A couple of weekends ago I was chatting to a foreign exchange student who had chosen to stay at the Campus Key Scarborough Student Accomodation based off of the images and ‘illusion’ of security offered in the online brochure.
CampusKey Scraborough is situated at 5 Scarborough Street, Summerstrand, Gqeberha.
2025 Listed Prices for CampusKey Scarborough Student Accommodation range from R6 350 per month (Single non-sharing room) to R10 450 per month (Single non-sharing penthouse room).
To cut a long story short:
- The accommodation was way smaller than shown
- Cockroaches outnumber the population of Gqeberha
- Random students knocked on the door at all hours of the night looking for food and/or booze
- GBV abounds
- When this student (and peers) complained to the University they were offered money to keep quiet about what they had experienced.
Have you experienced such conditions?
Am i being led up the garden path by a foreign student with an axe to grind?
Let us know in the comments below.
Over on Hello Peter CampusKey has had 62 Reviews with a whopping 56 leaving a ONE STAR rating.
Two of the CampusKey Gqeberha Reviews from Hello Peter:
- 10 Feb 2025 at 14:10 – Refund not paid by Campuskey Gqeberha: I’ve been trying to get my deposit back for 2 months now. They do not answer emails or refuse to transfer me to either the manager in Port Elizabeth or finance office, left my whatsapp messages on read, one of their agent dropped the call while I was still speaking, and one time they told me that it is hectic at the office.
- 31 Jan 2024 at 15:14 – CampusKey – Port Elizabeth (Revolting Service): If I could rate a no star to this place I would!! My child stayed in the PE for a year and had NSFAS paying for him. In June 2023 I was told i have to top up because NSFAS does not pay the full amount for res, i did the top ups and when i called again after 3 months (as per communication received from a Dennis that i was dealing with that time) i was told he was no longer working there and everything was in order…
CampusKey is a subsidiary of the Respublica Group Proprietary Limited (RG), which is 100% owned by Bridgehead Real Estate Fund Proprietary Limited (BREF). BREF is a private real estate fund in South Africa and is the ultimate owner, with management holding a smaller portion of RG.
In a 2016 inteview CampusKey MD Leon Howel said; “We endeavour to understand their behaviour patterns and needs, and to address all the areas which are important to our students on a continuous basis. Some examples would include improving security and access control with the latest available technology, installing new perimeter cameras with analytical software, opening a central control room to monitor all the campuses 24/7, installing internet fibre connections where available, improving all the gyms to include the latest available equipment, to name a few.”
From a CampusKey perspective, their students must be safe, live in a social environment where they can enjoy student life and create an environment that ensures that students excel in their studies.
During 2016 CampousKey had plans to list on the JSE in the future, but this did not occur. CampusKey moved the JSE listing goalposts in 2017 saying that a JSE Listing would only happen in 2019 when it owned at least 10 000 beds, said MD Leon Howell. This deadline was also passed and not actioned.
