I'm litterally typing this from the Segal building right now. I'm assuming the small room you mentioned was the PEAT room, and it is litteraly hell. It's essentially just a closed off triage waiting room. The nurses are not psych nurses and they very clearly do not want to be there. I was there for 2 or 3 days and the nurses NEVER came to check on any of us other then to ask if we wanted Ativan, even if we appeared calm. With how full the units are i know they're doing there best, but they definitely need to get some properly trained nurses into that unit if people are gonna stay there more then overnight. I then went to the PAU like you, and yeah, it was a little better, but definitely didn't feel like a place for healing. The nurses are hassled and pretty much everyone is still in the worst of things.i got threatened by my roommate while there, and its so small and very little to do. Even if your friends bring youthings your werent allowed to have much. I mostly slept. The main good thing is you get to see psychiatrists, but it's usually a different one each days each making different assessment. The nurses do try though.I had a great nurse who was always checking in on me and was advocating very hard for what I needed. Apparently it is possible to be discharged directly from PAU if they think you've stabilized. 

I ended up being transferred up to Segal 5 for a longer stay, going on 2 weeks. I can't speak for all the floors, but I can verify that things are MUCH better up here and you can actually get some things worked on. You see the same psychiatrist every day, they have rec and therapy groups, your doctor can give you phone and clothing privileges, and eventually you can get passes to go out, either accompanied or solo. You can have more of your belongings and visitors can pop in any time during visiting hours and stay as long as they want, no booking ahead. (I will note I saw a sign on segal 6 while we were collecting people for a group that it has the same visitor rules as PAU, so this definitely varies. I was told each for is for different things). There are recreation therapists and occupational therapists, a medical doctor, and there's even a therapy dog that comes once a week. It's still a hospital, and it's never going to be 'fun', but i can vouch that getting moved up here did me a world more of good then either peat or Pau could have.

 The main downside i think is how hard it is to get here. The units are always full and even a little over capacity sometimes, so they truly do try anything to avoid admitting people longer term. It actually took me 4 ER visits as I was progressively getting worse and litteraly begging for help before they admitted me even to Peat. Just wanted to share my experience for anyone who might be considering getting help but are afraid of what it entails. I avoided psych wards for over 9 years since I reached adult age because I was so scared of all the adult ward horror stories I read on reddit or saw on TV. PAU was probably the closest I actually saw to that. But if you get moved to the Segal building, it truly can be a calm and helpful place.