Student Roost - Laycock Studios — Attraction in Sheffield

I had previously reviewed this as 5*, however, in recent times I feel the need to lower this. Which is a shame as this is a place that I love living at but I feel has gone downhill quite a lot since I first moved in a couple of years ago...

There are still a great many positives about this place such as: Great and comfortable rooms, Bills included, Facilities are pretty good as well, including the laundry rooms and gym.

Over the past year I have seen a great deal of decline at this place though, the courtyard was once well looked after but now has all the planters and flowerbeds overgrown with weeds and the paving has weeds growing between the cracks too. There is even one flowerbed outside someone's room that is so full of weeds and neglect that the weeds almost overflow the bed and reach this poor persons door. Generally the corridors do not look clean and are often covered in bits or grime with some people even leaving full rubbish bags in the courtyard. There is constantly people smoking weed in the court yard as well, this isn't nice especially when the place stinks of it most days and the staff do not really seem to care. The staff and management are generally okay but there seems to have been at least 3 managers in the past year and a bit, this isn't a problem in itself but it causes nothing to be looked after as Laycock seems to be a transit camp for managers trying to move up the corporate ladder. SO a manager comes in for a few months, gets their experience and moves on. This seems to have led to no one actually wanting to manage the building or courtyard properly because I assume the thinking is "Why should I do it when it can be left for the next manager?" One final issue is that staff do not seem to tell each other things, so If one staff member rings you about an issue such as payment or maintenance, another staff member will ring you again about the same thing not too long after as things do not seem to get communicated very well. This seems to repeat ad nauseum.

I truly do love living here, however, I feel as if it has gone downhill quite significantly since my previous 5* review. I hope tings improve for this place soon as it is a nice place to live but the negatives seem to be rapidly outweighing...

Just moved out of my year long stay. Here's my review:

Pros: great location, 5 min walk to the train station, 10 min walk to the Interchange bus station. 15 mins from The Moor shopping area. Also an Asda around 15 mins away, but buses run there too. Subway, McDonald's, and a Spar 2 mins away. I studied at UoSheffield which is a decent walk (20/25 mins) to the campus but I found it fine as Sheffield is walkable and felt safe. You can use the tram too (Granville Rd stop) which is 5 mins from LS. I visited some of the other studios around Sheffield and LS had the most spacious rooms and cleaner facilities for the price point. There are also some good deals around if you book at certain times. the staff! Some really lovely reception staff, shout out to Anita for being so welcoming and helpful always 🥰 I also found the maintenance staff member super nice and helpful. even though I did have some complaints, I found that management were receptive and tried to make arrangements rather than avoiding things raised. This is appreciated as these often go unaddressed in student accom. personally as a postgrad, I didn't want a loud, social accom so this place was well suited for me. Residents are friendly but keep to themselves. I appreciated the social craft events and free coffee. Especially liked pumpkin carving! never had issues with water, heating, or wifi. Some instances where power went out but this was an area-wide issue. quick deposit return.

Cons: small laundry facilities (3 washers, 3 dryers) which are often unclean, and often out of order. Circuit Laundry continues to rob students at £3.80 for a 40 min spin. can get very noisy from road traffic. My room faced towards the McDonald's, so caught a lot of taxi commotion (cars use the road at the back of the building to access the train station), and also ambulances and speeding cars at the front of the building. I wore earplugs most nights as a light sleeper but some other residents found it fine. bathroom facilities could be updated.

Overall, a reasonably priced and well situated studio provider in Sheffield for both Hallam and UoSheff students. Would recommend!...

I have lived here for the past 8 months and have extended my contract for another year as well. The booking process was super easy for me. The reception team is very supportive—especially Anita, who primarily handles bookings. She responds quickly via email and chat, and was very helpful during my moving process. The maintenance team is also supportive.

I once had an issue with my bathroom drainage, and it was resolved within an hour of reporting it, which really impressed me.

The rooms are very spacious compared to other accommodations. They are well-structured, allowing you to make the most of the space in a beautiful and functional way. The reception staff are friendly and do their best to resolve any issues—very accommodating and approachable.

The location is excellent—right next to the train and tram stations. For those who enjoy the outdoors, there’s a beautiful park just a 2–3 minute walk behind the accommodation. It’s one of my favourite places for a walk and offers lovely city views.

Grocery stores like Aldi and Lidl are just a 10-minute walk away, and there’s a SPAR only 2 minutes away. Hallam University is about a 5-minute walk, and the University of Sheffield is around 15 minutes away.

The indoor facilities are great—there’s a quiet study room and a nice pool table. The rooms are sunny, airy, and well-ventilated. The studio kitchen is perfectly equipped with a fridge, microwave, and hob.

Before handing over the keys, they conduct a check and visit the room to ensure everything is in order. Atef from the maintenance team is very approachable and resolves problems quickly.

The number of rooms in the building is just right—it feels cozy and quiet. My room is also big enough for practicing yoga, which was an important factor for me when deciding to rebook this accommodation. While there are shared gym and yoga rooms in the common areas, I love having the space in my own room too.

Overall, it’s been a great experience living here—comfortable, well-located, and...