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https://thestudenthousingcompany.com/global/united-kingdom/portsmouth/catherine-house
Most helpful review
Really great place to live. Helpful staff, well fitted out rooms, and any maintenance issues are sorted very quickly
Value for money
Location
Property management
Cleaning
Social spaces
Social experience
Internet / Wifi
Portsmouth Hall Rankings
| Greetham Street | #7 |
| Trafalgar Hall | #8 |
| Burrell House | #9 |
| Rosalind Franklin Halls | #10 |
| Langstone Flats | #11 |
| Bateson Hall | #12 |
| Margaret Rule Hall | #13 |
| Rees Hall | #14 |
| Catherine House | #15 |
| Harry Law Hall | #16 |
*Minimum 10 reviews required to be ranked.
Most helpful review
Really great place to live. Helpful staff, well fitted out rooms, and any maintenance issues are sorted very quickly
Value for money
Location
Property management
Cleaning
Social spaces
Social experience
Internet / Wifi
Catherine House Information
| Telephone | +44 (0)2392 191 130 |
| Postcode | PO1 1DZ |
| Price from | £220.00 per week for 25/26 (subject to availability) |
| Top tip | There’s a life beyond your studies and staying at Catherine House, you can live it large and happy! Visit the website to find out more. |
Room Types
Single Studios Standard Studio
Single Studios Premium Studio
Single Studios Deluxe Studio
Amenities
This property offers all bills included rent, high-speed WiFi, 24-hour support, on-site laundry & communal areas.
Popular
- Common Room
- Communal Events
Features
- Common Room
- Communal Kitchen
Internet Access
- WiFi
- WiFi In Communal Areas (All Free)
- WiFi In Room (All Free)
Laundry
- Coin-operated Communal Laundry
People/Staff
- Maintenance Team (24-hour on call)
- Onsite Concierge
Recreational Facilities
- Communal Events
- Entertainment Room
Security & Safety
- CCTV / Surveillance Cameras
- Secure Building Entry
Special Policies
- No Smoking
Transport
- Bike Storage
Travel Times
Catherine House is just over the road from Victoria Park, 2 minutes away from a shopping centre & supermarkets & has easy access to the beach, restaurants & transport links.
University of Portsmouth
University Quarter9 mins5 mins7 mins1.0 mi
Langstone Campus56 mins12 mins36 mins7.1 mi
Solent University, Southampton
Warsash Campus4 hours 18 mins25 mins1 hour 13 mins24.2 mi
Catherine House Biography
Catherine House is in the perfect location, with Portsmouth University just a few minutes away. Residents will also have easy access to everything the city has to offer including green spaces, restaurants, supermarkets and clubs.
Residents can hang out and get to know their neighbours in the common areas. Cook up a storm in one of the shared kitchen spaces. Students can also benefit from high-speed WiFi and on-site laundry facilities. Stay stress-free knowing that all bills are included in the rent and that there is twenty-four-hour support to help you with anything you may need.
Catherine House has a range of rooms students can choose from which include studios and ensuite bedrooms in one, four, five and six-bedroom flats, which are ideal if you enjoy socialising with friends.
Visit the website to find out more.
Q&A
Q
Do you need to bring your own Kettle? Thanks
By member7115034 On 18th September 24
Q
Are the hobs in the shared kitchens electric or induction pls?
By member490596 On 30th August 23
Induction
By member1291339 On 20th September 23
Q
Q
Are guests currently allowed to stay? If they are, what is the policy of checking them in?
By member1190327 On 22nd August 23
You have to log it on the app, and let your flatmates know in advance. You also have to be in the flat with them the whole time they’re there
By member1291339 On 20th September 23
Q
Can students bring an air fryer.
By member1286096 On 13th May 23
You can bring whatever kitchen appliances
By member1187130 On 1st June 23
Q
Ask a new question about Catherine House
All the Answers You Need About Student Accommodation
What tenancy length do I need?
Some students choose to stay during the academic year, whilst others – particularly international students – require a tenancy that covers the entire year. You can also find student accommodation that is available for one or two terms, classified as a “short stay” on our search filters.
Should I stay in catered student accommodation?
This is totally up to you! Catered accommodation means you will be served meals at set times in a dining hall, and you’ll likely have access to fewer kitchen facilities than if you were to stay in self-catered accommodation.
What is a guarantor and do I need one?
A guarantor is a person who signs a contract to agree to pay your rent if you are unable to. Most university accommodation requires a guarantor, and this applies to both domestic and international students.
Will I need to pay a deposit on student accommodation?
Most likely, yes, you’ll need to pay a deposit. This will be refunded at the end of your stay as long as there is no damage to the room or property.
What bills will my rent include?
If you are staying in university-run accommodation or private halls, your rent should include any utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and internet. Students are not required to pay council tax, however you may need to fill in an exemption form so make sure you check with your local council.
What is purpose-built student accommodation?
Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) are residential buildings designed for students. They are often located close to campus, boast modern facilities, include all bills, and often have staff on site to assist residents.
Will my student accommodation be furnished?
Student accommodation is typically fully furnished. Your room should include at least a bed, clothes storage, desk and chair. You’ll likely need to bring things such as bedding and kitchen utensils, but we have a full list here of everything you’ll need.
Read Catherine House Reviews
Rooms are good, I feel security cameras should be placed in each corridor to ensure our safety
Generally good accom, stayed for a year and generally fine, good location and secure, downside, lift broke for a week which wasn't ideal being on the top floor and the wifi sometimes stopped working. Otherwise im happy with it
I lived for one year at Catherine house and would not recommend it to anyone. The building may look nice from the outside, but the rooms are small and infested with silverfish. Maintenance couldn't care less about the problem and they all brush it off like it's not their problem. I started a diary log of my sightings of silverfish and saw over 20 in a 2 days. They formed a nest under my bed where I had stored some mugs - there were about 10 of them swarming the cups which were sealed in a cardboard box. On top of this, they requested maintenance visits so much. Visits almost every week for random testing and half the time it would be rescheduled so you'd waste your day being anxious for them to arrive. My window was facing a courtyard full of other students windows so there was no view at all. It felt uncomfortable to open the curtains as I'd have at least 20 other windows which could look right into my little flat. I feel so sorry for whoever gets that silverfish infested room next.
I wish I could give zero stars. My time at Catherine House was one of the worst experiences of my life. I stayed in a Standard Studio during my first year at university. After moving in, I started noticing silverfish. Over time, the infestation became severe. They were everywhere—in my room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. They would climb the walls, scurry under the skirting boards, and even appear on the ceiling. The silverfish had gotten into my belongings as well. Despite multiple complaints, maintenance did nothing. I only received a generic email with tips on getting rid of silverfish, which I was already doing. They didn't care at all about the living conditions of their residents. It made me so miserable that I hated living there. The audacity of Catherine House to promote itself as "luxury student accommodation" is astonishing. I paid around £8,000 to live in a silverfish-infested room. I will never live at Catherine House again. Avoid this place at all costs.
My stay started with me entering the room I had rented to find clear signs that they had not properly checked the room. A used pillow from a previous resident remained on my bed, every surface which wasn' directly reachable was caked with dust and there are scuff marks all over the walls in every direction. Then, approximately one week into my stay, maintenance staff entered my room whilst I was unclothed, without knocking or receiving an okay from me and without providing the required notice which Yugo themselves state in their tenancy agreement. Moving on another week, whilst I was asleep, my mirror which was poorly affixed to the wall fell down and shattered. For this mistake which Yugo made in affixing the mirror, I was charged 54 pounds which honestly, I expected considering how useless any form of communication was with anybody at this building. Just this morning, once again another different maintenance staff member entered my flat without knocking or providing any notice
The irony of the staff doing a safety check and not locking the door again so it was left unlocked for around 3 weeks.
Really great place to live. Helpful staff, well fitted out rooms, and any maintenance issues are sorted very quickly
The maintenance team always took so long but it was so nice and modern, perfect location literally a nightclub opposite, always have events on too so you can meet others. They were so helpful if you had covid by bringing deliveries/takeaways up to you.
The accomodation is decent, it looks nice and overall it's really probably one of the better ones. But the maintenance team really need to be more on it with repairs. We had an oven break and didn't get a replacement for about 3-4 months, our TV didn't work for 3/4's of the year and one of our plug socks exploded which resulted in half of the hob not working. We were told the maintenance team hadn't taken the appropriate course to fix it so we were stuck with two working rings on a hob for about 2 months and when we left it still had not been fixed. We understand a lot of the waiting time is down to reception not getting the requests to the team in a timely fashion which is really the main thing they need to work on. Also it seems completely absurd that there are different sizes of room but everyone pays the same. I basically lived in a wardrobe and some of my friends had double or triple the space I did and yet I had to pay the same rent as them. Internet was also pretty unreliable.
Its good for student accom, however not much privacy. People constantly coming in for maintenance and you can’t say no…
The accommodation itself was great, it was a bit rubbish that we had to pay the same amount as people with bigger rooms though when ours were tiny box rooms. Some staff were not great at looking after the residents, there has been many times they did not help drunk/spiked people and would not bat an eyelid to obviously sketchy situations.
The accommodation itself was modern and a nice enough place for a student, however problems from the move in date for the room such as broken furniture and fittings weren’t even fixed by the time we left and some reception staff could be passive aggressive when informing them about a problem, also security is installed everywhere however there were still several occasions of strangers getting through several stages of security and into blocks even on the first night of living there as well as random people getting into flats whilst people are sleeping and in my own flat being woken up by an aggressive man banging on the flat door that was previously reported as not working properly, to which a passive aggressive remark was made and nothing was followed up. But overall the social side and facilities were great.
Its can get quite noisy at times, especially in the corridors at 11pm and 3am when people come a go from the clubs. Noise can be heard from the rooms.
The actual accommodation was amazing but there were some instances where people could just walk in, who didn’t live in the accommodation and security weren’t really bothered even when my friends flat was broken into by a stranger. Maintenance requests took months to fix - our kitchen tap wasn’t fixed for months. Our heating wasn’t fixed until a week before we were due to move out
Overall the building was absolutely amazing! It is in a great location with many things so close by. Being in this building honestly made my first year of university fantastic. The only feedback I would have is that it can sometimes take a while for maintenance to sort out any issues you may have reported, but I can understand that they would be very busy so this may be why!
Good accommodation. Management team really cares for their students.
Nice social environment and good sized room
Catherine house is a great student accommodation, it’s a new and modern building, the staff are so lovely and helpful and it’s easily the best student accommodation here in Portsmouth
The team is very helpful and do their best to support you!
My time spent living at Catherine House was some of the best moments as a Uni Student. The vibe, atmosphere and staff made Catherine House the most welcoming environment that I was happy and proud to call home for 2 years. The team at the Student Housing Company, were some of the most compassionate and supportive people. They truly make you feel safe as well as listened to. They were always helpful with any issues whilst also being incredibly understanding of personal issues or problems that students faced. Student Wellbeing and mental health is a true focus, at Catherine House. The location and services were als excelent, situated in the city centre, nothing was ever further than 10 mins away on foot. It provided great accessibility for all my lectures across the city. However, the only negative is the cost. You will be paying for the location, and the price does not differ that greatly between various other Student accommodation. Unfortunately that is generally the issue faced.
I think I was really lucky with my flatmates for the year, an excellent group of people who I have gotten extremely close with. The sky lounge was closed all year due to Covid which is understandable but a real shame. As for allowing any visitors, zero allowed. Our oven was really strange, it would burn the food before it was even done cooking. We got maintenance in and they did pretty much nothing. The rooms were lovely, having an on suite was a huge luxury to have. However because our rooms were facing the sun, and we were on a high floor it basically became a sauna. The showers are tiny but understandable, and they flooded SO EASILY. As well as this, the bathroom tap is basically a dribble, the water pressure is very low. There aren’t cleaners, so you have to do it for yourself which isn’t a bad thing at all. Overall it is overpriced for what it is, and the rent is increasing for next year. I would stay again as I enjoyed my time here, but it was absolutely too much.
Living at Catherine House was one of the best experiences of my university experience, and one of the best choices only my first year. The staff are super friendly and helpful; I hardly had any issues but when I did they were dealt with quickly. The location is great, and super close to everything including my uni building which takes me less than 10 minutes to get to, and the value for money was also really great, and everything being included in the rent made everything really easy. I also got really lucky with my flat mates, who were all friendly and we got along throughout the year. I would definitely recommend Catherine House to anyone looking for student accommodation in Portsmouth.
Great accommodation! Both the reception team and facilities team are super helpful and friendly. Would recommend to any students!
I really enjoyed staying at Catherine House. The rooms are a good price and bigger than my friends room over the road, even though they pay more money. The sky lounge is really pretty and reception staff were always friendly and helpful, night staff were chatty and quick to help when I needed it.
Don’t waste your money, go somewhere else. I ignored all the bad reviews before I can and regret it.
I love it here, it is clean, it have a tv and the price is lovely but it can go down a little bit just because not everyone can afford to stay here
so expensive honestly - 6 grand and even more expensive if you don’t book through the uni - lovely rooms but get so hot in the summer great view and location would stay here again for my final year if it didn’t cost a kidney and my firstborn
The only things I disliked (especially for the price) is the limited parcel collection hours, the shower drains blocking frequently. Residents in studios don’t get an oven and shower pressure is weak. Also the wifi service in my room was really getting on my nerves. Apart from these problems, it was a great experience, sadly cause of the pandemic, I couldn’t meet many people but that is understandable. Staff & maintenance are lovely, the location is perfect and the interior is very nice. I enjoyed my stay here.
Do not recommend this property at all, staff are rude and unhelpful, you wait days for post and weeks for replies to emails. They only reply to emails quick when its for their gain (money). They have had absolutely no regard for students during the pandemic and continue to act inhumane. I would advise any other halls above this one.
absolutely do not recommend this student accommodation unless you want to be completely ripped off throughout a global pandemic even though the government have told students not to return. Appalling attitude from the staff at Catherine house
Shame on the student housing company. Despite this third lock down, and many of us being stuck at home, they continue to take 100% of our rent as though this were any other year. Instead of following in the stride of more graceful companies and universities, which are almost all offering some kind of compensation, Catherine House holds onto every penny. Absolute shame of the world onto this company.
they’ve done their best - difficult time
The building is very well maintained and it caters very well to new and returning students. I went to a beer pong event on the first night organised by Student Housing Company and it was brilliant. My room's ethernet port didn't work which was problematic since I had a desktop PC and ended up using a slower modem for most of the year. They'll tell you to contact ASK4 for help and the whole process can take a few days.
I recently moved in and there are so many issues with my flat which just shouldn't exist. The first time someone sat down, the kitchen sofa leg broke. One of our showers has a broken tap, and the drain is super sharp and rusty, a total health hazard. Our microwave also sparked when there was nothing in it and had to be turned off. Not impressed so far at all.
Felt very homely and made me feel comfortable. Loved staying there
I lived here in my first year 2018-19. I highly recommend the place. Ive always felt safe here. Their insurance policy came in handy, this covers many of your personal belongings. Wifi always brilliant. Fire alarms r expected to be frequent in the beggining of the yr, handy to have some clothes and shoes ready to hop into, be prepared for the ear piercing alarm at any point in time. (Even in your sleep). The layout of the blocks, staircases & fire escapes r placed efficiently for fast evacuation, unlike greetham! (Look it up). I was happy with the kitchen appliances (tv, grill/microwave, grill/oven, electric hob). You can fit lots under the bed. The desk, drawers & chair were comfortable. The shelving around the bedframe was ideal, wardrobe is deep and tall. Shower is tight but adjustabl n removabl showr head is great. Lots of complaints r students fault tbh. Shower drains r easy to clean. Rubbish in stairwells is their responsibility. Lifts break cause of jumping in them. Lots of free
Awful experience would recommend any other halls. You don't get the rooms they show you around there are plumbing issues. they wont help with any flatmate issues, security is awful. Infested with flys!
Only student housing in Portsmouth to still make the students pay when the uni is closed with the covid 19 going on - Let this be a lesson don’t stay at this place for the new year . This company puts money before the well being of their tenants. Disgusting!!
Throughout the year they have been consistently bad at communicating, even when hundreds of people are begging them to answer, they choose to ignore or post a generic automated response like "we have a team working tirelessly on this issue to get back to you", leaving everyone in the dark. This was firstly an issue before even moving in, when they gave everyone the wrong room numbers and barely put out any public information for us to know what was going on, after we had been making friends with the wrong flatmates for weeks. Little did we know that this unnecessary stress was just the beginning of an even worse year. They do not replace items that are broken. Some items that are vital are just never provided (our ground floor flat never had a kitchen curtain, and did not have a radiator for the first 4 months, and our oven was never replaced when broken). The management is negligent and do not care about their tenants.
During covid19 they continued to make us pay full rent even tho we have completely moved out and handed in the keys. Ridiculous they have no concern for student welfare only to make money. The whole place is unclean, staff unfriendly, WiFi doesn’t work at the best of times. Found that half the stuff was broken when moving in. Had to pay more money for smaller rooms and less people than other flats with 6 people. There was a mouldy loaf of bread on the stairs for a solid 4 months, where were the weekly communal cleaners .. never to be seen! Fire alarms went off every day.
Decor is nice but maintenance team is slow and laundry is far too expensive
I would say they are really attentive to issues apart from the cleaning the cleaning could improve massively
Staff made my friends wait at reception when they wouldn’t make anyone’s friends wait there. Staff mocked my accent throughout the year, even when I asked them to stop. Staff didn’t care when my tickets to a concert were lost when they were signed and they stated “they’re sometimes forged my the Royal Mail”. Wouldn’t recommend this place for students apart from location. Staff don’t care whatsoever and post has been lost. Not that they care.
Living here for 2 years, it has been a very good experience. The rooms are well designed and the staff is very friendly. The internet is very good and it has good security during the day and night. Location is a big plus. 1 minute away from Tesco Express and Commercial Road. I seriously recommend it.
My son lived in Catherine House for his first year, the building was then brand new, then again for his third year (this year). It is hard to judge a company until you have an issue, which we have now had and I can say that Zoe, Pashka and the general manager have all taken time to sort it out to our satisfaction. Approachable, professional and willing to find a solution.
Amazing and it is very clean just no personal cleaning services provided, but do provide the equipment to clean
I would 100% not recommend this place. Some of the rooms don’t have open windows.
Ok so, this accommodation is EXPENSIVE don’t get me wrong, it’s well decorated and generally clean however the management are very hit and miss. In the room inspections if your room is not 100% clean and I mean surgical room clean, like not lived in clean, then you get b**** comments on your review if you don’t like your flat mates, so what? They don’t care. However on a brighter side, Euan at reception is lovely, absolutely brilliant! and the lot is very very close to everything you need which is fab but the lifts keep breaking down and take weeks to be fixed, there is only one laundry room for 4000+ students and the WiFi is just pure and utter crap. Basically you could get better for cheaper if you go to Margaret Rule or Greetham because the rooms are better bigger and everything works over there. Also tip for the building manager: Stop slagging off your staff in the middle of reception where everyone can hear you. It’s unprofessional.