<p>It is being where rose towers was (I think that was the name of the building?) next to presidential I.</p>
<p>If you want to be able to do any real cooking, keep in mind that the community kitchens in Riverside (on the 1st & 3rd floors) do not have a real over or cooktop.</p>
<p>To see the location of the construction of Presidential II, you can search for UA on Google Maps and in the satellite version you can see the footings of the buildings. But don’t zoom in too far or it will revert back to the image with Rose Towers. :)</p>
<p>The Riverside complex was the 1st one of the new suite style dorms to be built so it is the oldest, next came Lakeside E/W then Ridgecrest E/W…then the “style” was changed and Ridgecrest South (N & S) and Presidential were built…with smaller rooms and the 2 on the left and 2 on the right set up instead of the L configuration…see the floorplans at the Housing website…</p>
<p>So Lakeside E/W is “newer” and has “real” kitchens and is farther from the construction of Presidential II and the new Rec Center than the Riversides…</p>
<p>But that said you really can’t go wrong with any of them :)</p>
<p>DD is a freshman in Riverside North this year and loves it, except for the few construction issues. She has a north-facing window which looks out right over the Presidential II construction site. Noise has been the main issue (jackhammers at 6:30am), but this has improved now that the foundation seems to be complete. There’s still construction noise, but not “window rattling” noise.</p>
<p>This semester, she has had to park her car in the Ferguson deck rather than her usual lot (I don’t remember the details here, but I think it’s also construction related … someone else may be able to confirm.) The noise and parking situation may not be issues anymore by the time this fall rolls around. DD is moving to RCS-N to stay in honors, but otherwise wouldn’t have minded staying in RSN.</p>
<p>Best honors housing for daughter?</p>
<p>Daughter is OSS who visited during Top Scholars day yesterday. She loved the campus. She is Chemical Engineering major, and won’t have a car for first year (but will have a bike). Since posts indicate Ridgecrest West is mostly full, is she better off in Ridgecrest East or Ridgecrest South-South Tower. My guess is she would like the bigger common area and storage closet in Ridgecrest East (plus closer to Lakeside Dining), but is it a lot more run down since it is older? She will want to be close to kitchen and laundry. Which Ridgecrest do you recommend and which rooms are best/worst? Will Ridgecrest East have too many upperclassmen? Also, if she puts down deposits, can she be placed in an empty super suite now and then try to get two new friends she met at Top Scholars day to join her?</p>
<p>Ridgecrest East/West are 2-3 years older than Ridgecrest South and have slightly larger rooms. All of the Ridgecrests/Lakesides/Riversides/Presidential are generally in the same very good condition. The presence of upperclassmen is not an issue and may be seen as a benefit as upperclassmen, mainly sophomores in this instance, have gone through the high school to college transition. </p>
<p>Pulling in roommates into ones suite is possible. Directions for doing so are available on the UA Housing website and in other threads here on the UA CC board.</p>
<p>All of the suite style housing is relatively new, with Presidential Village as the newest and Ridgecrest South (both towers) being the next newest. All the dorms are cleaned during the summers and painted if needed. I have not seen any " bad" suites, well not until some of the students have lived there awhile. (lol). If you’re lucky all roommates will either be neat or messy. It makes it harder when there is a mix. Remind your student to use the roommate contract.</p>
<p>Presidential II is being built right next to Presidential I and they will have the new rec center and food venue in between. I don’t know when those are scheduled to be completed. The entrance/exit of Lakeside West’s parking lot is directly across the street from the new construction. So the street and the parking lot form a small buffer zone from the construction. However, you can still see and hear the construction when you are outside. </p>
<p>All of the suites are really nice, it is just a matter of taste as to which layout you like best. I have never found any of the buildings noisy during my visits. Most times it has felt like the buildings are rather empty.</p>
<p>DS (ChemE and Bio majors) chose RC-East this year. I guess it is a little closer to Lakeside dining and the science buildings where most of his classes and research are.</p>
<p>From what he said first term freshman year location was not that important since classes tend to be a bit more spread out but now and next year almost all of his courses will be in the science and engineering complex. (MDB may have had a big impact to his feel of being spread out first term as the music building is completely across campus from the RC dorms)</p>
<p>Does anyone have any insider info for Presidential? It sounds like this may be the only option to pull in 3 other roommates for the 8:30 on April 2nd time slot? Do you think they should split up 2&2 and go for Lakeside or Riverside rather than go for 4 slots in Presidential? I’m assuming Presidential is affected by the construction noise too? Thanks!</p>
<p>@katorres
If it were me I think I’d go for Lakeside West as it was honors this year (2012-13) but will not be next year (2013-14) so probably not many students “stayed” and since it is not the newest like Presidential it probably won’t go as quickly. </p>
<p>The room sizes in Lakeside are like those in Riverside and RCE/RCW. The odd # rooms face the lake. If your child is the one doing the pulling I would put him/her into a C or D room…
<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/halls/lakeside/[/url]”>http://housing.ua.edu/halls/lakeside/</a></p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I know that I have seen several references on here to the D rooms being bigger. Yet, when I look at the layout on the reslife site, the rooms are all the same size, at least in Ridgecrest. Is D bigger in Ridgecrest? Or is there another reason that D is the preferred one? And why are you saying D or C? Thanks for all the advice!</p>
<p>What are the different rooms like Ridgecrest South-South and North? I know there’s two on each side, but are all rooms laid out the same, or is one similar to C and D Riverside and another similar to A and B Riverside?</p>
<p>In the older suite-style dorms, the C and D rooms are at the end of the hall, furthest from the living area. Since in RCE and RCW there’s no door between the common area and the bedrooms (notwithstanding what may show on the housing floor plans), if there’s a lot of noise in the common area, the A and B rooms will be closer to it. If there’s not a lot of activity or noise in the living area, it’s not a big deal. The C and D rooms also tend to have better views since they’re on the end - at least in my D’s suite the A and B rooms look out on a wall of the building and the windows of other A and B rooms. The D room might have a little more square footage, but I’m not sure that it’s useful square footage. The rooms are basically the same size with slightly different layouts, and each layout has its advantages and disadvantages. </p>
<p>I think the C and D rooms are marginally better and given a choice with all other things being equal, I’d pick them first. But I don’t think there’s enough of a difference to get excited about. My D has a B room this year and will have an A room next year, and she’s perfectly happy with that.</p>
<p>in RCS, A and D are the “better” rooms.</p>
<p>I had no idea RCE/RCW did not have doors to the bedrooms. That is crazy and seems to defeat the privacy of an individual room.</p>
<p>I believe there is no door to the hall going to the bathrooms/bedrooms. Each room has it’s own locking door. It becomes an issue when the student leaves/looses their dorm keys. The roommates can get them into the suite but not their individual room.</p>
<p>Longhaul, the bedrooms do have doors that lock in RCE/RCW. In Riverside E and W there is a door from the living area that leads into the hallway to the bedrooms. </p>
<p>Apparently in RCE/RCW there is no door that leads into the hallway. It’s just an extra measure of privacy and if there is a lot of noise in the living area the door can be closed.</p>
<p>But all bedrooms have doors that lock.</p>
<p>Thanks - The door/hall now makes sense to me.</p>
<p>Longhaul,
I think what was said was that there was no door separating the common area from the bedrooms.</p>
<p>Longhaul: I think she means that there are not extra doors separating the common area from the bedroom area, not that each bedroom is without a door. :)</p>