The Cube Ealing — Attraction in London

Knowing that this building was brand new when we first moved in in September (2018), we booked a Deluxe Twin room. When we checked the website to see what it would look like, there were no real photographs, just unrealistic drawings of what it 'should' look like. For the price we paid to stay here it was 100% not worth it.

The first 4 months we stayed, we had no CCTV or laundry services so we were informed that we had to take our washing elsewhere and 'claim the money back' if we kept receipts.

The '24 hour help desk' that is advertised on the website is only a poster on the reception door with a phone number to the Prestige Student Living call center (no help).

During this time there were always builders and construction within the building most days of the week - seemed like nothing could be fixed. The main lift rarely works, the main doors to reception and 'common room' are often broken and don't shut properly, allowing literally anyone to walk in (police had to be called on few occasions)

The roof on the third floor where we stayed was leaking from January (when it was first notified) till around late march. So as the bucket constantly overflowed which was left there, this warped the floor. However, management tried to put the blame on us (the whole third floor) for leaving rubbish out in the corridor (to take out to the bins) 'causing damage' to the flooring. After three months of having a warped floor due to the leaking, we received an email stating that the 'cost of the new floor would be split between residence on the third floor'. Thankfully this never happened, but it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to scam us into it taking our money for something that clearly wasn't our fault.

Even within the first week we moved in our kitchen sink was leaking, our toilet wouldn't flush properly and during the winter when the heating didn't work and we had no hot water for a few days, we got given a portable heater for the full room. Not to mention when we had no water we were told we had to go to another student accommodation(?) about a mile away just to get a shower.

Despite the fact we were given a key to open the window, there was no where to put it as the window didn't actually open and the 'fan' was useless.

It is now July and we are only just being given keys for letterboxes as these are only just being introduced now, as well as actual security which should have been there when we first moved in.

It's been 11 months since we moved to this brand new building and it's decided that our rooms need rearranging for 'safety purposes'. During the first few weeks of knowing about this 5 months ago, we lived out of boxes for a month or so, having been told that we would have to move to another room if our room wouldn't fit correctly. Now, while we're both at home, we got a call only NOW (July) that we would have to move rooms, after telling me that it would NOT be changed (April/May)

(UPDATE) Having come back to our accommodation on the 7th of July after 3 1/2 hours of travelling, we arrived at about half 9/10 pm and discovered that both key fobs didn't work on our door. So we rang the number posted on the reception door and was told that someone would come within the next 45 minutes. It wasn't until 11:30pm someone turned up. He didn't know why the keys didn't work and was told we had to ring again the next time we both left the room and shut the door. The next day all of our belongings from our flat were moved another room on the second floor (not twin room) because one of our beds was REMOVED. New room is mouldy and suffocatingly hot so nothing changes

During one of the rare fire alarm checks (which also don't work properly), one way where a member of staff would let us know about the fire alarm, at the other end of the building was to bang on our doors shouting 'fire alarm' because the fire alarm didn't actually go off in our rooms - it was only till we stood in the corridor that we could actually hear it (from downstairs, not in our corridor)

How this place is ‘legally’ open...

DO NOT STAY HERE! I lived here from 2022/2023 and it was the worst experience. When I first arrived, somebody was already in my assigned room. The receptionist at the time put me into another room which still to this day I am unsure whether I was in the correct band room. I was paying £315 /pw for a room/environment that was merely not as described. When moving into this room, I did not expect to see mould, a stained headboard unattached to the bed, damaged walls, cupboard doors not on hinges, items left from the previous tenant & an unbearable springy mattress. The receptionist was aware of the state of this room and said that it would be noted when doing my initial inventory check so that I would get my deposit back when I moved out. This room was simply just not checked! After waiting for multiple weeks for improvements to be made, I had to take certain matters into my own hands which meant forking out for tools and putting my safety at risk. £315 per week and they could not even do the bare minimum. People who ordered mattresses had to wait months before it arrived, so I was forced to just put up with the daily back pain and broken sleep.

Myself along with others chose the premium plus room as there was a breakfast bar advertised, however no rooms in the building had these! The building was taken over by new management near the end of 2022, but nothing had improved - it got worse. Instead of having a security guard from when reception closed to when it opened in the morning every day (which is a standard ESPECIALLY IN A LONDON STUDENT ACCOMODATION!), they decided that it would be better to have security only on the weekends. Most of the time, these night porters didn’t even turn up or just left halfway through their shifts. The building had a burglary, students using the master key to break into other students rooms, antisocial behaviour and the usage of illegal substances. Moving out for the first time at 18 to London is such a big change and Ankor have made this so much worse than it ever had to be. All of this could’ve been avoided if we had a member of staff on site 24/7. We communicated our safety concerns to the senior management but they didn’t seem bothered and assured that the cctv and weekend security was enough to make sure we were safe.

Once myself and others realised the mould getting worse and it took a toll on our health, we had to check the ventilation system. Where there was space for an air filter, my room along with many others didn’t even have one! My friends’ rooms which did have an air filter was black, with feathers and bugs on it. These filters should be changed every 3 months, not once every 5 years! This company just want money and don’t care about the wellness and safety of their tenants. To round this up, I did not get my deposit back and have left with traumatising memories. For my next year of uni I have found a 2 bed flat for £230 per person/per week, avoid this place at all costs there are other options!

UPDATE: All tenants have received an email stating that because of the supposed minor and major issues, we can’t get our deposits back. Don’t manage a property if you aren’t going to treat your customers (who are students paying ridiculous prices) wrongly and ignore their concerns so that you can wrongfully take...

This review is exclusively focused on the building manager, Abdul, and does not encompass my experiences with the property developer or UWL's accommodation team, which require separate and totally opposite reviews altogether.

During my nearly month-long stay here, I've faced several issues related to the building's construction and the refusal of both the upper management and UWL accommodation team to uphold the terms explicitly outlined in our binding contract.

But let's focus on Abdul, the onsite manager, for this review. I want to express my deep appreciation for him who consistently goes above and beyond to help us with problems and emergencies, even outside regular office hours.

Abdul has been incredibly gracious and helpful, from resolving issues such as a malfunctioning fob key that left me locked out of my room (with the emergency hotline demanding £60 for a locksmith) to personally covering expenses to repair equipment in a student's room, a responsibility that should have fallen on the building owner. He consistently provides assistance with a warm smile and gracious energy, significantly improving our living experience.

In conclusion, I am genuinely pleased with Abdul's exceptional service and work ethic. The building is indeed fortunate to have someone of his calibre. However, I hope that the property developer and UWL's accommodation team will take responsibility for the accommodations they have advertised and fulfil the contractual promises they have made, which are currently unmet. With all this in mind, Abdul's service is definitely a 10 out of 10 (or a 5-star rating on Google in...