Best UCLA Dorms

"It was a nice and quiet building to live in (but keep in mind that I lived it in during my first year, so I didn't have much to compare it to). I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to first-years who are trying to socialize and make friends. There were only a total of 6 freshmen on my floor (those in my room and the room next door) and the rest were upperclassmen, transfers, and some exchange students. No one really talked to each other unless they knew you, so it was pretty dead socially. As someone who is more of an introvert, I was fine with this, but I do feel like I missed out on a lot by not being in one of the classic buildings with all the other freshmen. The actual room itself was much more spacious in comparison to the classic dorms (I definitely recommend watching YouTube tours to see what it's like). In terms of location, it's on top of the death stairs which makes it a pain to walk to but also puts it in close distance to a lot of dining halls/ takeout places (with Rende and Feast being the closest). It took me around 15 minutes to walk to Powell if I was in a hurry but usually 20-25 minutes if I was taking my time. They switched out the washing and drying machines for new ones my year (2019-2020), but for some reason, there were still a couple of them that would not work. Overall though, it was a pretty solid building, and I don't have many complaints."

"I loved living in this dorm personally. It wasn’t too far from bruinwalk and the walk to the dining halls and other eating places was ok. I would definitely recommend it. The bathroom was cleaned every week."

"I stayed in Gardenia and it was overall a pretty nice experience. The rooms are big, even for three people. The AC is a little funky (you can't set a temp, only colder or not) but still works well. The bathrooms are communal and there were some issues with flooding of the showers on my floor. It's kinda far away from food though, as you have to walk to either the main De Neve Plaza or BCafe/Cafe 1919. There aren't many laundry machines, so you have to be proactive about putting your laundry in during the week."

"The rooms are really spacious (probably the biggest on campus?), the building and the bathrooms are pretty much brand new and are usually very clean, and the location is super centralized."

"Pros: Gayley heights has prime location as it’s right across the street from Westwood village and it’s pretty close to campus. It has a lot of amenities like a nice study lounge in the lobby, a gym, and a good laundry unit. The apartments are brand new as well. Also the views are great. Cons: Some rooms can be small and apartments almost all have either 6 or 8 people. This is fine for me because I like all my roommates but alot of people struggle with this. "