{"id":1123,"date":"2025-12-02T08:33:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T08:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2025-12-02T09:06:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T09:06:28","slug":"your-guide-to-meal-plans-and-accommodation-this-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/your-guide-to-meal-plans-and-accommodation-this-january\/","title":{"rendered":"January starters: What you need to know if you have a meal plan included in your accommodation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Welcome to Campus Life!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As you prepare for your arrival at the University of Kent this January, we want to make sure you\u2019re fully informed about your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/catering\/flex-meal-plan\">Flex Meal Plan<\/a> and accommodation details. Here\u2019s everything you need to know to plan for a smooth start to your term.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>A Flex Meal Plan: What You Need to Know<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Flex Meal Plan is a fantastic part of our Accommodation with a meal plan package, giving residents \u00a314 per day (2025\/26) to spend on food at a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/catering\/flex-meal-plan#use-it\">variety of campus caf\u00e9s, restaurants, and bars<\/a> <strong>during term time<\/strong>. This means you\u2019ll have plenty of options to explore and enjoy!<\/p>\n<p>However, as the meal plan only covers term time, it will <strong>not be available until Saturday 10 January 2026<\/strong>. If you\u2019re arriving before this date, don\u2019t worry &#8211; you\u2019ll still have access to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Campus catering outlets and the Co-op Shop (open with limited hours)<\/li>\n<li>Local shops and takeaways in the area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For details on catering outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/catering\">opening times<\/a>, check out our catering page. Regular operating hours will resume on <strong>Monday 12 January 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-606 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/files\/2023\/01\/3.jpg\" alt=\"A female student holding a try and plating up food from the serery\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Temporary Accommodation Discount<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"112\" data-end=\"255\">This discount applies <strong>only to students who have a meal plan included with their accommodation and access to a kitchenette<\/strong> (not a full kitchen).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"257\" data-end=\"581\">We understand that students arriving from Thursday 8 January 2026 in <strong data-start=\"330\" data-end=\"346\">Becket Court<\/strong> and <strong data-start=\"351\" data-end=\"369\">Keynes College<\/strong> may not have full catering available until the term officially begins. To compensate for this, we\u2019ll apply a discount of <strong data-start=\"491\" data-end=\"510\">\u00a38.40 per night<\/strong> for <strong data-start=\"515\" data-end=\"558\">Thursday 8 January and Friday 9 January<\/strong>, totalling <strong data-start=\"570\" data-end=\"580\">\u00a316.80<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"583\" data-end=\"749\">This discount will be applied manually, so it won\u2019t appear on your initial accommodation invoice. <strong>Please remember to deduct \u00a316.80 when making your first payment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Facilities in Your Accommodation<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re staying in Becket Court or Keynes College, which include a meal plan, you\u2019ll find:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A small shared kitchenette equipped with a microwave, kettle, and fridge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Note: There is no oven in this type of accommodation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most students will not return to campus until <strong>Saturday 10 January 2026<\/strong>, so you may have your accommodation to yourself until then.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Option to Switch to Self-Catering Accommodation<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019d prefer to move into self-catered accommodation for greater independence, let us know &#8211; we\u2019d be happy to look into this for you.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-563 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/files\/2022\/11\/6.jpg\" alt=\"Three housemates sitting around the kitchen table, chatting.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Need Assistance?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019re here to support you every step of the way. If you have any questions about your accommodation, meal plan, or anything else, don\u2019t hesitate to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/contact\">reach out to us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We look forward to welcoming you to campus soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Campus Life! As you prepare for your arrival at the University of Kent this January, we want to make sure you\u2019re fully informed &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/your-guide-to-meal-plans-and-accommodation-this-january\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78153,"featured_media":1125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[130576,247864,247356,247891,247082,19109],"tags":[130576,247864,247891,247082],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1123"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1534,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions\/1534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/accommodation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}