Portland Tower is all about the location. If the main thing you are after is city centre location then you may be able to put the many, many flaws of the place to one side. When we were first shown around the apartments we were greeted by what seemed the friendliest landlady in existence - she spoke constantly of how the entire place was set up for students and that the management took a really liberal approach to noise/mess/ damage. Obviously when coming from a Student Hall environment where the university will try to fine you at any opportunity Portland Tower seems like a great option. Unfortunately once you have put pen to paper, the attitude of the management becomes much more confrontational. When you contact the office (you have to do it via email, as for some reason they don't like visitors even though their office is based in the building) you will be lucky to get a reply, and if you eventually do it is likely they will try and lay the blame for whatever has happened on you. We had a fire extinguisher that fell off the wall the management told us that we must have ripped it off when you could clearly see multiple drill holes where year after year it had fallen off because the screws holding it in were not long enough. The next issue is the quality of the entire building it is clear that the place has been built to a very tight budget with the aim of maximising profitability. As a result the walls are paper thin, the majority of the walls are painted in a 'communist-grey' and the flats feel really cheap once you look below the 'professional' facade. The final thing I would mention is the downsides of the location. Although all the apartments are double glazed, the crappy build quality means that the majority of the window seals are broken and not soundproof so on the nights of the week that you do just want a quiet one this is not so easy. Also unfortunately, and to be fair beyond the managements control, is the gathering of lots of homeless drunken alcoholics around the side of the apartments at the back of The Cavendish who make for quite an intimidating atmosphere late at night. The city centre location is great, its just a shame very little else is. With the recent rent increases making it almost £100/week there are certainly nicer places to live in the city centre. read more

I completely agree with Kate. As a first year sunrisestars accomadation looked on the face of things, really modern compared to the usual student houses so the prospect of living there was exciting. But once I lived there everything falls apart, as an example my fire door hinge fell off numerous times and my window was screwed shut. Everything is just poorly put together and cheaply made. There communication is also poor. They will only deal with you through email so you cannot resolve anything over the phone even when something as important as a deposit is concerned. I left the house in pristine condition and they are still charging us 250 pound for some unknown reason! Then theres the issue woth having your bills included. It might seem like an easy option but they cap the bills so if you go over your left to pay a huge payment that you werent aware of. My friend got a letter stating she had 900 pound to pay within 2 weeks because of this.My opinion is that these landlords do not look after there tenants! I'm now renting from claypenny and the difference with how they treat there tenents is remarkable! They frequently visit to make sure you are happy, they look after both you and the property. They have even been round this morning to cover a wall in one Big notice board so we can personalise our living room wall without damaging the property. They clearly understand students as there tenents. And I would urge you that you will enjoy living with your friends a lot more without the added stress from bad landlords. Claypenny all the way! read more

I lived with Sunrisestar for 2 years and I can honestly say that I had the best 2 years of my life in their apartment! Everything was clean when we moved in, especially compared to other properties I have lived in (where the house isn't cleaned until mid August, despite the contract starting 1st July!) and all the furnishings were either brand new or only a few years old. Whenever we had a problem we just rang up and reported it and it was usually sorted that day! I asked for a new desk as it was pretty scratched and I got a brand new one the next day. Admittedly, we didn't exactly look after the place and things got damaged. But when we moved out we found the charges to be fair (considering we pretty much trashed the place!). Also in response to b0026218, we were told all communication regarding bonds should be put in writing so there was a written record of everything in the event of a dispute, so the deposit people would be able to see both sides of the story, which actually works in our favour! As with our last property our deposit charges were extortionate and we rang up to dispute it, further down the line the landlords denied all knowledge of that phone call and they proceeded to try and shaft us! All in all I found Sunrisestar to be a helpful, friendly organisation who provided me with 2 years of great service and an awesome flat. If you dont report it, its not going to get fixed. So stop moaning! read more

Location, Location, Location! As some folk off the telly say, I for one loved being a Student here at portland tower in Sheffield. They say its sunnier this side of the penines and they are right. Excuse me while I rofl at the comment below, our walls were made of concrete blocks I'm sure they have never lived in a 1970's semi as my parents walls were thin! Jokes aside, we had a great time with sunrisestar, the quality isn't that bad and on the rare occassion they had to fix stuff when (we) broke it did so and they were friendly enough too. We looked round / lived in most of the Sheffield student apartments between me and our housemates and although it wasn't like living in a stone mansion in the country (didn't smell), it was still big and spacious so having your mates round didn't involve cramming them into a dorm room. Sunrisestar have some of the biggest communal spaces in any student let (per apartment) not a massive commoners room on the ground floor. I said communal not communist (I for one like the grey on some of the walls) and according to grand designs its very fashionable. Still you can always hang up some piccies of the fun nights out round and about it you don't. top stuff read more

Just been around all the properties and they look fantastic. The staff were very helpful in me finding last minute accommodation, but due to a few cancellations I found a great apartment. How they can provide such good looking apartments to students (who are notorious for making a mess) is beyond me. I have been in a couple of months now and they have responded to my questions over the phone and in the office and fixed the minor issue I had with something in the apartment. I understand they have a bond system where everyone has to agree to the bond return through communication verified by an external company. Not to mention the location its fantastic for Uni, partying and eating out. Not to mention Sheffields excellent local parks. read more

No Complaints here, excellend property, well maintained by the landlords. Like many people I know who have rented from this company we found our apartment to be excellent. Tidy rooms, with good facilities not to mention great communal living room. Couldn't ask more from the helpful staff. Bonds are saved by a 3rd party company and you accept your bond return at the end through negotiation which seams fair. Our apartment was in a great location, could be quiter at certain times of the weekend but we might have been the ones making the noise. I think a one star rating is unfair from other posters, sometimes things break. Our last landlords were much much worse than sunrisestar. I would definately reccommend. read more

We stayed at Portland tower 2012/13. Our apartment was huge! Definately one of the largest apartments we looked at, and the views over Sheffield were amazing. We all had a great time here, and have no complaints about the service offered. If something went wrong - and in a 7 bedroom apartment, they tend do do so in a year it was fixed in a reasonable time. Reception was helpful and the staff polite. I would definately recommend it to anyone. read more

I looked at a few apartments in Sheffield and come to the conclusion that Sunrisestar have some of the biggest apartments around. I was amazed at how good the apartments looked, they were even better than my parents house. The staff were very accommodating, and helpful and maintenance issues were sorted out as quickly as can be expected. I would definately reccommend living here. read more