I feel very good about the recent chance discovery of a remarkable resource for finding university dorms around the world offering cut-rate housing for visitors: University Rooms.
This site (part of TravelBookingNetworks, much of which is devoted to various dorm-stay operations) acts as a broker for many colleges and universities looking to pad out their endowments by renting unused dorm space to passing tourists in the summer.
The savings are phenomenal: from a $32 single in London to a $78 double room by Lake Como in Italy to a $315 two-bedroom apartment in Barcelona that includes Wi-Fi and breakfast. Rates start as low as $30 to $50 for a single room, or $50 to $120 for a twin or double room (usually, the cheaper end is if you are willing to share a bathroom down the hall in true dormitory style).
Many include breakfast in the rates; some throw in dinner as well. A few have a two- or three-night minimum requirement, but most are available by the night -- though weekly stays can often result in even better rates, as little as $150 per person for a full week.
Now these are not fancy accommodations -- at least not for the most part. The vast majority are what you would expect from a dorm room: small, simple, with slightly tattered modular furnishings designed to withstand semester after semester of undergraduate abuse. However, some are located in historic castles, villas, or townhomes, and there are many that break the mold, offering flashy modern flats with full kitchens and other facilities.
This site offers one-stop booking for short-term dorm stays, mostly in Europe (the U.K., Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium), but also a few choices in the United States (Worcester, MA), and Canada (Calgary, Montreal, Toronto), with Australia and South Africa to be added soon.
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