Cardiff UK

It is my first time ever living outside of home, and I’ve definitely had a fantastic year at Canvas The Parade in Cardiff. It’s been so great that I’ve decided to rebook for the next year! One of the standout features is the range of facilities available: the gym, study areas, cinema room, social spaces. There’s often an event or activity going on, which makes both student life more enjoyable, and also a great way to connect with others (especially if you live alone in studios - rather than shared flats). Examples include: free weekday breakfast, pizza Friday’s, free ice creams in the summer, BBQs, tea party, art workshops & so much more. The communal areas are also decorated for special occasions (e.g. Valentine’s Day, Christmas, St David’s Day) which is so cute! The rooms are modern, comfortable & clean - mine even has a dishwasher which was a surprise! There’s always someone on site, so the building feels safe and secure - perfect for late night studies in the communal areas. While I haven't been able to catch everyone's names, the staff members I can name - Sousan, Farshad, Paul - are so welcoming & approachable. I have not had one bad experience with any staff member: they have always been extremely friendly & professional. Any maintenance work I have requested have always been carried out immediately, which I am thankful for. The location is also ideal - right next to City Road, which offers a range of fast-food spots & different cultural restaurants. Everything you need is in walking distance - public transport, the city centre, supermarkets, clothing stores, Cardiff University (Cathays campus). Overall, Canvas is a fantastic student accommodation with great amenities, a convenient location, and a supportive atmosphere. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and enjoyable place to live while studying in Cardiff.

Great accommodation with friendly and helpful staff. The facilities are excellent, and the secure locked bike storage is a huge plus, especially as someone who has had two bikes stolen in Cardiff. The views from the higher floors are pretty good. Highly recommended!

Echoing many of the recent negative reviews to say that my experience at Canvas Cardiff has been rather shocking and simply does not reflect the price of what is being paid. Entitled staff who let themselves into rooms willy-nilly with little-to-no warning which has prompted many embarrassing moments and led me to feel unsafe and anxious in my own room. Being situated next to the elevator I genuinely hold my breath every time I hear it stopping on my floor and brace to have my privacy invaded unexpectedly. Even more embarrassing being in my late 20s and having my partner over, expecting someone to barge in at any moment like an overbearing parent (happened numerous times now), which luckily hasn’t happened during any SUPER humiliating moments so far but alas. Like others have stated, the hot water was completely down for WEEKS and although alternative showering rooms were offered, the entire point of having a studio apartment was not having to share amenities with others and combined with the previous invasions from staff, I felt unsafe to use these rooms so was forced into taking ICE COLD showers for a month. As well as this, the Gym and other sections of the building were completely closed off for a month as well (unrelated to the water incident), and originally the building was advertised as having a Karaoke room which was taken out (i assume), so feel very let down by what they said they would offer. CONSTANT emails about maintenance people coming by with such a wide berth of when they could possibly be around that the emails are practically redundant to begin with. Obnoxious fire alarm testing as well that I can’t imagine being very friendly for neurodiverse students. Though I haven’t participated in them myself, Pizza Fridays and daily breakfasts were permanently cancelled out of the blue as well which i’m sure was a let-down for many as they seemed to bring in good crowds. The rooms themselves are fine but internet is mediocre and sometimes drops off randomly and the air-con has not worked within the room since the first week of moving in. I was also asked to move rooms about TWO DAYS prior to moving in as well, and on arrival staff seemed to have no idea about this and so i’ve been without a key to my post-box for the year and looked at as if this was my fault and that i’m inconvenient for asking for my post. Overall seems like there has been a sharp decline in care from workers or management (perhaps both) and the entitlement of some of the more senior staff is (at least currently) incredibly misplaced and, quite frankly, rather dehumanising to those who live at the accommodation. Just a rather uncomfortable half-a-year living here so far, and really doesn’t hold up to the older reviews :/

please book somewhere else if you can - the good reviews were very true before they changed management, it is so different now. all of the amenities they used to draw us in - free pizza Fridays, free breakfast M-F, Monday coffee and cake mornings, are all gone, taken away every week with an email saying it is taking immediate effect, with no explanation. although, they've mentioned they want to aim their resources more at events, these 'limited space' events, that can't even fit everyone, and I can promise you we all don't want the bad events anyways, we'd rather just have the food back. next, they suddenly one day decided to reduce their reception window to a 3 hour window. so when it says on the website, they have a 24 hour reception- excluding emergencies, you are only given a 3 hour window to get parcels or ask questions, or whatever else, from Monday to Friday. try not to have an emergency on the weekend, you'll get no support. the amenities- the gym, the laundry was closed for like a month, as soon as we started the new academic year- what a great introduction to this place. the hot water was gone for WEEKS and they offered rooms to shower in, but they were cleaned once a week and it was such a hassle - I just had cold showers instead. because I didn't book a studio, to have to share a shower at specific times of the day. the elevator was also broken for weeks, whilst they changed management, which was NOT a good introduction to Canvas. It's fine if you live on the first few floors, but the 10th? It is just insane, and I can't even begin to think what someone with accessible needs was doing during those many many weeks. Why is so much broken in this place they need maintenance to be happening basically every week? Right now they are replacing our bedroom doors, which is insanely loud, the third party man just walks into rooms as he pleases. Not to mention, they told us it would be happening for a week from the 13th of April, but it is still happening and there has been no update as to why. Their windows are so unhelpful and incorrect majority of the time. As a woman, pick somewhere else to stay. You'll begin to feel really unsafe here. The amount of times some random man has let himself in to do something- that they didn't email about- I'd be a millionaire. I have been walked in on having a shower, getting dressed, I will come home from uni and someone will be here with all my valuables out- no warning. They knock early in the morning, late at night, overall just a bad experience. (This is not including Paul- the maintenance man, he is lovely and really does do his best.) The reception staff, make you feel as if you're an inconvenience every time. As someone in these reviews mentioned, Sousan sits inside the package room and you're left to feel like you're interrupting her. I am not sure why she cannot sit at the reception desk instead, so we can feel welcomed to speak to her. She is the assistant manager as well, you'd think she may want to make us all feel at home here. Canvas has ruined what this place used to be- every bad decision at every turn, not to mention we give feedback and everything just stays the same. Please if you've booked, get out of your contract, or book somewhere if you can. If there is anything else to take away from us, they'll find it.

I would recommend looking elsewhere before choosing this building. The gym, common areas, and activity spaces were shut down for over a month during a peak time, with little communication. There have been ONGOING maintenance issues, including reports of mould, BUGS, and half of the building went without hot water for over a month! No compensation at all. Many of the amenities that were advertised when we signed have either been taken away or have been unavailable for long periods. This includes free breakfast and Pizza Fridays, which were clearly used to attract tenants and are no longer offered (no explanation given). Access to rooms is another concern. There are frequent visits from maintenance (mainly third party workers) almost weekly, early in the morning, and sometimes with minimal notice. They are known to be loud, rude, and leave messes. Management communication is very poor and emails we send with our concerns/comments are almost always ignored. Be mindful that many of the positive reviews are from before the building changed management! Overall, this building does not match what was promised, especially for the price. I would strongly suggest booking elsewhere.