Melvin Hall Reviews

I really liked the location, outside of it being very separate from the rest of the campus. it had nice views and the rooms were pretty nice. The bathrooms are disgusting. I'd rather have multi-stall than the mold-ridden ones there, and half the time the amenities didn't work. it's also pretty inaccessible due to the expired (tiny) elevator and stairs at the entrance

Melvin I really wonderful in terms of community. It’s easy to get close to people. That being said, the walls are thin, and while the single bathrooms are nice for privacy, there’s mold in the showers and things don’t always feel as clean as they could be. The rooms facing the fens are large for dorm rooms and nice to have.

Living in Melvin often felt like sharing a huge house with all of your friends. There’s a great community feeling that comes with living in a smaller dorm building like Melvin. Though old, the building is clean and well-maintained. Most rooms are large with lots of storage space. And the location is great - quiet but close to campus, Back Bay, and Fenway. Can’t beat Melvin

I am currently living in Melvin and loving it! I didn't get one of the rooms that face the fens, which are significantly bigger, so my room is pretty small, even compared to others. However, the small size of Melvin lends itself to a great community feeling. The bathrooms are great, single use with double showerheads. I love the proximity to the fens and how we feel almost like we live off campus, and have easy access to a green space. Steast/Stwest are nearby for dining halls, but unfortunately IV is a bit of a walk. There's no AC, so it gets very hot in the warmer months. A fan is a must. The ceilings are made of styrofoam, so it feels a bit like an Amazon packaging plant, but in a homey way. The floors are quite creaky, but overall, the ... See more

My room was around the size of my friend's doubles in other dorm buildings, it really was a great room. My closet was huge as well and there was great natural light. There is no printer in the building, which wasn't the best, but Kerr hall right next store has one that you can use. The bathrooms were a huge plus too, the showers were huge, and getting to use a private bathroom your freshman year is a big plus.

Everything is cramped, and the common area was in the basement and smells of mold constantly. It is also far from campus and dining halls - one of the furthest so-called "campus housing" vs "university housing". And it's on the Fenway, which is not the most safe at night, especially if you use she/her/hers pronouns. However, they have gone through some renovations, and I had a lot of closet and storage space. Additionally, the cleaning staff kept the bathrooms much cleaner than other dorms. While we had communal bathrooms, they were all single stall, so we had privacy. Unless people were actively not picking up after themselves, the bathroom and other common spaces were clean.

The communal one person bathrooms rocked. Building kinda sucked and was on the outskirts of campus. Room was small but felt very homey.

Room was absolutely massive as I was lucky enough to get a 'bay window' room that faced the Fens. Single-occupancy bathrooms with a sink/toilet/shower were a big plus. The building is pretty old, everything creaks and the walls are thin, so noise can be an issue if you tend to sleep early. There's always people congregating in the Fens (even during winter sometimes), so another source of noise there. The basement has three seperate commom rooms that are really new and nice, but they tend to be full in the afternoon/night. Overall though, I'd still recommend Melvin because I had a massive room (almost twice the size of a standard Steast/Stwest double room) and because of the bathrooms. But if you are really sensitive to noise/sleep is very i... See more

It’s an old building, but generally pretty nice. I saw a few bugs, but never any mice or rats, and I eventually discovered that there was a hole in my window screen, so if you check for that you should be fine. The bathroom situation is really nice, as they’re all private bathrooms that are generally pretty clean. My one major issue with the building is the heat. There’s no AC so of course the warmer months are rough, but once it gets cold outside it actually gets worse inside. The heat is always turned way too high, and you can’t do much about it. I had to keep my windows open even when it was snowing outside just to maintain a reasonable temperature. Plus, the radiators are loud, which may be an issue if you’re a light sleeper. The locati... See more

Absolutely gorgeous spot right on the Fens. Much larger rooms than the majority of other freshman housing options. My room had a really nice bay window that let in a lot of light. Can be a little creepy at night but didn’t experience any actual issues. Downside is that it’s rather far from academic buildings and separated from the large majority of first years. The building is old, the hallways twist like a maze, and the floors are uneven but overall it’s a perfectly good place to live. The bathrooms are all single toilets and some have 2 side by side shower heads. When I lived there the bathrooms were kind of an issue because tiles from the wall kept falling on the floor, the sink cracked, and one bathroom had to be closed for a few mo... See more