsafe and unimportant in our own homes. They call it 'student accommodation' but then proceeded to move in 50+ year old asian males who walked around in pjs, making us girls feel very unsafe. It wasn't all bad, I do thank IQ for giving such great and hopefully life long friends, you make steadfast friends when banded against a common threat: IQ Highbury. Every conversation is a battle, every day something new goes wrong: your shower not working, no water, all the fuses blowing, fridge leaking, fridge breaking, toaster blew up, lights break, door locking you out, freezer breaking, rude staff, 3/5 washing machines broken leaving 2 machines between 470 people, cleaners moving and taking your stuff, at first it's comical, how can this many things go wrong in the same place? But then it becomes draining, that and the fact that if you don't collect your parcels soon enough they'll send them back, and the loud building site that is just below your window from hours 8am-6pm everyday except Sunday, meaning you can't open your windows the 3inches they can open because of the noise and dust, but can't stay in your room for fear of heat exhaustion. As accommodation I would say it is better than being homeless, but only just. This is my second year in accommodation, last year my room was infested with bugs and didn't have any hot water for a month but that was still better than...

The location and friendly staff are the only good things about this accommodation. Other than that, living here has been quite a bad experience.

My room faces the road, so it gets very noisy when the window is open. During summer, the room becomes extremely hot, it literally feels like a steam room. It’s almost impossible to stay there, or you will sweat all over your body. I have to run away as early as possible in the morning, and back as late as possible because I don’t want to stay in the steam room. Opening the window is the only way to ventilate — but then you're constantly disturbed by the noise from outside.

The public kitchen is a nightmare. If you’re unlucky enough to be assigned a flatmate who is unhygienic, like I was, you’ll likely find yourself constantly stressed out about cleanliness and rubbish disposal throughout the entire academic year (usually 8-10 people share one kitchen, however, it only takes one unhygienic person to ruin the kitchen). Eventually, I started avoiding the kitchen altogether and eating out instead, which led to a less healthy diet and significantly higher food expenses. (I’d like to take a moment to thank the cleaning staff who come every two weeks to clean the kitchen — they have to deal with an extremely dirty and disgusting environment, which is far beyond what they should be expected to tolerate.)

The common area on the "M floor" still smells strongly of the recent renovation(which was in the year 2023 i suppose?). I needed a study room, but the air in the public study space gave me headaches if I stayed there for more than 30 minutes, making it unusable for me.

the fire alarm ringing almost a lot, queit annoying.

The elevator is extremely slow — at this point, I’ve given up on using it and take the stairs every day.

The laundry room is often busy and it can be difficult to find an available washing machine. and the washer machines are out of order quite often.

Finding a new tenant to takeover contrast has lots of unneccessary and troubled procedure and requeirement, makes it really diffecult to sublet the room. I ended up wasted for 1 month's rent becasue i went home during the summer, and the new tenant I found to takeover my contrast was considered “not qualified” according to them. And I suspect they deliberately ignore the tenancy take over enquiry email to prevent you from finding new tenants. If you paid for 51 weeks and you need to sublett the room during summer, finding someone to take over your contract is going to be really hard because the troublesome and weird sublett process. (So your rent during summer could go to waste)

In the end, i do not recommend this place, it’s been a horrible year and this terrible living condition has impact on my mental health. I would probably avoid iQ accomodation altogether...

Edit (I realised this is a lengthy review so here is a quick summary of what I wrote): I’ve just finished my stay at this iQ accommodation and it’s been the best of my three student halls so far. Facilities are reliable (beds, laundry, kitchens, gym/cinema), but what really stands out is the staff. Reception, maintenance, and housekeeping were supportive, approachable, and made the building feel like home

Original: (First of all nothing I write will ever live up to the amazing standards IQ provided with, but I will try)

I’ve just finished my time living here, and leaving feels bittersweet. This was my third student accommodation in three years, and I can honestly say this has been the best.

The basics were all great, the beds were genuinely the comfiest I’ve ever had in student halls (and after the long shifts/uni days, that mattered more than anything). The karaoke room, cinema, and gym were always in good condition. I never had any issues with The laundry room and it always worked without drama (a miracle in student living!). Personally the trains were never really an issue for me, but I live near an airport so… and the kitchens being cleaned fortnightly made such a difference, let’s be honest, students aren’t always the cleanest 🫣. The housekeeping team deserve real credit for keeping everything in good shape it made day-to-day life easier without us even realising how much work went into it.

But what makes this place outstanding isn’t the facilities, it’s the people. The reception team (Dylan and Beth) genuinely defined my experience here. They weren’t just professional, they were approachable, patient, consistently kind and attentive. In my very first week I got lost more times than I’d like to admit, and they always pointed me the right way with a smile.

Later on, when things became tougher (especially over the festive period) they were there too: helping me through a room change, checking in and creating an atmosphere where I felt safe and supported. It wasn’t an easy year, but those small moments of kindness made a huge difference.

And I’ve got to give a proper shoutout to the maintenance team as well. They were always quick, always friendly, and sorted things without fuss. Their reliability kept everything running smoothly, and they deserve the same recognition. Especially Versillies! (Im sorry if I spelt your name wrong..)

The facilities here were good, but it’s the staff reception, housekeeping, and maintenance that made my experience truly memorable. They turned what could have been just another building into a place that felt like home. I’ll always be grateful for that, and I hope this review shows just how much they deserve the...