UniLife Reviews 304

I attended the Sheffield politics society Prague trip and i can see there’s been quite a lot of criticism about the trip, but I feel like the two group leaders deserve a lot more credit than they’re getting.

From my experience, they were genuinely kind, approachable and really easy to talk to. They made an effort to get to know me and my friends, often spending time with us during both organised activities and social events, which helped make the experience more enjoyable.

Again despite the criticism I would argue that these group leaders did take make a lot of effort to take their role seriously . When things didn’t go to plan, it was clear they were visibly affected and genuinely upset when they felt they had let people down. One situation in particular showed how much the job meant to them, as they were clearly distressed and visibly upset by criticism from the wider group which took and toll on not just that evening but their experience of the trip . That to me showed they were not indifferent, but rather highly committed to making the trip a positive experience.

I do understand some of the concerns raised, particularly regarding the amount of free time and at times it may have felt like there were not enough structured activities. I would’ve appreciated more structured time as many of us had little knowledge of Prague and what to visit.
However , I don’t think that came from a lack of care . It felt more like they didn’t want to over police our time or be too overbearing , especially since we’re all adults. I think they were trying to give us our own independence rather than constantly scheduling with activities we may have not been fond of anyway.

Finally, I’ve also seen criticism for the cost of the trip, which i agree was overly expensive, but I also I don’t think is fair to criticise our group leaders for this . From what I understand, the trip leaders aren’t actually paid for leading the trip beyond having their own costs covered. Because of that, it seems unlikely that they would have any control over the pricing, or any reason to make it more expensive. That feels like something that sits more with the company organising the trip rather than the group leaders themselves.

Overall, although the trip wasn’t perfect and there are definitely things to learn from, I dont think the two group leaders deserve to be too heavily criticised. They were kind, approachable and genuinely nice girls, and I always felt comfortable around them. It was clear they were trying to make the trip run as smoothly as possible.No one is going to get everything right, especially in that kind of role, but I don’t think that takes away from the fact that they came across as genuine, well-intentioned and approachable people, and I don’t think hiring them was a mistake at all.

Just been to Budapest with Unilife and loved it. The trip was really well organised, including both a bar crawl and the thermal baths.

Whilst we had these organised activities together, we also had plenty of time to explore the city ourselves!

I have to mostly agree with my peers who have rated unilife's Prague trip negatively.

Whilst perhaps more convenient, using unilife was not worth it for the money paid. The price for the trip does not, in my opinion, reflect what was provided.

The trip was essentially three days, as we arrived at the hostel at 11pm on Friday and then left at 9am on Tuesday, which I think is slightly unreasonable.

Upon arrival at the hostel at 11pm, many students were sent without direction to go and find an ATM as there was a cash deposit of 500 Czech which no one was informed of prior.

I'm unsure as to what extent of involvement is expected from the unilife leaders, but contact was minimal and it seems no one saw them after the bar crawl. I will give praise to Alicia who stepped in during the bar crawl when a strange man tried to approach us and asked security to de-escalate the situation. Alicia and Leyla were lovely and easily approachable.

The discount link for the club entry on the bar crawl (duplex) did not work, and we were made to pay almost double the price we were promised despite our leaders contacting unilife, I feel as though additional costs should have been covered by the organisation.

Overall, the trip felt disorganised, and with the students having to plan the majority of the trip ourselves, it does not feel satisfactory at all for the amount paid. I understand the appeal of some free time, but sending us to Prague with no real idea of what we were meant to do did not feel in accordance with the cost of the trip.

It was an enjoyable trip overall, but there is a mutual feeling that we paid a lot more than the trip was worth.

I recently took part in a trip to Prague with UniLife. Overall, I had a great time in a fantastic city, across 4 days. Our trip leaders, Alicia and Leyla, were very friendly and approachable, helping to ensure the trip ran smoothly. Whilst I would recommend Prague for anyone to visit, sadly the trip did have a few letdowns. Firstly, upon arrival at our hostel, we were told that we would have to pay for a 500 CZK (~£18) deposit, in cash, with many of the group not having this, having not been informed of it. This was unfortunate, as the last thing many of the group wanted to do was to find an ATM late at night after a long day travelling. Furthermore, whilst the walking tour was enjoyable, and gave a good overview of the city, the bar crawl was poor in my opinion, composing of two very similar, and expensive Irish Pubs and one other cash-only venue. (I understand that local laws limit bar crawls in Prague, but some better venues could have been included). Additionally, it would have better if the trip leaders had suggested some more group activities for the "free time" we were given (effectively the last two days), which might have helped the group to connect more. Whilst unlike some others on the group, having travelled with UniLife before, I understood that a lot of free time would be allocated. However, I do feel that the £400+ price for 3.5 days for a Hostel and Flights, is a bit too expensive, given flights and accommodation can often be found for much cheaper. Finally, to end on a positive note, the Breakfast being included was a nice bonus, as other trips often do not include this. Whilst other reviews of this trip seem a little harsh, with unrealistic expectations, the majority of the group seemed to enjoy the trip, and Prague is a fantastic city to visit!

I have just got back from my Unilife trip to Budapest and I couldn’t recommend it more.
From start to finish, the trip was so easy and enjoyable. Maia, our trip leader, made sure everyone was involved, happy and healthy and she fitted into the group perfectly. The highlight of the trip has to be the thermal baths trip on day 3!
Thanks Maia and Unilife for the best trip ever
 

I can see the vision with the idea and it certainly makes life easier for booking group trips. However, for the price it is so much better value booking things yourselves. The ‘guides’ do very little for actually giving you any guidance on the city or things to see. The fact that only a couple hour walking tour was the only thing included seems like a vast oversight. The ‘guides’ were only present for the night of the pub crawl and even then it didn’t feel like they spent much time with the group at all. 4 days of ‘free time’ is hardly worth paying a premium for. Spend the time researching yourself and sort accomodation and travel yourselves, the so-called ‘convenience’ of using this company isn’t worth the money. Only worth it for the pub crawl and discounted club entry for one night.

The UniLife representatives did very little to support the trip. The pub crawl they organised was poorly planned and felt unstructured, and they frequently removed themselves from the group, often to smoke, which made them largely unavailable when support or guidance was needed. We rarely saw them, and it gave the impression that they were disengaged and not focused on supporting the students. At times, their involvement arguably contributed to confusion and unnecessary issues rather than helping to manage them.

Additionally, the accommodation arrangements were disorganised and overpriced. We were not informed in advance that a cash deposit would be required, as many of us assumed this had already been covered in the initial payment for the trip. The room allocations were also unreasonable, with 12 boys in one room and 12 girls in another, which does not justify a cost of over £400 per person.

Whilst most people still managed to enjoy the trip overall, this was despite UniLife’s involvement rather than because of it. Their lack of organisation, communication, and support made the experience more stressful and confusing than it needed to be.

Extremely vague itinerary where only two excursions were included in our trip to Prague. One was a guided walking tour where we didn’t actually go in anywhere as we had to pay, which I was under the impression was covered by unilife (forked out over £400 for what was basically 3 days but advertised as 5). The other was a bar crawl at overpriced bars where we had a shot of juice and a bit of amaretto in. The club tickets weren’t even included in this. Thankfully this didn’t wholly ruin the trip as we mostly did our own thing and didn’t see the reps after day two. Poor value for money and lack of transparency, feels like they are ripping students and universities off. I suggest much clearer itinerary and what is included and not included in the packages. Furthermore, advertising the trip as 5 days is a joke when we arrived in the evening of the first day and left early morning of the 5th day.

enjoyable but expensive with little included or unilife led activities. most of it was free time to do things on our own which was surprising because of the price of the trip.

My recent uni-life led trip to Prague saw unilife take an extremely laid-back approach. It was certainly enjoyable to have time entirely 'free', however I want to emphasise that this 'free' time encompassed the entirety of our four day trip. Unilife's representatives - whilst incredibly friendly and well-matched - were simultaneously a little unprepared but also heavily restricted in the support they could offer us. One member of our group, rather stupidly and also predictably, lost their passport. Unilife members, despite being trained, seemed to be restricted in how much help they could give. It should be said that one of the unilife representative had a disposition incredibly well suited for this extremely chaotic and confusing incident.

Sophie made our trip to Naples so easy and fun! Everything was well communicated and we all felt in the loop for all the fun activities that were planned. Cannot thank you enough for such a great time!

Poppy was an amazing trip leader. She managed the whole group on her own and did such an incredible job from start to finish. She always made sure everyone felt safe, happy, and included, and you could tell she genuinely cared about all of us having the best experience possible.

Sam did an excellent job leading the group, keeping everything well-organized while making the experience fun and relaxed.

The trip was amazing with exciting trips to the EU Parliament and EU Commission. As one of the leaders of the society, having our trip leader, Sophie, with us was such a help. Sophie was so kind to everyone and she communicated very well with when we needed to meet. Thank you Unilife for a great trip!

The trip overall was great and Sophie did an amazing job as trip lead. However the 7:04 train to Brussels made the initial stage of the trip a logistical headache. Requiring members to spend the early hours of the morning in central London with nowhere to stay. Otherwise a great trip.

Thoroughly enjoyed our trip with the Model United Nations society to Brussels! Well organised and balanced between pre-booked events and our free time. Sophie, our trip leader, was so friendly + approachable if we had any issues/questions, and gave us many good recommendations of places to eat, see, etc!

Sophie was a great guide and made our trip to Brussels truly special.

An amazing time in Brussels with Cardiff University's Model UN society, lots of fun visiting historic architecture and European Union sites. Thank you to Sophie our trip leader who was really nice, well-organised and helpful!!!

My trip to Athens was great! Unilife organised accommodation and flights and stuff really well and our trip leader Juliet was genuinely amazing - she made the experience so so fun!

The trip was amazing and all the Unilife staff were very helpful. Evie was our representative and she was so lovely and made sure we all had a fun time.