Some of the new student accommodation available in Dublin

Some of the new student accommodation available in Dublin

THIS is the plush accommodation available to students in Dublin next semester - but it's not cheap.

In the past year UK companies Aparto and Uninest have introduced purpose-built student accommodation to the market in Dublin.

But the average cost is north of €900 per month. And that will require quite the part-time job to cover or, more likely, a visit to the bank of Mam and Dad.

The state-of-the-art Aparto Dorset Point, on Dublin’s Dorset Street was launched this week and has 447 beds - a drop in the ocean when it comes to housing Dublin’s 73,000-strong student population, but an ostensibly impressive drop.

Rent starts at €235 a week and allows students unlimited use of facilities including a cinema room, a gym, a study room, a roof-top terrace, a games room and a bike shelter. Two retail units on the ground floor of the building are expected to be converted into retail and café.

All the bedrooms have double beds and contain a stylish ensuite, sleek storage and a desk area. Kitchens are fully furnished while the sitting room includes a comfy couch and a fabulous flat-screen TV.

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It's a far cry from the humble bedsit in Rathmines that many older generations will remember with a shudder.

Director of Hines Group Operations, the company who own Aparto, Tom Rix said he knows their apartments aren’t the “sole solution” to Dublin’s housing shortage but believes they will help relieve the market.

“The Dublin market is stretched, so we can release private rented accommodation out for local use by providing this for students. It will also add to the regeneration of the area,” said Mr Rix.

Students who live in Aparto’s other Dublin site, Binary Hub on Bonham street said although the price of Aparto is higher than other campus accommodation and private accommodation in the city, the fact that all bills and facility use are included means the cost “balances out”.

“When you break it down per month it’s very similar to what you’d be expected to pay for rent in Dublin anyway. Bins, the gym and study area are all included, so the cost is negligible,” said Trinity College Neuroscience student Seun Ishola .

Aparto is proving attractive to international students studying in language schools across Dublin during the summer. Canadian student, Victoria Leblonde arrived to Ireland in January and appreciates the diverse range of students that Aparto attracts.

“I study in Belgium and came to Dublin on Erasmus and stayed. I love how there’s so many international students and how everybody knows everybody and the staff ask you how you’re doing, it’s not just a formality,” she the Business Studies student.

Situated a mere ten minutes walk away from its rival in Phibsborough, Uninest’s 101-bed Broadstone is already fully booked for the upcoming academic year. It contains an impressive games room and study area and plans to build a gym for September.

The rooms also provide spacious storage and a quirky noticeboard and are fitted with double beds. Prices start at €225 week and it too contains a mix of home and international students. Postgraduate students are also choosing Broadstone for its practical studio apartment options which are handy for the more intense studier.

While Broadstone is fully booked for the upcoming academic year, Uninest’s latest complex, New Mill which located in Liberties is almost completed and will be ready for students to move in to in September.

Room prices at New Mill range from 249-345 a week depending on your apartment choice and length of stay. New Mill Manager, Donna Wrightson, told Independent.ie how New Mill is a “spectacular choice for students”.

“We enjoy getting to know the students who live here and always ask them how their day went. There’s always a member of the team on site to help students at any time day or night if the need anything and students really make use of the common area. A surprise 21st was held for one of the students in Broadstone common room last year.” said Wrightson.

Online Editors