A definitive ranking of all the toilets in each Cardiff Uni building

When you have to go, you might as well go in style

1 year ago

If you’ve ever been in the unfortunate situation of having left the house without dropping the kids off at the pool and wondered, ‘where in Cardiff can I dedicate this special time to?’ this article is for you. I took a trip round Cardiff to find the best university building toilets, so you don’t have to.

Main Building – 5/10

My expectations for the main building toilets were high, but I was left feeling sourly disappointed to learn that the women’s toilets by the entrance have a gap above the door, meaning people in the corridor can hear your activities. The toilets themselves were clean and stocked, but their main points were lost for the lack of privacy. My final rating stands at 5/10.

ASSL – 4/10

You’re not a true Cardiff university student if you haven’t crammed in your deadlines at 2 am the night before it’s due in the Arts and Social Studies Library in Cathays. This means you’ve also probably experienced my least favourite toilets of all the buildings. While the ASSL toilets get a point for their hygienic and environmental toilet lids, they fall short for the cramped space, terrible smell, and lack of privacy. For a rating out of ten, I award a 4/10.

Glamorgan building – 6/10

Moving onto my own uni building, we have Glamorgan. If you’ve not seen the Glamorgan building, I’d recommend a wander down King Edward Avenue as it’s a beautiful older looking building. The toilets pretty much match in terms of looks giving them fancy vibes and are always clean. They also often have free sanitary products on offer, which gains them another point, however, they’re often pretty busy which is their only downside. Glamorgan receives a humble 6/10.

Health Library – 6.5/10

I was told by my dentist friend to review the health library due to their blue lighting corridor, which in fairness did gain these toilets a few points as it looked like a luxury spa experience. The toilets themselves were clean and there were a lot of them which was good for choice. At that, the medic building toilets get a 6.5/10.

JOMEC – 7/10

The JOMEC building is arguably one of Cardiff university’s best buildings as it’s so new, and the toilets prove it. They’re modern and clean and cosy. No complaints overall giving them a 7/10.

Centre for student life – 9/10

The centre of student life can often be busy during the day, so their toilets come in second place. They’re clean, they always manage to smell good and there’s a load of single cubicles so nice and private. My favourite part is the gender-neutral, mens’, womens’, and disabled toilets are all in one convenient place. They’re pretty perfect. So, I think they deserve a 9/10.

Maths building – 8.5/10

Similarly, to JOMEC, the maths building is a new build and has a lovely selection of thrones to choose from. They’re sleek, clean, and comfortable, and with a slight edge on JOMEC, they receive an 8.5/10.

Engineering building – 5/10

With the help of my boyfriend, a Chem-eng student, I scoped out the engineering building toilets. They were standard and clean, but their downside was being far away from most of the learning facilities. For this reason, I’m awarding another 5/10.

Bioscience – 5/10

My review of the toilets in the Bioscience building was also well informed by my housemate, a former bioscience student. Her synopsis of the toilets was they received points for the environmental toilet lids and the location being right under the lecture theatre, but lost points for having only four toilets and, in her words, always smelling of broccoli. She awarded another 5/10.

Student Union – 10/10

Finally, the one we’ve all been waiting for, the first place goes to the SU. This may be a controversial first-place winner due to their state on Wednesday nights, in the daytime, however, the second-floor toilets have my heart. They’re clean, they have aesthetic sinks but most of all they’re completely private and there’s SO much choice. You’re guaranteed a relaxing break in these toilets, meaning they get a 10/10.