Manchester Gardens - iQ Student Accommodation Manchester — Attraction in Manchester

Less than a month until final year exams, so during the time everyone wants to be revising, lots of work suddenly has to be done (like replacing all the doors for some reason??). Can’t concentrate as all I can hear from around 9:30am until 4:30pm is drills and hammers constantly, and yet they are a student accommodation and should be aware of exam season approaching. Limited space and availability in other revision spots due to corona means you’re pretty much stuck in the flats with all the noise all day. Not to mention that the bulk of the work being done does not seem essential at all, yet workmen are entering flats constantly due to it despite corona, maybe do it during summer instead (yes they wear masks, but the work is not essential, so they shouldn’t be coming in at all!). I don’t think painting the walls the exact same colour as they were before (genuinely can’t see a difference at all) is ‘essential work’.

The rooms themselves are okay, decent and clean. The kitchens are ok, ours is a bit outdated with a very old oven and a microwave which doesn’t work properly and a tiny fridge, but it’s decent overall considering other student accommodation. Most staff are friendly bar a few. If you want to live here, get used to constant fire alarms, really nice to wake up to in the morning. However, there is a lot of storage room in the rooms, and the en suites seem decent. They hadn’t really cleaned my flat before I moved in, as at the start of the year the kitchen cupboards were FULL of spider webs and dust, and the fridge was still pretty dirty, so they should improve their cleaning before people move in (I realise they do not do the cleaning for you once you’ve moved in, that’s fine, but moving into a dirty kitchen which I was paying for that they obviously had barely even touched if they had touched at all was a bad start).

Also, the parcel handling service is pretty bad. Sometimes you get no email your parcel has arrived and have no idea until you get another saying you have so many hours to pick it up, other times I’ve had emails from Amazon my package has been received and I’ve gone and they won’t give it to me as they haven’t scanned it yet. This would be fair if I’d come straight away, but when Amazon has delivered my parcel 5+ hours ago, I think you probably should have scanned it by then.

They did give a rent reduction during the peak of lockdown though, so that was nice. And the security of the place seems decent, I do feel pretty safe living here compared to other accommodations so it’s good in that way too.

Overall a decent, clean place to live but they seem to have no self awareness or care when it comes to the people actually living there. Scheduling loud and constant work on the flats during exam revision season and not to mention coronavirus, seems a bit tone deaf. And when you move in, it seems you’ll have to be doing some spring cleaning whilst you unpack. I wouldn’t book at this spot...

I would like to begin with the positives. The room is big and spacious - I can fit all my things in there and it is not crowded at all. I also had a leak problem in the kitchen and despite it being the weekend (so no maintenance on-site), one of the night guards kindly solved the issue himself. The IQ app is useful - you can request maintenance, pay your rent, see if washing machines are available, receive parcel notifications etc.

However, I would not advice anyone to spend their money on this site, especially as the price has been increased from £130pw this year to £150pw next year.

As I returned from lockdown to my room, I noticed that the maintenance staff, that I had requested to fix my broken window handle, had spilled their coffee on my shelves and used the toilet without cleaning after themselves. Disgusting and disappointing to come home after a long journey just to clean a mess that was not supposed to be there.

Secondly, I am extremely disappointed by how inconsiderate the site is. Instead of doing construction work during a less stressful time of the year, they have decided to have construction work during the end of the year season. A time of the year where everyone is finishing the semester and preparing for final exams. Not only am I listening to construction noises all day, I am also being woken up by the construction staff as they have entered my flat multiple times by slamming doors and shouting on the hallway about some work that is supposed to be done there later on. Which is extremely weird considering that we have not had any construction done in our flat during those times, so I don’t understand why they come in to wake up everyone in the flat. The work is not essential, so it’s also great to see that IQ doesn’t care about the noise and they also don’t care about the possible spread of corona!

Additionally, the bathroom is awful. It’s really small and the ventilation stays on forever, really loudly even after you have turned off the lights. The shower curtain sticks to your body while showering (hopefully they won’t reuse those...) and the water suddenly just never turned warm again. Also, deep cleaning has clearly not been done to the rooms as the tiles on the bathroom floor are disgustingly filthy.

Also, an honourable mention to the fact that my friends living in the same building have also faced mold issues - mold has built up in the ceilings, the shower, the bed and the windows. Despite complaints, nothing has been done about them.

Also, the windows are extremely poor - wind keeps blowing into my room and it’s extremely uncomfortable considering that your bed is by the window. You actually need a winter duvet all around the year to keep warm.

Definitely don’t recommend to anyone. Especially to those who have no family in the UK to visit in order to avoid the conditions IQ provides us with. Unless you’re doing mold research - then it might be worth...

FYI I stayed in a newly refurbished flat. This review wouldn't be the same for the older, cheaper buildings.

Pros: -By far the best part of Manchester Gardens was the maintenance. The maintenance would respond so quickly (always by the next day, sometimes on the same day!) and resolve problems no matter what. -The staff were very attentive, including reception and security. -The room I had was extremely spacious and modern looking. There was a lot of extra space. -The kitchen was also modern and had plenty of room for all the tenants. -There was no noise from other flats. -The gate at the front provided a ton of extra security and made me feel very safe. -Staff would arrange extra activities and give away free gifts (check on Manchester Gardens Facebook page for updates on these), which was a nice little bonus of staying there. -The area is pretty convenient, with it being a 10 minute walk from Lidl and a 20 minute walk from Manchester Uni. -The area is very pretty, with a lot of trees, grass, seating space and a BBQ area. -The study and games rooms are very nice, with the study area being particularly quiet and comfortable. -Internet speed is very good, although there were a couple times when the service went down and took a couple days to be repaired (one time during exam season).

Cons: -The worst part was the bathroom. These aren't refurbished and have little ventilation, so there is constant mould on the walls and shower curtain. The bathroom is very small too. -Doing laundry is very expensive (although Circuit laundry is used at almost all Uni and private accommodation, I believe they are the same price everywhere). -The only reason I'm not staying there next year is because of how pricey the rooms are, especially with the rent increase for this year. I'd only recommend living here if you can afford it. Having spoken to two of my friends who also lived here, they have said the same thing: that they would absolutely live here again if the rooms were more affordable.

Manchester Gardens has been an amazing place to live at, particularly for the service, room quality and amenities. I will miss living...