The Electra

I lived here its inaugural year and also my first year of university, and I would love to do it over. I’ll go into detail but all in all: The Electra is not at all worth the exorbitant price.
The staff: First and foremost, the staff is disappointing at best. They made it seem as though we would have on-​site staff, and provided that for approximately the first two weeks, but since then there has been one person here for two hours per day on weekdays (12 – 1 and 4 – 5). These hours are ridiculous. I’m an international student and quickly learned the hard way I couldn’t receive packages (parcels) as I was in school and the building has no way of collecting them. This became frustrating many times throughout the year as I prefer to buy most things online with student discounts (Amazon Student is a lifeline!). Another reason this is ridiculous is because, as they have to drive here from somewhere else, they charge £36 to unlock your door. Not to replace the key or something logical… to unlock the door. The doors here have no way of remaining unlocked. If I go to check the laundry and forget my key inside my room, it sets me back £36. Also, if you want to use a vacuum or iron from reception, it is only available during those two hours, five days a week. As a student, I’m generally at school in those hours. Not much time to vacuum the space.
The amenities: There are two washers and dryers for all of the occupants in the building. It’s not very realistic. It costs about £5 per load, and clothing is consistently still very wet. I understand the latter part is more to do with the laundry providers, but having only two dryers means consistently waiting for available space.
Other: The rooms come with TVs, but not the license. The stoves were apparently illegal for some reason, and therefore they had to come replace them all this past month. There were a lot of little things like that which were inconvenient. I understand this was the first year The Electra was open, but Downing manages several other properties, which put me under the illusion they knew what they were doing.
Compared to the accommodations many of my friends stayed at for much less, they had better experiences and felt they got what they paid for. I did not. The building I’m moving into this year with friends (as is the case with numerous other student accommodations around Liverpool) costs less for the same square footage, and also has a gym and cinema. The Electra markets itself to international students, and I’ve come to find that’s likely due to the lack of value for the cost.