West Village Suites

This is a good place to look into if you are a McMaster or Mohawk student. What initially caught my eye was the security features that many student houses don’t have in the area and the amenities included like the gym, laundry and package room. Price is a bit on the higher end, but utilities and wifi are included, and truly you get what you pay for especially in this area. I have lived here for the past two years and have little to no problems with my unit, and even when things arose the staff have been friendly, efficient and easy to reach. The maintenance team is quick to make an appointment to repair any issues, and many suite and building upgrades take place during the year which continues to make it improved.

Overall nice place to live. Close to campus and grocery stores. Rooms are spacious and staff are helpful.

West Village Suites is an excellent facility with friendly staff who are always willing to help out their residents. I came to West Village Suites not knowing anyone in Hamilton. However, I have had a fantastic experience and will continue to live here throughout my time at McMaster University.

The management here is really efficient, which is always a plus. And the place is nice with the option of fully furnished suites. It's close to McMaster campus and there are some cool places around if you wanna go out and eat.

After living here for three years, I've been able to grasp a firm experience on West Village Suites. HERE ARE SOME PRO'S & CON'S!

Pro's:
- The location is great, it's a short bus ride directly into campus and about a 20 minute walk (of course, with COVID, this is not an issue)
- The units are quiet, depending on your roommate, but generally really quiet
- Nice amenities, though if someone has a monopoly on the study rooms, you'll never get to use them (same with the workout rooms). I will say that these amenities are NOT worth what you are paying, especially during the pandemic when you can't use them (which, of course, is to no one's fault).
- Nice view! I'm not sure about the view in every unit, but I got a nice view of downtown Hamilton/McMaster which is a plus.
- Personal balconies. Depending on the unit you get, some balconies are much larger than others, but it's nice to have a little outdoor area.
- The maintenance staff are INCREDIBLY friendly and welcoming! I would say that they made my stay much more pleasurable! They're always respectful, give you notice before entering your unit, and are quick to solve any requests. So thank you to ALL of the maintenance crew at West Village! (:

Con's:
- Get ready for your water to be shut off almost monthly. This happens pretty frequently and will happen without notice sometimes (in the middle of the day) and it takes a while for the water to actually come back on.
- The elevator are NOT trustworthy. I've gotten stuck a few times and while it's never taken more than a few minutes to get out, it's definitely not something anyone wants to deal with. The elevators are also out of service occasionally which is inconvenient if you live on the top few floors or are carrying things like groceries.
- CARPET FLOORS. The floors are carpet and they are not clean. I steam cleaned my own unit myself three times and it barely made a difference. The carpet leads to incredibly dusty rooms and it's just off-putting to think about what certain stains can be.
- The appliances are out of date. This isn't necessarily a problem, but for the price that you'll be paying, it's definitely a bummer. The shower is the same shower I had in my dorm room in first year at McMaster. The water pressure itself is decent though, but I recommend getting your own removable shower-head for more versatility.
- It's expensive. Living here isn't cheap and if you want to park your car it's an additional fee (both aboveground and underground have separate fees). Additionally, when I moved in initially in 2017, guest parking was $5 for one night, now it's $12-15 for a night. Again, it's not MUCH but if your partner or friend stays over frequently it adds up.
- You don't ACTUALLY control the temperature in your room. Heating and Air Conditioning is controlled by the building itself, so it WILL be turned on/off, but September-October and May-June are always uncomfortable months because it's either too cold or too hot. You do, however, get to control the fan in your unit. Again, this isn't REALLY an issue because the building temperature is always comfortable, but Canadian falls/springs are always strange in their temperatures so I recommend getting your own fan or heater!
- A new package room was implemented where residents now have to have an access code in order to enter the room (although it's east to by-pass this). This is great, but the panel to get into the room is often broken. From what I'm aware, this is a new system for them, but be prepared to NOT be able to get your packages on time (though this issue is often resolved VERY quickly).
- The laundry is a HUGE drawback for me. It's onsite, which is nice, however laundry is on every OTHER floor so there's only 12 washers and 12 dryers for the ENTIRE building. This gets really crowded during peak hours and it's about $5 depending on your settings. On top of that, it's a communal laundry which means people WILL remove your clothes/take them.

Overall, it's not a horrible place to live, but not the best.

Incredible housing at a reasonable price! The staff is helpful, and maintenance is done quickly. There’s a Subway nearby, which is cool when you can’t be bothered to cook for yourself. They have fast internet.

A comfortable place! The rent is within the range of other places I looked at, but considering everything you get within the price, I’d say it’s great value.

It's a wickedly cool place for students to live and it's good and close to campus. If you have people to move in with it makes it easy to feel at home right off the hop, but even if you don't, there are a lot of cool people living here and it's easy to make friends fast.

My niece signed the lease here on early Feb, and management guaranteed tenant will be girls in unit. However this morning management called that there is NO available space for all girls unit, ONLY we can choose with one BOY in unit, possibility girls will join in the future.
Have to find another place, and let us to lose some other opportunities.

West Village has everything covered! I had an awesome experience here. Management is helpful, professional, and get things done quickly. This is the type of landlord every student should want.

Rooms are in good condition but management is terrible. They are trying every possible method to charge you money: They frequently enter your unit, trying to find excuses to charge you (like cleanliness) ; they slow down the regular WiFi to sell their premium service; they even removed the pricey laundry service and invited a more expensive laundry service. Also the maintenance worker is very rude so be prepared to solve the issues yourself. That's not what student housing should be.

It's housing for students but don't let that discourage you! West Village Suites has everything you need and then some. The people in charge are top shelf, really committed, cool people. Thanks!

This is a good choice for people with student budgets. I needed to stick pretty closely to my monthly budget and found that being here and having access to things that would cost me extra elsewhere was ideal. My room was very cosy and the social spaces are key to giving space with roommates.

You can tell the managers know this industry well because everything from the maintenance of the suites to resident satisfaction is top of mind for them. Always helpful and on top of things.

This is the creme de la creme of student housing in Hamilton. From the suites themselves to the neighbourhood and staff, I would not live anywhere else as a student.

Absolutely nothing to complain about here. Excellent location and amenities, professional management team and rent that is totally fair for what you receive. It's not easy to get a spot here and if you've ever visited you will know why.

In my third and final years of uni, one of the best things was not having to stress about my living situation. West Village was exceptional in every way, basically from the day I moved in until I moved out. It was a total treat living here!

I worried that I wouldn't enjoy living in a building with lots of other students because I know how students can be about noise and cleanliness, but there have been zero issues in this regard. They actually have cleaners so the suites don't get disgustingly dirty like I'm sure they could. I think this is a super smart amenity to offer and it's helped make my experience here just that much better.

I only planned to live here one year but ended up staying for 2 because it was so comfortable and fun. Living off of campus is the best!

The apartments are set up very well with large kitchens and plenty of storage space. And if you want housing that has many things included in the price, like a fitness center and internet access, then this is a good choice for you.

A last minute decision to come to West Village Suites was the right choice. Everything I needed was right here - furnished apartment, included gym access and utilities and bike storage.