Merchant City House, glasgow

A Truly Immersive Experience. 5/5 stars for originality. I was looking for student accommodation in Glasgow. What I found was something far better: a liveable construction site. Or almost. From February 2026, Unite Students generously provided a jackhammer symphony as background noise for my online lectures — a premium service mentioned absolutely nowhere at the time of booking. A surprise. A gift. The works eventually migrated from time to time from outside the building into the corridor right next to my room, with complimentary construction dust drifting into my living space. At £160+ per week, they call that full immersion. The shared kitchen, meanwhile, came with unexpected local wildlife. A resident mouse, cockroaches, and worms — seemingly better housed than I was — provided daily entertainment. The lift, for its part, decided early in the year to take early retirement. Repetitively, it seems. A fantastic opportunity to work out on several flights of stairs — also premium service, apparently. For those who enjoy nocturnal thrills, the fire alarm offers surprise performances at 2am. No warning. No fire. Just keeping residents on their toes — or in a state of mild trauma, depending on the night. And if your door badge reader doesn't work anymore ? Don't worry they don't have the key to open the door either ! Should anything go wrong, the reception team are absolutely lovely. Warm, attentive, genuinely sorry. They cannot do anything about it, but they say so with disarming kindness. As for email responses, allow over 20 days — assuming anyone remembers to reply at all. Also, they indeed recognise all of this, but they won't take actions for some reason, so do not expect compensation. In summary: if you dream of paying apartment prices to live on a building site, cohabit with urban wildlife, climb stairs, be woken by fire alarms, and wait three weeks for an email reply — Merchant City House is exactly what you’re looking for.

The only significant advantage of this accommodation is its location. It is situated in Glasgow city centre, within walking distance of major transport links, including the main railway stations and the subway. Supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants, and other amenities are also nearby, making day-to-day life and commuting very convenient for students. Unfortunately, that is where the positives end. I have been living at Merchant City House since September 2024 and renewed my tenancy for the following academic year. My experience has been extremely disappointing due to the constant disruptions to essential services and facilities throughout the year. Residents have repeatedly faced issues with utilities and building services, including gas supply problems, water supply issues, hot water disruptions, lift breakdowns, and other maintenance-related disruptions. It has often felt like there was always one issue or another affecting the accommodation. While maintenance problems can happen anywhere, the frequency of disruptions here has been far beyond what I would reasonably expect from student accommodation. The most frustrating issue has come towards the end of the tenancy period. Residents have recently been informed that major lift works will take place from June to August 2026, meaning the lift will be unavailable for almost two months. For those living on higher floors, this creates significant difficulties with groceries, laundry, rubbish disposal, and moving belongings out at the end of the tenancy. What makes this particularly disappointing is that many current residents will be moving out in August and will therefore experience the disruption without benefiting from the completed upgrade. After a year of repeated service interruptions, this decision feels very unfair to existing residents. Based on my experience, Merchant City House offers an excellent location, but the overall standard of facilities, reliability of services, and value for money have not met expectations. If location is your top priority, this accommodation may suit you. However, if reliable facilities, minimal disruption, and overall living experience are important factors, I would strongly recommend considering other options before signing a contract.

I found it quite inappropriate to see condoms displayed openly on the reception desk in a student accommodation building. It gave a very unprofessional impression. I have stayed in several student accommodations before and never seen this at reception. It would be better to place them in a more private area.

As an international student, I don’t find a better place with ensuite in Glasgow. I’d say it’s just 4 blocks away from the exact center of Glasgow, and you have all supermarkets, two railway stations, the subway, banks, and shopping centers within a 5-minute walk. This place was really convenient for me because I landed in Glasgow for the first time without anyone known to me living here. I could buy everything I needed, open a bank account, buy a SIM card, and so on by walking just a few blocks away from here. Also, the laundry in the basement was so convenient. I never had to take a bus in my first two months. The ensuite with the bathroom I got was almost new, and it was more than I needed. There’s plenty of storage space, a very long table, and a pretty good bed. They had everything they have advertised on the website, and all worked well. The building and the systems are also well maintained; there is nothing to complain about. From the first day, the staff was very friendly and supportive. Of course, we had some hygiene and tidiness issues when sharing the kitchen. But the staff involved nicely sorted them out. Talking about the downsides, the fire alarm seldom goes off, and you have to leave the building. Especially at midnight. Those are safety protocols that have nothing to do with Unite Students. Lastly, this building is highly insulated, and it overheats in the summer. Because you can only tilt the window slightly, you might find it difficult to sleep at night during the summer. That’s all, cheers!

There is a horrible mouse infestation at Liberty which despite being reported to the reception multiple times nothing was ever done about it. I ended up seeing the mouse 10 times, And I heard reports of mice on other floors. This made me unable to cook In my own kitchen. This is plainly unacceptable for a business charging a high premium. Poor value for money in comparison to other halls. There is no proper place to sit and socialise apart from a cramped kitchen and no one stays there as it smells and is bland and emotionless. There is 9 people to a kitchen which is plainly too much. The decor is outdated, the bathrooms are tiny. Staff are alright and polite with good security and are easy to talk to. I like how they integrate and interact with the students by putting out food and other treats on special days. But much better cheaper alternatives which are modern and have better facilities with gyms and cinema rooms which Liberty fail to offer. It is not the nicest place to live and is very uninspiring. Please sort out the mice infestation for future residents. Best wishes