University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dorms: Bromley Hall

For those lucky few (or kids from Illinois), being accepted into U of I brings questions about the living situation. Some might consider Bromley Hall, the apartment-style dorm not far from the quad.

Bromley Hall
Location: 3rd and Daniel

Bromley Hall is the huge, white building on 3rd street just southwest of 3rd and Daniel. It is not an official University dorm, but they are affiliated with them. Bromley houses many students on 13 floors. There are 2 sets of elevators for a total of 4 elevators. One pair of elevators goes from floor 1-8 and the other goes from 6-13 to manage the distribution of the crowd. The lobby features a pool table and couches with a television. There is also a pool with a deck, and a cafeteria with a meal service.

The rooms at Bromley are more upscale than the University dorms. They are much larger, include air conditioning, and a bathroom is shared between 2 rooms. Your rooms are cleaned every 2 weeks by a friendly maid. The closets are fairly big for a dorm, providing plenty of storage. There are singles, doubles, triples, or quads for the room sizes. Many outlets skitter the room providing television or laptop hookups. Utilities are provided along with a fridge/microwave unit.

Complaints
I would advise against choosing Bromley Hall for many reasons. The food is the worst of any dorms on campus. By going to Bromley, your meal plan only works at Bromley and not with University eating halls. Fat Dons and other special events at the University dorms will be missed. Bromley has some special dinners, but most of them do not make up for the terrible food all year long. The menu has unpopular choices and no variety.

A security desk is set up every night in the lobby of Bromley Hall. This is more of a hassle than a neccessity. Anybody can easily gain access into the building before midnight or even after if they talk their way in. Everyone's IDs are checked and guests have to be checked in.

Bromley violated their contract several times I stayed there. The windows were still being fixed months after we moved in. My roommates and I were awoken at 8am for the maintenance worker to install the window. Another time, maintenance was done while we were not there and we were not left a note explaining what was done. Finally, during the week nearing Unofficial St. Patrick's Day, Bromley made up new rules. Unofficial St. Patty's Day is an annual event where binge drinking occurs all day. It is a controversial event that the University does not endorse. Bromley decided to search all bags and people entering the building. When I entered the building and refused to be searched, Bromley employees threatened to call the police. They continued to demand to search me. I told them nothing in the agreement subjects residents to random search, but they attempted to convince me they could legally search me. Regardless of their intentions, Bromley violated my personal rights and all the other students during that week.

Many students choose Bromley Hall for the air-conditioning. If you are a student who cannot live without air-conditioning, then Bromley Hall may be for you. Otherwise, steer clear of the rotten food and 1984 style RAs.