To the prospective tenant, the primary problem with this place is not the college-aged residential staff, but the other students here, the facilities, and the management. About $9 million was invested here a year ago, and the interior of the suites shows it. The furniture and carpeting is nice, the floors have been redone, etc. However, the walls are paper thin, and the doors are completely hollow. As such, any small noise resonates throughout the whole complex, and music in one corner sounds like it's right outside your window on the far side. Every night, around 1 am, I hear what sounds like the Jerry Springer show outside my window. Drunken women screaming at each other about nothing as they return from their Tuesday night binge drinking. During the day, there's always the ambient ringing of fire alarms from other suites.
As of the 2009-2010 school year, only 20% of residents here are ucsb students. There's nothing wrong with SBCC students, it's just that the ones who tend to live here place no value on intelligence and are far more interested in weed and booze than apparently anything else. One of my roommates does not believe in evolution. Another earnestly tried to convince me that it is mathematically possible to prove that 2+2=5.
The food is not particularly special. It's cafeteria food. Occasionally the cooking staff will host an outdoor barbeque, which is super delicious, but generally all that's served is above average cafeteria food, a bit worse than what's served in the on campus dining halls.
The crucial difference between here and Trop is that the rules here are practically unenforced. People have handles and bongs visible through their windows and don't get in trouble.
The non-RA staff have no interest in the students. I bought new speakers, and when they arrived at the front desk, the attendant (who had not previously disclosed her history as an audio engineer, with an expertise in examining speakers though a cardboard box) told me that ""You shouldn't even have those here."" Accompanying this was a glare that would not be out of place in a Dennis the Menace cartoon, accompanied with ""Damn kids! Get off my lawn!"".
In my dorm last year, I made friends with everyone on my hall, and many people I met around the dorm. This year I could count the friends I have at Fontainebleu on my fingers, despite being in a much larger living environment. SBCC students have already been here for 3+ weeks before the UC kids get here, so everyone has already separated off into cliques.
Don't come here expecting a dorm experience.
Pros: Cafeteria and fitness room are nearby.
Cons: See details.
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