I'm back in Singapore and I thought I'll write a post for those people who will be staying in FMEL Marcolet in the future, mainly because the website didn't have enough information for me at that time. I was curious about how the flat, room, kitchen and bathroom look like and was unable to find much. So here are pictures! :D I'll also be giving some directions / how to get there (which is correct at this point in writing) to Marcolet and other helpful locations, which were hard for me to research since I only knew minimal French at that time.
Oh yes, first of all, be warned that there's absolutely no lift. So if you are going there with a very heavy luggage..... :D
Room
When I first entered the room, I was really happy as it looked really big compared to my room in PGP back in SG. I had an amazing 5 months living in that room.
The room is equipped with a really big shelf, a bed with mattress protector, a bedside table (which I think doesn't come with the lamp). Also, they provided a desk with a desk lamp, a desk drawer, a dustbin, a wardrobe and an armchair. The floor is carpeted so you should vacuum (see equipment for borrowing below for more details). Other than the rooms, the hallway is also carpeted.
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| Hangers are not provided but the previous tenant left behind some. |
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| There isn't a mirror in the wardrobe. The previous tenant stuck it on and it has certainly been useful! |
Kitchen and dining area
The kitchen and dining area are together. Also, there's a balcony outside where you can choose to sit.
What is provided: an electric stove as well as an oven. Fridge and freezer too but can be quite a challenge to fit food in for a 5-persons flat. The fridge and freezer are the same size whether you stay in a 3/4/5-persons flat. :/
There are a lot of cupboards in the kitchen for storing pots, pans, cups, bowls, etc so that the kitchen will always look neat. I would say there's no need to bring bowls, utensils that kind of thing since it is likely that there are some left by the previous tenant that you can use! For drinking water.. I actually drank from the tap. The tap has both hot and cold water and the water tastes good!
Bathroom or WC (water closet)
Sorry, I actually forgot to take pictures of the bathroom. Oops. Anyway, depending on how many rooms there are in your flat, the bathroom is shared among 1-3 people. There are 2 bathrooms in the entire flat. The bathrooms are pretty spacious? I don't know what else to say. A bathroom comes with a toilet bowl, a sink with a medicine cabinet with mirror and also a showering squarish space and shower curtains. There are some metal bars installed too for hanging clothes.
Cleaning checks
Be prepared to clean the common areas in your flat regularly as there are weekly checks. I think it's a good thing, because it forces everyone to help keep the place clean and habitable. I have been to friends' places overseas and they are so dirty because there are no cleaning checks.
Laundry
You can wash your clothes in the laundry room which has two dryers and two washing machines. There are a total of 2 laundry rooms (in blocks 50 and 48) but I hardly have to wait for an unused machine to wash/dry my clothes. Perhaps it's the timing, or people just don't do their laundry that often. The dryers are free of charge to use, but the washing machine costs money. It costs between 2.10 - 3.30 chf per wash. I have no idea what determines the cost though. Believe me, I've tried to find patterns and draw conclusions but I just couldn't. Anyway I found the cost quite high so I survived my first month by hand washing my clothes. Frankly, it was a waste of my time so I decided to just use the washing machine.
You'll have to get a laundry card from the housing manager in order to use the washing machine. After that.. it's quite straight forward. Insert the card into the machine and wait for it to deduct the money. If there's an error, it's likely that the chip is facing the wrong way. Then you can put your clothes into the washing machine (you can do that before paying too) and add your detergent. Then simply close the door and select the temperature. After around 5 seconds, it will automatically start. The same goes for using the dryer (except that you don't have to pay)!
Equipment for borrowing
There are three vacuum cleaners for borrowing in the housing manager's office. I suspect that most flats have their own vacuum cleaners (as do mine; one of my flatmates bought it) since there are only 3 of them and most of the time they are just in the housing manager's office. I do borrow from time to time, because I find that the suction is so much better.
However, the catch is that you can only borrow the vacuum cleaner when the housing manager is in his office and his office hours are 7.30-8am every weekday. So yeah, sometimes it's just not that convenient to borrow. He's a really nice guy though. There was once I saw that he was in his office and went ahead to ask to borrow. Unfortunately, I didn't know his office hours at that time and apparently it wasn't his working time. But he was kind enough to let me borrow the vacuum cleaner anyway. You only get to hold the vacuum cleaner for one working day though, so always make sure you are able to return it when you borrow!
They do allow you to borrow cleaning equipment too. Unfortunately, I've never borrowed it before so I've no idea what it consists of. It probably has cleaning detergent for the toilet bowl, glass, kitchen and bathroom. We buy and share cleaning supplies in our flat so it's more convenient as we can clean whenever we want to.
Trash
You'll have to purchase special trash bags called la taxe au sac (actually I'm still not sure if it's the correct name. The first and only time I bought it, I asked the cashier for green and white plastic bags costing 20 chf) from the supermarket. 35 litres will be perfect for use in the kitchen. There's a special place for dumping these bags which is located beside block 48. I once dumped them beside block 52, and got scolded by a resident. -.- That was my last day in Marcolet and I was rushing to the train station. I told her I didn't have time to walk all the way to block 48 and she was like "it's not my problem". Thanks for not offering to help or closing an eye. It's not like there's a competition for less trash in the bin. Totally didn't understand why she was being so ano.
Glass, and paper stuff should be recycled. The bins are next to the ones for trash beside block 48. PET stuff should be recycled too, but the bins I know of are outside supermarkets. So usually I'll bring them when I go to supermarket.
Checking in/out
Be sure to book an appointment with the housing manager! Be prepared to check in/out in the morning and on a weekday. You'll be meeting in his office, which is in block 52. He mostly converses in French, so if you are not strong in French and you have questions to ask, prepare them before hand! When checking in, he'll ask you to complete an inventory list which I think is standard for all student accommodations (I do this in Spore too). He will then give you your credentials for Wi-Fi. When checking out, make sure you really clean your room and all of the common areas. One of my flatmates was fined 100 CHF (which is like 2 hours of cleaning service).
Cellar
This is a secret place. :P I only found out the existence of the place several days prior to checking out. Haha. It is located in block 52, next to the housing manager's office. I don't think all flats have a cellar though. Or maybe if they did, it could be somewhere else (in another block?). Each flat has a storage area in the cellar, which is pretty huge. I can't think of anything that I would want to put in there though.
Neighbourhood
FMEL only own four blocks. The rest of the blocks have families staying in them. There is a school situated behind the blocks and in the morning, I could hear the school bell. Perhaps if you stay in block 48, you won't hear it. Haha.
There is a also a dining place (selling pizza mostly), and you can see it from the map below. I believe lunch is from 12-4pm and dinner is 6.30-9.30pm? I could be wrong. I have not tried their food before so I can't comment further.
Important locations
Train station: Renens gare VD.
There are 3 ways you can get to the train station and likewise, back from the station.
- You can take bus 32 from Noutes to Renens-Gare nord (2 stops) which is the fastest way. There is a timetable for the bus at the bus stop.
- You can walk to the gare following bus 32's route. It's the fastest way when you've missed the bus. Takes 15 mins for walking at a leisurely pace. Otherwise 7 mins for running and 11 mins for fast walk.
- Take 36/54 from Marcolet to Renens-Gare nord. The bus stop for alighting and boarding at Renens-Gare nord is the same. It is a different bus stop from 32. Note: buses 36 and 54 are very infrequent so I hardly take these buses.
Supermarkets (Migros, Denner, Coop)
The supermarkets are near the gare/Noutes bus stop. Migros and denner are in the Metropole Renens, while Coop is in another building nearby. You can see them marked in the map below.
Located opposite the other entrance of Metropole Renens. Get there by walking. You can choose to drop at Renens-14 Avril from Noutes and walk over to shorten the walking distance. I usually don't bother.
Asian mart
Less than 3 mins walk from the metro m1 and trains. Nearest bus stop is Renens-Gare sud which you can take 32 back to Marcolet. Refer to the map above.
School - EPFL/UNIL
There are 3 ways you can get to school and back.
- Get to Renens gare. (If you are taking the bus, you can choose to drop at Renens-Gare sud, which is nearer to the metro) From there, take the metro line m1 (which is near platform 1) all the way to the school's stop. For days that I don't feel like walking, I'll do this.
- Walk to Epenex which is also on line m1. Refer to the first map and the map below for the route. Then take the metro to the school's stop. Walking to Epenex takes 10 mins at a leisurely pace and 7 mins for fast walking.
- Walk/run to school. It takes roughly 25 mins by running. My flatmate runs to the school's gym so yeah that's according to her running pace. The fastest and nicest route to take is the Epenex path, after which follow the metro line all the way.
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| Continuation of path to Epenex from Marcolet (in first map) |
As Marcolet falls under Crissier, you should register your presence at this population office instead of the one in Lausanne.
There are 2 ways of getting there and back.
- Take 32 from Noutes (the bus stop in the map that says returning to Marcolet) to Bré. Then cross the road to the biggest building. When coming back, do not cross the road to take the bus.
- Walk. Sadly, it's very difficult for me to chart the path on Google maps, so you'll have to figure this one out yourself. It takes about 20 mins to get there.
tl live
Use it to check bus timings and metro timings. The app also has a map with bus/metro stops. Requires internet connection.
SBB Mobile
A very useful app to check train timings and plan your route. You may want to take a train to Lausanne gare instead of taking the metro as it is a lot faster! You can also buy train tickets within the application. Requires internet connection mostly (do not need for retrieving tickets bought).
This is my long-winded version of Marcolet FAQ (if they even have one). Haha. Good luck! I definitely enjoyed my stay there and I hope that you will too :)
