Good morning everyone! Last week we gave you a whistle stop tour of our various types of accommodation on offer. As promised, this week we will be going into more detail about our catered accommodation options to help you decide if catered living will be right for you.
Our applications will open on the 12th April 2021 for new students, so you have plenty of time to think about your four top preferences for accommodation. Please note that we cannot guarantee that you will be allocated one of these preferences but we will try our hardest!
What are the benefits of living in a catered residence?
Catered accommodation can be a great choice for your first year at University as it gives you more time to settle in. With all the changes that you’ll be experiencing, not having to worry about cooking for yourself can take a large burden off your plate (see what we did there?)
Taking into account the time you would otherwise spend shopping, 
cooking and washing up, living in a catered hall will ensure that you receive high quality and nutritious meals throughout the term whilst having plenty of time to socialise and study.
If you are living in a catered residence, you will take your meals in one of our communal dining halls. Many students find that this is gives them a great sense of community and is an easy way to make new friends.
Which residences are catered?
- Holland Hall is composed of en-suite rooms, a glass-fronted restaurant and a sun terrace. Holland Hall has 406 rooms, some of these with a stunning view over the Exe valley.
- Mardon Hall is our oldest purpose-built residence. It includes a wood-panelled library (now used as a study room) and grand staircases.
The residence has a mixture of single standard rooms and twin standard rooms. - Birks Grange Village is composed of self-catered, catered and studio accommodation. The catered residences have en-suite rooms in clusters of up to nine. There are also communal spaces and a small shop.
- Exeter Halls is composed of Lopes Hall, Ransom Pickard and Pennsylvania Court with a mixture of standard, twin and en-suite rooms. Lopes Hall contains a large dining room for all three of these residences as well as a social area shared between the three.
Our catered residences are all on-campus and are available on a 32 week contract. This means that you will not be permitted to stay in your room during the Christmas and Easter holidays. However, we can arrange alternative accommodation for you during these times if needs be.
What type of food is available?
The University catering team provide a great variety of choices. Included in your accommodation fees are 16 meals per-week. These are available at the below times:
- Breakfast: Monday to Friday 7:45am-9.30am
- Dinner: Monday to Sunday 5.30pm-7.15pm
- Continental Breakfast: Saturday 8.00am-11.00am and Sunday 8.30am-11.00am
- Brunch: Saturday and Sunday 11.15am-1.30pm
Special dietary requirements can be catered for but we will need to let our chefs know in advance. Each meal will have vegetarian options. For examples of the menus within catered halls, please visit our website. Our YouTube video provides a students insight into our catered accommodation
You will need to provide your own lunches and snacks, but you will be equipped with your own fridge and some residences will also have utilities rooms to prepare food.
We hope that this blog has been useful, please do take a look at our catered residences webpage for more information. Next week we will be looking at Self-catered accommodation. Have a great week!
Accommodation Shannon