Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

Leeds Beckett University

Leeds

This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

OPAL COURT: I visited today and have found out more info and took some pictures!

Sir Joe

Ok, don't know where to start, this will be aload of jumbled info and pictures.

Opal from a distance, walking from the direction of headingly, as i got off the bus too late!

standing outside opal, at the bus stop, fooking huge :biggrin:

Lounge area

ignore the glass door in the background, this isn't where the entrance would actually be, that is just there because it is the show flat. In the real flats, there would be wall with a window there. Behind me is the kitchen, so its basicly one big room. Tv is provided as you know, and i cant remember if she said all flat mates would need a tv license, or if we'd just have to buy one together. probably the former. there is a point for satellite, so if wanted everyone could chip in and get sky digital. This is a 4 person flat so 4 seats, obviously. I like how the fridge is right near the chair for easy beer access :biggrin:

There is also a notice board in this area to i guess tell other housemates to sort their crap out etc

this is the dining table. i don't know if all this stuff comes with the flat, but either way i doubt things will never look that tidy :p:

the pictures on the wall are of what the pool and hottub etc would probably look like, and it looked really nice!

Kitchen

this was taken from standing in the middle of the communal area.
the big cupboard in the center of the picture contains flats very own hot water tank, so hot water should never run out :smile:

To the left of the picture, i chopped off another cupboard, which contains stuff for cleaning like a vacuum cleaner. she said that it is up to the students to clean the communal area. also to the left that i chopped out, is there are more cupboards for everyones crapola. The door on the right of the picture leads to a corridoor, which has doors to everyones bedroom along it, and then at the end the real front door, with intercom phone beside it.

Bed and Bathroom

taken from standing abit inside the door of the bedroom. I chopped off on the right the big wardrobe you get. i didn't look inside, but did not notice many draws apart from the desk ones, unless there are some in the wardrobe or on the bottom of the bed! hmm. You get a notice board and there is some shelves for books on the top right. The ensuite was directlt to my right....

hard to get a picture of it all as camera phones dont have fancy curved lenses, but i think it was alrite size. its bigger then the ones on a cruiseship i'll tell you that! The shower isn't seperate, it runs onto the floor, though i think it may be sloped abit cruise ship style. i can't recall if there was a bathroom cupboard or if that shelve under the mirror is it.

Other info

Internet access is included in your rent payment and you just plug in. I asked about any restrictions for someone on here, and the girl didn't know, and everyone on the tour laughed at me like i was asking if i could download loads of porn.

Gym, pool, sauna, hot tub access will cost an additional 2 or 3 pounds a week which to be honest i think is alot better then i expected it to be! not sure how this will be payed for, whether you buy passes or what.

There are no tv aerial points in rooms so you'd have to use your own aerial, which would prolly be crap but who knows.

Seperate heating switches for your own room and the communal area

Common room somewhere in the building with vending machines and games machines, probably pool tables and who knows, a big ass tv? she wasn't sure if the shop is actually a co op style shop or what.

Security
There won't be cameras in the living room like iwas worried about [leeds met guide said "cctv to communal areas", it more means to corridoors and lifts. Access to the site will be with a keychain fob, and then access to your flat and room is with keys i think. you prolly will have to sign people in with security supposedly, though if its anything like my mates halls in manchester no one bothers, though it is for there own safety in a fire so that they know who is on site i guess.

Parking and moving in day

There will be some limited parking apparently, though i didn't ask about it as i won't be using it. She did comment how move in day is going to be chaos because 1000 students will be moving in at the same time and there isn't a whole lot of space to drop people off. I think she said if freshers week starts the 18th, then we'll be able to move in the 16th

and for pauline, i got alot of laughs when i asked this, but yes most rooms will the colour of the photos, though some have green rather then blue carpets, and some have black borders around the light switches. hope you can get yer matching towels :P

this is all i can remember for now. errm, getting the bus back from outside the place to the town center took 3/4 minutes, so its very walkable.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

lollipopsticks

can u decorate??

Leeds Beckett University

Leeds

Reply 2

Sir Joe

someone asked that and the answer was

you're not supposed to but everyone will so it won't be a problem, as long and you don't use methods of putting posters up that will damage the paint

Reply 3

lollipopsticks

so wot they define as decorating?

Reply 4

Sir Joe

well i think the person just asked if you could put posters up. i'm not sure what kind of decorating you mean.

Reply 5

abertoon

Looks more like a hotel than student accomm! ...

*Is jelous he can't afford a place like this* :frown:

But on a serious note- Is it really worth paying so much extra for a toilet in your room, a gym, sauna etc ? Fair enough if you can afford it, and you really think its worth it... just seems a bit ott to me. I pay £60 a week at the moment, where I'm living, and I struggle to pay that + pay for other things aswell.

Then again, if my parents paid- I probably wouldnt be that bothered :p:

Looks nice though I agree!

Reply 6

Sir Joe

i see your points and yes, if my parents didn't offer to pay for accommodation then i wouldn't have been able to afford it at all and would have gone a cheaper route :redface:

. wasn't particuly desperate for the ensuite, as i know when i get a house second and third year it probably won't have that. but i wanted to go in halls and was studying at headingly and there wasn't a whole lotta choice. kirkstall was too far from the center so i'd end up wasting money on cab fare as i intend to be in the city alot, cardigan road lacked internet access which i neeed, and royal park lacked communal areas, which id hate because i'd feel terrible being stuck in a small room all the time. I discussed all the accomodation choices with my mum and she just said pick the one you want as you're the one having to live there for a year. My parents and both sets of grandparents have saved since i was born so just want me to have the best experiance i guess :biggrin:

and i'm a sport and exercise nutrition student so i will be putting the pool and gym to use hell yea

Reply 7

_Matt

Seems like a bit of a geeky question but did u happen to learn what speed broadband is going to be put in? are we talking broadband speed or 56k speed for each person :frown:

Reply 8

Sir Joe

_Matt

Seems like a bit of a geeky question but did u happen to learn what speed broadband is going to be put in? are we talking broadband speed or 56k speed for each person :frown:

nah she didn't really know much about that [ i felt geeky just asking about the restictions] but i highly doubt a modern development of 1000 student rooms will have crappy internet service put in. there is alot of competetion in the surrounding area so they probably want to do well to impress ya know?

Reply 9

Sir Joe

[email protected]
is the place to shoot any questions, remember if you get any info back do post it up for everyone :tsr2:

Reply 10

_Matt

Right, ill try giving them an email and see what they say, doubt it'll let games through but want some semi decent way of staying in contact with peeps at home.

Reply 11

abertoon

If its uni based internet- then it'll more than likely be high speed broadband- and the restrictions it'll have will on P2P, Bittorent, and they'll probably block gaming ports. Thats how most work anyway :smile:

Reply 12

_Matt

Yeah figured it would be like that which will suck immensely :frown:

will have to rely on decent single player games and being too drunk to do anything else

Reply 13

Sir Joe

it's private accomodation so won't go through the LMU network at all. I reckon they'd restrict p2p ports and you wouldn't be able to host games or upload very fast, but you can probably play games and download through other means just fine. there'll be ports open somewhere to be found :wink:

it'll be cool if like at some unis have, we could have an inter network file sharing system that goes really fast. imagine that, 1000 people sharing files, something for everyone :smile:

all the girls reading are probably rolling their eyes at this point

though i'll be out and about or in the pool so won't care too much either way, long as email works eh

Reply 14

_Matt

Rather be able to feed my counterstrike addiction but guess ill get by somehow lol as long as its not with some 56k speed broadband. Hopefully the contention ratio will be decent i heard that at kirkstall even though its on wireless broadband speed is more like 56k for each user

Reply 15

x_pauline_x

joe u r a star!!!!!! :smile:

Reply 16

Fatb

the flat looks superb shame i have already applied for kirkstall :frown:

are there any pictures of kirkstall btw

Reply 17

MattyK

Hello all, I emailed them today and got a nice reply here it is below:

-----Original Message-----
From: "---------" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 20:19:25 +0100
Subject: A few questions.
- Hide quoted text -

Hello,

I am hopefully coming to study at Leeds Metropolitan next September and Opal Court looks to be the nicest place for me to stay at the moment. I was hoping you might be able to answer a few questions for me in order to make my decision of where to stay that little bit easier.

As the course I am studying is largely based around computer it is likely I would need internet access, I am aware that internet access is available at Opal Court but I am finding it a bit hard to find any information about any costs, speeds or restrictions on download limit etc. I was hoping you could provide me with details on the internet provided.

I was also wondering what the differences between a deluxe en-suite room and a single en-suite room are. Any information you could provide on this would also be extremely helpful.

Finally, I was wondering how easy it is to get to the Headingley campus as this is my place of study. I am assuming there is quite frequent buses into the Headingley area but any further information you could provide me with would be very helpful.

Hopefully you will get back to me soon and I will be seeing you in September as soon as my application is submitted.

--
Matt

--------------------------------

Hi Matt,

In answer to your questions have you visited the web site www.opalcourt-leeds.com, there is a show flat open at present if you visit Leeds on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 10am to 4pm. Tel 0113 2434030 to check on any further availablility of opening times as it is due soon to start opening all week. A standard en suite has a single bed in the room whereas a delux en suite is 2sq metres bigger and has a double bed in it but is still only for single occupancy. The basic bronze package for Internet is included in your rent but there are up grades available at a cost. The gym and swimming pool are extra not quite sure of the prices but leaflets should be available this week and I should be on site myself from next week. I will have to check out the public transport to Headingley campus for you and get back to you but there a regular bus service around that area.

Hope this addresses some of your questions if you need any further assistance then please feel free to contact me again.

Ellen Whitworth
Manager

Opal Leeds
Burley Road
Leeds
West Yorkshire

Tel: 0113 2434030
www.opalcourt-leeds.com

-----------------

Although she didn't answer my questions exactly as I would of expected, it seems a nice place! I just still have to get my application in! Don't want to miss out! How many people from here are likely to stay there?

I really hope the internet doesnt have any crappy download limits or anything like that. It sounds like there are a number of different internet packages, so I guess there is something to suit everyone. I play quite a lot of online games and therefore will be very annoyed if I cannot use the internet how I wish it to be used. I also use a lot of p2p and bittorrent so I hope its not restricted!

Also, whoever said the accomodation is not linked with lmu, it actually is.Its on the lmu website listed as accomodation.

Reply 18

Sir Joe

i meant the accommodations internet is not linked with the LMU computer network. The accommodation is privately owned but leeds met does have 2 blocks reserved for freshers