There are a lot of scary stories out there about the William and Mary dorms - especially the freshman Botetourt Complex - so as a student currently living in Botetourt, I wanted to share some of my thoughts about the most common concerns and hopefully loosen some of your worries and fears about them!
First and foremost, I love living in Botetourt. I have heard some people say that it is isolated from the rest of campus, but I would disagree with that. Some of the biggest pluses are that it is very close to the Commons Dining Hall (the Caf), the Student Rec Center, and many academic buildings on campus. Small Hall (home of Physics), Morton Hall (home of Africana Studies, Sociology, Modern Languages, Women's-Gender-Sexuality-Studies, Classics, Film Studies, and various other classes), Adair (home of Kinesiology and Dance), Andrews Hall (home of Art and Art History), and Jones Hall (home of Mathematics) are all between a short five to eight minute walk away. The Integrated Science Center (Biology, Chemistry, Psychology) is about a ten minute walk. So, as a resident of Botetourt, you are likely to have a short walk to a number of your classes, and two large freshman dorms - Yates and Green and Gold Village - are also close by.
Another big plus about Botetourt is the size of the rooms! Some of the freshman dorm rooms are pretty small, but you should have plenty of room for all of your things in Botetourt. In my hall, everyone has their own wardrobe, a desk with drawers, and a fairly large drawer unit. All of these hold quite a lot of clothes; in fact, I ended up bringing more clothes back to school with me after Fall Break because I had so much space in my closet and drawer. You can probably fit 15 to 20 t-shirts in just one of the drawers on the drawer unit, and there are three drawers on it. I was also able to easily fit another (smaller) drawer unit that I brought with me in the room. I would say that unless you are planning on holding yoga classes in your room or bringing some major furniture like a couch or big, bulky suitcases with you, you do not need to loft your bed.
What about the bugs? I will be completely honest and say that although I have seen a few roaches throughout the whole semester in the hallway outside of my room, I have never had a single bug inside my room. I think that if you keep your food sealed, clean the room regularly (especially a quick sweep or vacuum a few times a week), bring a few bug traps with you, and throw away attractive leftovers like pizza and takeout within 24 hours, you will not have any issues. The golden rule is to be clean, or at least cleaner than the people on either side of you, and the bugs will stay away.
What about the AC? Botetourt, like most of the freshman dorms, does not have AC throughout the whole of each of the buildings. All of the lounges do have AC, however, which can be a really refreshing place to study on hot days. If you are on the first floor, you will probably be pretty cool during the hot days because of the AC coming off the lounges, and even on the second floors' lower level (which would be rooms 211 to 220 in Nicholson and Fauquier), most days except the hottest ones will not be too bad either because, once again, you'll be feeling some of that cold air from downstairs. It is the upper level of the second floor (rooms 201-210 in Nicholson and Fauquier) and the third floor that are hot! If you are on the second and especially the third floor, try to get permission for an AC unit if hot weather bothers you. If you cannot, you should definitely bring a few fans with you. In winter, it is sort of the same story - the bottom floors are generally cool, while the top floors are very warm and toasty.
I hope that this helps make you feel a little better about Botetourt! If you have been accepted to William and Mary, congratulations and welcome to the Tribe! If you have been assigned to Botetourt, worry not! I was once anxious about it, but I love Botetourt now, and I think you will like it too!