University rooms: the best budget accommodation in summer

June 2024 · 7 minute read

The Canada geese are still here. Still strutting round as though they own the place. Still honking. Still among the most vivid memories of my student days at York University more than 30 years ago.

My three lank-haired York years had a soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel and a thread of sit-ins about global injustice and the price of corned beef hash in the dining halls. Oh yes, we were radical. But then, it was a radical university – an out-of-town mid-Sixties campus in landscaped parkland around Europe's biggest artificial lake (hence the geese). A friend once said it would make “a good holiday campus”.

They were prophetic words, as my wife and I discover over a two-night stay. “This is going to be a real trip down Memory Lane,” I tell her. “Not Memory Lane,” she says. “Nostalgia cul-de-sac.”

We're here thanks to University Rooms, the b & b booking website launched seven years ago by Charlie Ramsay, an Oxford graduate. The idea came to him one holiday. Instead of going home, he arranged to stay on in his college room. Seeing many other student rooms empty, it struck him that the university could raise money by letting them out in vacations to paying guests.

The York University campus is built around a man-made lake

University Rooms now offers accommodation – mostly in halls of residence - at 53 universities in 40 British towns and cities and many more abroad (including France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand).

With bookings up 20 per cent from last year, Ramsay admits he's surprised by how well the scheme has taken off. “I was expecting it to work very well in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Edinburgh, but I never expected to sign up 53 universities,” he says. One factor, he reckons, may be that student accommodation has improved hugely in recent years, with many rooms now en suite.

That's certainly the case at York, one of the most popular universities in the scheme. Most of its bookable rooms are singles and available only during college holidays, but Franklin House, the purpose-built guest block where we're staying, has doubles and is open all year.

Our room is clean, smart and functional – bed, desk-cum-dressing table, wardrobe, TV – with a small en suite shower room. Toiletries and tea and coffee are provided and breakfast is served in an on-site restaurant. All told, it suggests a good no-frills budget hotel.

But nostalgia is drumming its fingers. In my day, the university seemed like a garden village; now it's like a satellite town, and ever-expanding. Where I remember lawns there are now wooded glades. It has two supermarkets and a lot of cafes. Porter's lodges are now called Reception. My era's Baby Bellings (spaghetti on toast a speciality) have given way to proper cookers and microwaves in student kitchens. And the Sixties buildings look decidedly retro.

Being back is surreal, particularly at the quiet end-of-term. Like a ghost in my own past, I find memories round every corner. The place where the bar football table used to be. Formal college parties (“Another glass of Blue Nun?” “No thanks, I'll stick to the Hirondelle.”) The Canada geese: still honking round the lake – and, glory be, over there's a great crested grebe with its chicks.

We take a bus into the centre of York (ten minutes) and join the tourist crowds. As we pass St Helen's church, just down from the Minster, the sound of a choir drifts out. They're singing Bridge Over Troubled Water. We've reached the end of Nostalgia cul-de-sac.

Single en suite rooms at Franklin House cost from £48 per night; doubles from £84. Other York student rooms (all singles), from £34 (en suite) or £28 (shared bathroom). All rates include breakfast. Book on universityrooms.com (no telephone booking).

Excellent food, friendly staff and significant clusters of academics at the convivial Deramore Arms (01904 413433; thederamorearmsyork.co.uk) in Heslington, the village adjoining the main York campus.

Six of the best university stays

Cambridge
Clare College, the university's second oldest (founded 1326), is among 19 Cambridge colleges offering student rooms. Many are in historic buildings and are tourist destinations in their own right. The rooms, generally strong on bookshelves, are often grouped around courtyards and at some breakfast is served in the college hall (including Jesus, five-star-rated as campus accommodation by EnjoyEngland). En suite Cambridge singles from £55 per night (£44 with shared bathroom); twins from £80.

Clare College is the university's second oldest establishment. Photo: AP

Durham
The most beguiling of Durham University's places to stay is the city's battlemented castle, which has been lived in continuously since the 11th century and, since 1837, has housed the oldest of the university's 16 colleges. As part of a World Heritage Site, it shares Palace Green with the city's great cathedral. Many rooms have recently been refurbished and guests eat in the imposingly panelled medieval Great Hall. En suite Durham singles from £46 per night (£38 with shared bathroom); doubles from £95.

Edinburgh
Edinburgh University's guest rooms are good options during the busy Festival and Fringe periods, when accommodation is at a premium. They're spread over seven sites, with a cluster of four conveniently close to the Royal Mile, in the shadow of Arthur's Seat. Most are strikingly modern, with cheerful and sometimes boldly decorated rooms and a range of food options, including university lunches and dinners (at extra cost). Singles with shared bathrooms from £39; en suite twins from £89.

Exeter
Twenty minutes' walk from the city centre, Streatham Campus, with 350 acres of landscaped grounds taking in woodland and lakes, houses the three Exeter colleges offering rooms to non-students. Two are modern, with Holland Hall, graded as four-star accommodation by VisitBritain and featuring a terrace with panoramic views. Mardon Hall, purpose-built in 1933, still has its original grand staircase and wood-panelled library. En suite singles from £45 (£36 with shared bathroom); en suite doubles from £65.

University accommodation available for b & b stays in London

London
University Rooms' four-dozen sites in Central London take in Chelsea, South Kensington and Notting Hill. Hampstead Residence, part of King's College (and within walking distance of the Heath), and colourful Dashwood Studios in Southwark, are appreciably cheaper than the Goodenough Club's smart four-star accommodation in early 19th century buildings in Bloomsbury, with two acres of private gardens. En suite London singles from £52 (£45 with shared bathroom); en suite twins from £72.

Those looking for accommodation in Oxford can stay at Keble College. Photo: Getty

Oxford
Oxford offers some of the most historic and atmospheric accommodation in the University Rooms scheme, with two-dozen participating colleges and rooms often grouped around quads. Christ Church, dating back to Tudor times, may have 13 British Prime Ministers among its alumni, but its new fame is as a location for Harry Potter films. Guests have breakfast in the cathedral-like Great Hall. Other colleges offering rooms include Keble, Wadham and Somerville. En suite Oxford singles from £40; doubles from £80.

All quoted rates include breakfast. Book on universityrooms.com (no telephone booking).

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