It's Back -> New Mason!

Last Friday, a few of us were given an exclusive tour of New Mason over at the Vale. It is very much a work in progress but it all looks set to be finished in time for Welcome Week.

So what's it like? Well, it's fair to say we had mixed opinions on what is soon to be our largest and most expensive student hall.

Firstly, to reiterate: it is expensive. Living in New Mason will cost £114 a week. Imagine all the plush places you could live in Birmingham city centre for that amount of money. And that price is for self-catering - with food it will cost £150 a week to live in New Mason. I don't even want to think what the so-called luxury Studio apartments cost.

Secondly, the bedrooms are a little illogical. Each room has a sliding door that slides between the wardrobe and the en-suite bathroom. This means that you cannot cover your clothes and the toilet at the same time.

Thirdly, there is hardly any storage. The metal railing in the wardrobe is fitted width-ways, as opposed to length-ways. This means that the metal railing is ridiculously short and you could fit about five coathangers onto it.

And for some reason, there are TEN power sockets in each room. Surely, this encourages wasting of electricity.

That said, there are some good points about New Mason. It's new, for starters! Gone is the grime and decimated appearance of old Mason.

All of the rooms contain massive windows and are well-lit with natural light. Equally, these windows also offer a gorgeous view of the Vale, although I'm not sure this is high on most students' accommodation needs.

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There is a sleek array of modern Ikea furniture and each bedroom is fitted with a bed slightly larger than a single. However, again, I'm sure students would settle for a single bed if it meant they had more storage space.

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Overall, New Mason has its faults. But as we know, it's the people who make the Hall, not the furiture or storage space. Arugably, the only significant flaw is the cost. With tuition fees on the rise and student debt soaring into new heights, the last thing a student needs is overly-expensive Halls.

In short, Mason is back. Shame about the price-tag.