<p>Anyone here have experiences with the dorms in Martinez Commons?
Would you recommend them? I’m not talking about the apts in them, but the reshall dorms.
Thanks.</p>
<p>Currently a sophomore living in a Res Hall double at Martinez. I’ll skip over the general Martinez experience since you seem mostly interested in the Res Hall section of Martinez, so here goes:</p>
<p>You probably already know this from the housing website, but the rooms are longer and narrower than the typical double at the other Units. Overall, they might be slightly larger in terms of square footage, but it’s not really noticeable. </p>
<p>One important thing that you may not have gotten from the pictures on the website is that there really isn’t much you can do in the way of rearranging your furniture, as the shape of the room pretty much dictates that the beds and desks stay where they were initially positioned. So everything will be partitioned neatly down the middle of the room, and you’ll have a somewhat narrow walkway from the door to the window at the other end of the room. Which to me seems like the most logical and intuitive way of arranging things, so I don’t know why anyone would want to change that, but there you go.</p>
<p>Furniture is pretty standard, although everything will be relatively new so that’s a plus. Closet is what you first see when you enter the room, and it contains a small-ish dresser with three drawers, a closet rod, and a shelf at about eye level that you can use for storage. </p>
<p>Then you have the bed, which is lifted off the ground a little bit to make space for a chest-like thing and a sideways-bookcase thing to fit underneath, although they’re not fixed in place so you can move them wherever you please. </p>
<p>And then the desk, which itself is simply a table. Next to the desk is a little bureau with three drawers on wheels; if you do end up living in a double, I’d recommend moving the bureau under the desk (it fits perfectly) and then putting the sideways-bookcase thing upright next to the desk and use it as, you guessed it, a bookcase. Plus, that frees up space under the bed for more storage. </p>
<p>Depending on the room, you may end up with either two windows or one large window. If two windows, only one of them can be opened, and only a few inches at that. If one large window, only one side of that window can be opened, and only a few inches at that. I don’t really know why they made them this way, but the windows are my least favorite feature of the room.</p>
<p>The door closes and locks automatically, which is annoying but that’s the way it is at most other Res Halls. But they’re really heavy, though. It seems like I’m getting a workout every time I have to heave it open, and I wouldn’t consider myself a weakling. What’s more, the door makes quite a bit of noise when it closes, even if you try to do it quietly, so that may be annoying when you’re trying to exit/enter the room when your roommate is asleep.</p>
<p>The walls between the rooms are a little thicker than at the other Units, judging from how little noise comes from my neighbors. Or maybe they’re just the quieter types.</p>
<p>Pick your room wisely. Location and which way the window faces factored heavily into how I picked the room I live in now, and I’m happy with my choice. The hallway in the Res Hall portion of Martinez are long and horseshoe-shaped, so there’s actually quite a bit of variety as far as what type of room you might end up with despite the fact that the actual rooms themselves are more or less identical. There are rooms that face inward toward the courtyard, which I think are the least desirable seeing as you have to keep your blinds closed 24/7 to keep people from looking into your room from the rest of the building. Other rooms face east and a get a ton of sunlight streaming through the window every morning, so things get stale and dusty. Some rooms face south and don’t really get much of a view other than another portion of Martinez. And some rooms overlook Channing and have a nice view of the street, although there really isn’t any isolation from the noise below.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, maintenance issues. Martinez is a new dorm, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that everything will be in perfect working form. On the contrary, it seems like there are maintenance problems pretty regularly, nothing too major/bothersome but still. One of the elevators always seems to be out of commission. One of the lights in our room inexplicably goes out on occasion. The heater in our room hasn’t worked properly since we moved in. Sometimes the showers don’t get any hotter than lukewarm. So yeah, they’re still working on ironing out all the kinks, and it’s something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>Each floor has a social lounge with couches and smaller study lounges with a table and chairs. There are two bathrooms, originally one for each gender but now most of them have been changed to gender-neutral. Staircases at either end of the hall, and two elevators: one at the end, and one near the middle (at least, that’s how it is on our floor).</p>
<p>As far as the social scene goes, I feel (and you’ve probably heard) that Martinez isn’t as social. Which makes sense, given that a lot of the residents are sophomores who’ve been here a year and already have their social circles established. But as long as you’re decently friendly/outgoing you won’t have any trouble meeting people to hang out with/talk to. That’s one of the benefits of having huge floors with around 50 residents per. Of course, one of the downsides is that you’ll never be able to get really close with everyone on your floor or even remember everyone’s name (or have everyone remember your name), so it may feel impersonal at times. </p>
<p>And of course, there are varying levels of how involved people will be in their floor’s social scene. Some people you may see and talk to on a daily basis, whether it’s in the bathroom or the lounges or hallway. Some people you never seem to see at all, whether it’s because they’re always out and about or always holed up in their rooms. I swear, I’ve seen my next door neighbor less than 10 times since I’ve moved into Martinez, whereas I seem to run into a guy at the other end of the hall at least two or three times per day. But then again, this probably isn’t too different from what you have your freshman year.</p>
<p>If you’re set on living in the dorms another year, I’d definitely recommend going for Martinez. Despite the maintenance issues and slightly more subdued social scene, it’s still a step up above any of the other dorms.</p>
<p>^What a thorough review :)!</p>
<p>And to note… unless you’re a regent scholar, your chance of getting Martinez is VERY VERY slim.</p>
<p>^Haha, well CC has been a pretty helpful resource to me throughout my college career so I try to return the favor whenever I can. (:</p>
<p>Are there singles for rooms in the Martinez commons?</p>
<p>I don’t think so (except for RA rooms).</p>
<p>Lucyan, there are a couple singles, but probably not many. A friend of mine has a single in Martinez (not apartment) this year.</p>
<p>I got a Martinez standard double…but I’m reconsidering.
I wanted to initially live here to meet new people…but would you just recommend apartments for a sophomore instead?
Do you think Martinez commons is worth the price?</p>
I know your post was few years back, may even have graduated, if so, congrats. I just can’t much info on Martinez RH doubles at all. Realize it’s still fairly new, but No pics online at all.
Moving in next week. Thought you might be able to help.
Rooms seem long and narrow. If you remember , Does bed allow for plastic lifts? Probably long shot, do you have any pic of room? All I can find is their rendering of a 10’x20’ room.