Housing

Students can choose from a range of housing options for their time in Amman, including staying in an apartment, a hotel, or a homestay. Please note, Sijal is happy to help facilitate connections between students and the following housing opportunities, but all options are considered independent housing. 

APARTMENTS​​

There are many apartments and rooms in shared apartments available across Amman. Neighborhoods close to Sijal and often popular with students include Jabal Amman (especially the Rainbow Street/First Circle area within Jabal Amman), Jabal Weibdeh, Shmeisani, Rabieh, Abdoun, and Sweifieh. Anything from the 6th Circle and further west (7th and 8th Circles), as well as around the University of Jordan, is quite a distance from Sijal and will require a long commute. Many apartment rooms are available at a range of prices, usually between 200-400 JD per month.

The following websites are a good place to start looking:

• Expatriates.com

• Gweet

• Abdoun Real Estate

• AirBnB

​Additionally, Sijal has long experience with a number of apartment buildings in our neighborhood, all of which are walking distance to Sijal, student-friendly and vetted by our staff. Rooms in these apartments tend to range from 200-400 JD a month. We send all admitted students a lengthy accommodations packet with up-to-date information for buildings close-by to ease their accommodations search.

HOTELS

For students with short-term stays, usually two months or less, many have preferred staying in a hotel for the convenience of cleaning, breakfast and all the amenities included. There are three hotels close to Sijal that many students have had positive experiences in, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.

THE SYDNEY HOTEL

The Sydney Hotel is located in Jabal Amman at an approximately 10-15 minute walk from Sijal. Single, double, multi-bed, and dormitory rooms are all available, as is breakfast each morning, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. The hotel offers a special, discounted rate for Sijal students. To find out the current discounted rates, please contact the hotel and mention that you are a student at Sijal.

HERITAGE HOUSE (JABAL AMMAN HOTEL)

Formerly the Heritage House Hotel, the 4-star Jabal Amman Hotel offers accommodation within a few minutes walking distance from Sijal and near to shops and restaurants. The accommodation is in the form of studio apartments with a kitchenette allowing students to prepare their own food; additionally breakfast, WiFi and utilities are included in the daily rate. 

CARAVAN HOTEL

Located in Jabal Al-Weibdeh, Caravan Hotel is a 2-star hotel situated close to the famous King Abdullah Mosque. It offers clean, but basic accommodation.The hotel has a restaurant that serves a buffet breakfast every morning and WiFi is included in the rate. Sijal is approximately 15 minutes away by taxi, as is the Downtown area.

HOMESTAYS​

Staying with a homestay family can offer a number of advantages and disadvantages. For students interested in improving their colloquial dialect, staying in a home stay can help them fully immerse in the local language and culture. Their connections with the family can afford students insights into cultural dynamics, use Arabic in very practical ways and in some cases create lasting friendships.

​As with any cross-cultural experience, however, difficulties can arise. Some students might feel frustrated at a lack of autonomy given the expectations of their host family, whereas others sometimes wish they felt more included in the family. Eating norms might be different from what you are used to and It is difficult to predict what your experience might be, but any student opting for homestay accommodations should clarify rules and expectations with the family in advance.

Sijal has a limited number of homestay families with whom we work. Staying with a homestay family is a form of independent housing, in which Sijal acts only as a facilitator between students and potential host families. Homestays cost 450 JD a month, including internet, all utilities, breakfast and dinner. The legal responsibility for entering into a rental agreement with a host family and paying monthly rent rests solely on the student. Of course, in the unlikely event that something should happen, Sijal will assist you to the best of our abilities; your safety is our utmost concern.

We have gone through a lengthy process to find, vet and interview all homestay families. We trust the families with whom we work and strongly discourage students from attempting to arrange their own home stay accommodations with families they don’t know, as we have the ability to check family references and access information that students do not have. 

​If you are interested in a homestay, contact Sijal to check for availability and request a placement.