Who is planning to introduce a rating system this summer for university students?

The United States, Britain, Austria, Canada and Australia are particularly rich in university accommodations, with summer rentals available in major cities and smaller towns. The English Tourism Council is planning to introduce a rating system this summer assessing the cleanliness, hospitality, facilities and food quality of the nation’s campus lodgings. Ratings will be posted at www.visitbritain.com.
    Most United States universities give priority to summer students and conference participants. Still, rooms may become available at the last minute, so call a university’s accommodations office directly. Here is a selection of facilities around the world:
    Trinity College Dublin has run a summer hotel for almost 20 years, a fraction of the college’s 400-year history, but long enough to develop a devoted cadre of annual visitors. The campus’s cobbled walkways, historic buildings and illuminated manuscript of the Book of Kells are tourist attractions in themselves, and the college’s location is unbeatable. Grafton Street, Temple Bar and Dublin’s museums are steps away.
    From mid-June to late September, Trinity is almost like a hotel, with student bellhops, daily housekeeping and a concierge desk. The college rents out 800 rooms; prices (with Continental breakfast) range from 33 a person (at 1.17 euros to the dollar) for a shared room in a four-bedroom apartment to 49.50 for a single room with private bathroom and shower. A double room with bath is 43 a person.
    The London School of Economics and Political Science offers five properties in London, ranging from high-rise apartments near the Tower of London to the Bloomsbury row houses where Mick Jagger lived as a student. Residences have kitchen facilities and three of the five have triple rooms, making even a family holiday affordable.
    The 563-room Bankside House, opposite Tate Modern on the South Bank, is a minute’s walk from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre; singles start at 39, 63 with private bath; a room that sleeps four is 128 a night. The High Holbom residence in Covent Garden is a short walk from the National Gallery, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. Singles are 51 and a twin room with private bath is 99. Rates include Continental or full breakfast, depending on location. Rooms are available from early July to late September, with some dormitories accepting visitors during Easter vacations. The School of Economics central accommodations office is at (44-207) 955-7575; Web site, www.lse.ac.uk/vacations.
    In Austria, Academia Hotels offers a central reservation service for summer campus housing in Vienna, Salzburg and Graz. At Hotel Atlas, a modern tower block near Vienna’s Parliament Buildings, a single room with toilet is 49.50, twins are 68 and a triple room is 85, with buffet breakfast.
    Near San Francisco, the University of California at Berkeley has summer visitor housing in Stern Hall from the beginning of June through mid-August. Some rooms have views of the Bay, and there are telephones in every room. Bathrooms are shared. Single rooms cost 53, doubles are 68, and every seventh night is free. Call Conference Services at (510) 642-4444 or reserve on the Internet at www. Housing.berkeley.edu/conference/summervis.
    Summer is festival season in Montreal, and McGill University rents convenient single rooms with shared bathrooms from May 15 to Aug 15. Access to the university swimming pool, tennis courts and gym can be arranged for a small fee. Rooms in the dormitories alongside tranquil, forested Mount Royal Park are 25 (at 1.62 Canadian to the United States dollar), while rooms downtown are 28. An off-campus residence, Solin Hall, has two- and three-bedroom apartments suitable for families, but linens are not provided and availability varies. Rates are 22 a night per room and 80 a week per room. Apartments have kitchens but no cooking equipment; (514) 398-5200, or www.residences.mcgill.ca/summer.html.
    The Women’s College at the University of Sydney takes visitors of either sex December through February and during several shorter breaks in July and late September. A 15-minute bus Or train ride from downtown, the Women’s College is known for its gardens. Rooms start at 31 for a single with breakfast (at 1.97 Australian to the United States dollar); a twin with all meals is 60. The Women’s College, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (612) 9517-5000, www.Thewomenscollege.com.au/accommodation.