Isthiscorrect feel free to PM.
DS probably wants catered. Our thinking is that the real drawback of the LSE is its lack of community feel, and the danger that, if not forced to mix, students will simply find others with similar backgrounds and not venture further. Returning to hall for an evening meal means you will get to know others in that hall, from different places, doing different courses and belonging to different clubs and societies.
However it is worth noting that first years in an LSE hall are very likely to have to share rooms.
Its odd for me, as though LSE had been my first choice, I am aware that it was an atypical student experience. There is a recent thread on student room which describes various problems, which by and large replicate problems my generation faced. One that sounded familiar was a claim that kitchens in self-catering accommodation can be monopolised by specific groups who like to cook together, leaving other residents in their rooms eating take away pizza.
My recollection of intercollegiate halls was that though the accommodation was generally superior, people could get isolated, as their neighbours were at different colleges doing different degrees and there was little to bring them together. But then I probably only met the ones who used to hang out in the LSE Hall I lived in. The same is presumably true of the private halls, of which there are now quite a lot. These will be generally more expensive, often further out, but much better quality (en suites etc.)
The choice presumably depends a lot on what a student is looking for, and this in itself probably helps ensure they find themselves with like minded people.
There is a good bus service to Passfield, and I am pleased to note that though they offer triple rooms they no longer have the quadruple rooms that they had in my day.....A recent alumni reunion generated a lot of Passfield stories. I have not convinced DS that staying there is an essential LSE experience, though we may have a drive round and look at the options before deciding on what order to list them.
Is your DS likely to firm LSE?