King’s students turned away from halls are still living in grim hotels

King's freshers are still staying in hotels after they were turned away from halls on move-in day last weekend.

Yesterday The Tab King's revealed hundreds of freshers were turned away from accommodation after the university overbooked them. Some were re-assigned to accommodation Stratford, while others were placed in hotels elsewhere.

The Tab King's has spoken to three students who are currently living in these hotels, one of whom said the situation made her "so upset and worried."

One student The Tab King's spoke to said she arrived at Atlas halls in Lambeth after a 12-hour flight from China only to discover her room was taken.

She said: "I heard about the chaotic accommodation situation before I came to London, so I called King's Residence three times to ensure my accommodation."

The student is now staying at a Best Western Hotel in Crystal Palace – over five miles away from her intended student accommodation.

She told The Tab King's: "When I arrived at the hotel, they told me no one could help handle the luggage.

"The room is underground without any access to the elevator."

The student and several others who were moved to the hotel emailed King's residence team three times to voice their emotional distress, and asked how long they would be in the hotel for.

They told The Tab King's that replies from King's Residence team have been infrequent, and they have had no idea what's going on.

One of the students said in her email: "My family spends lots of money to support me to study at KCL, however this situation makes me so upset and worried".

The students said in in their email they would not be happy being placed in non-King's accommodation in Wembley, claiming it was "too far away" from Strand campus.

The group received no reply from King's at the time, however they have been permitted to stay until Sunday.

They later said a member of King's Residences had called them, telling The Tab King's: "The office is helping us find a proper way to solve the problem."

A King's spokesperson said: "We are very sorry that in some cases over the last few days some students have been allocated temporary accommodation.

"We are working closely with affected students to ensure they are housed. We are making arrangements to recognise and address any disruption caused including extra travel costs to those students."

If you've been affected by this or know someone who has please email [email protected].