Hall of residence: the short version
- University
- Imperial College London
- Address
- Prince's Gardens, South Kensington, SW7 1BA
- Size
- Around 405 bed spaces in single and twin en-suite rooms, across Falmouth, Keogh, Selkirk and Tizard halls
- Catered
- No, self-catered with one kitchen per floor in each building
- Nearest area page
- South Kensington
What it costs
Everything below includes VAT, the crew, the van, the wrapping, the fuel and the Congestion Charge where it applies.
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| One room, within LondonBed linen, clothes, books, a desk lamp and a bike | £150 to £340 |
| Room into summer storage, and back in SeptemberBoth legs quoted together, which is cheaper than booking twice | £280 to £620 |
| Hall to Heathrow or GatwickCases and boxes, with time built in for the drive | £120 to £260 |
| End of term room clearanceWhat you are not taking, disposed of with a waste transfer note | £120 to £280 |
Loading and parking
Southside shares Prince's Gardens with Eastside, inside Imperial's estate and next to the Ethos sports centre, so the stretch closest to the doors is college ground and Imperial runs the September arrival. Beyond it the streets are controlled parking with very few free bays, and Exhibition Road, the obvious approach, is a shared surface that fills with museum visitors through the day. All floors are reached by lift, so once a van is stopped the rest is straightforward.
More on South Kensington parking and access →A hall full of twin rooms
Nearly half the bed spaces Imperial lists at Southside are in twin rooms, which makes it unusual among the halls we move people into. Two people in one room means two lots of belongings arriving and leaving, sometimes on the same day and sometimes a week apart, and the room is not bigger in proportion.
If you and your roommate are going to the same place, or both into storage, one booking for both is cheaper than two. If you are going in different directions, tell us which things are whose before the day, because sorting it out in the corridor is the slow part.
Four halls behind one front
Falmouth, Keogh, Selkirk and Tizard are joined up but each has its own entrance and its own kitchens, one per floor, shared by anything from eight to two dozen students depending on where you are. Give us the hall name as well as the room number, because the same number exists more than once across the block.
Southside's neighbours are Eastside across the square and the Ethos sports centre, so late September and mid June mean several hundred people moving through the same gardens. Early mornings avoid most of it, and the museum traffic on Exhibition Road as well.
Worth knowing
- If you share a twin and are going the same way, book the move for both of you together
- Give the hall name, Falmouth, Keogh, Selkirk or Tizard, with the room number
- Mark which boxes are whose if you share a room, before the van arrives
- Start early to miss the museum traffic on Exhibition Road
- Book the June move before exams, since Southside and Eastside empty in the same days
Southside Halls: common questions
How much does it cost to move into Southside Halls?
A single room is £150 to £340 including VAT, most around £220, covering the crew, the van, the wrapping, the fuel and the Congestion Charge. Two people in a twin moving together is priced as two rooms in one trip, which is cheaper than booking twice.
Can you park outside Southside Halls?
Only where Imperial allows it. Southside sits inside the college estate on Prince's Gardens, and in September the college runs the arrival arrangements. At other times we load from the nearest legal place on the controlled streets around the square and carry, which with lifts to every floor is not far.
Is Southside the old Southside?
The names are the same, but the buildings are not. The original Falmouth, Keogh, Selkirk and Tizard halls opened in 1963 and were demolished in 2005, and the current Southside opened in 2007 with en-suite rooms and lifts to all floors.
Is Southside catered?
No, it is self-catered, with one kitchen per floor in each of the four buildings. Kitchen equipment is worth bringing, but in a twin it is worth agreeing with your roommate first, because the cupboard space is shared too.
Can you take everything to the airport at the end of term?
Yes, £120 to £260 to Heathrow or Gatwick with cases and boxes, and the drive is built into the figure. From South Kensington Heathrow is the shorter run, but book it before exams because Imperial contracts end within days of each other.