I have stayed here for a year and a half now. Well, It is decent for its price. The room has a comfort single bed, it is not soft so doesn't give me back pain. The picture quality of the flat screen TV is good for movies and TV shows. It is not 1080P so don't use it as a external screen for laptop when working on word or excel. Just use it for entertainment.
The breakfast comes with four cereals, they change the combination regularly, now it is corn flakes, Milo, nutrigrain, and fruit rings. Milk, apple juice, yogurt are provided. Raspberry, strawberry jam, mandarin jam, peanut butter, chocolate are displayed which we can spread on toast. There are plenty variables to suite everyone. After one year I did get a bit tired with breakfast, now half of the week I eat my own bread along with the milk, juice, yogurt they provide. They have 7 recipes to rotate from for dinner. Personally I do prefer rice dishes, but I understand they need to look out for Europeans as well. The kitchen is commercial use only. Well, let's be real, if one student is allowed to use others will request as well. 20 students in and out the kitchen will bring chaos. I think they are doing the smart thing to make it closed to public. It doesn't affect me much because I often go out with friends during weekends.
One thing I would like to mention is the water purifier, I am not sure about the others but to me I only drank boiled water before, after tasted the water here I can't go back to boiled tap water any more. It gives a clear sweet taste. I always bottle up some to UQ.
There are about 6 or 7 (didn't count) showers and toilets here for students. I think they clean them at around 1 to 2 PM everyday. The days I have no school, I do see them cleaning it at that time. I take evening shower late at night (probably the last one), by that time some showers have hairs on the floor, but the overall cleanness is still good. I really hope those girls can bend down and collect their hairs after shower. My special tip is use the less convenient ones, they are barely used. It seems most students are too lazy to walk a few more steps.
When it comes to sleeping quality, I am a picky, zero tolerance to discomfort. The mattress in my room is comfortable. I like the solid back support. While they do have clean quilt, pillow and other bed linens, as I am a nitpick, I got my own stuff. I brought my own pillow and genuine silk quilt from home and spent a lot on the Egyptian cotton bed set. There is no point buying the middle-class bed linens from supermarket because they are the same quality as what they provide. Unless you are after luxury comfort as I am, just use what they offer.
My Parents came last semester to visit me. They stayed in a motel room for about two weeks. The motel unit has en suite, conditioner, bigger TV, bigger bed, bigger room. I did some research before signing them in. This is the cheapest I can find. My parents travel with me most of the time, there was no point paying 50% to 100% more for a swimming pool or a kitchen which they wouldn't use at all.
If you have two or three friends coming to study at UQ with you, you should look for an apartment. Otherwise, here is a good option. No hassle from house owner, no bond problem with rental agent, and you have the opportunity to make friends with students from different countries. read more