Is this the world’s most expensive and luxurious student accommodation?



Most students, certainly in the United Kingdom, are happy to reduce their living standards a notch or two as long as they enjoy their time at university and gain the degree that they have spent years studying for.

Halls of residence often consist of cramped single rooms containing the very basics - a bed, desk, sink, cupboard, and if you’re lucky a shelf or two.

Shared kitchens resemble a crumb-fest, with toast crusts strewn across grubby tables and washing up piled high in the sink like a game of Jenga.

But student life in London doesn’t have to be like this - if you’re willing to pay £21,000 (Dh116,980) a month.

Five newly refurbished apartments and a three-bedroom triplex in Mayfair’s Fountain House are being marketed by the property agent Wetherell as “London’s ultimate student pads”. The triplex is thought to be the city’s most expensive.

“Some wealthy overseas students in Mayfair from the Middle East, North America, Asia and Africa can afford to pay over £2,000 per week for luxurious apartments in Mayfair,” it said.

“These students can rival City workers and advertising directors (the other obvious tenants for these luxury pads) and have generous six-figure allowances which enable them to shop on Bond Street, eat at Scotts on Mount Street and enjoy nightlife in elite venues such as Annabels, 5 Hertford Street and Whiskey Mist.”

The two-bedroom apartments are available from £2,250 a month, while the triplex is £5,250 per week. One of the apartments has already been snapped up by an American fashion student, according to Wetherell.

Fountain House is a nine-storey building, originally built in 1935, and takes its name from the adjacent Joy of Life fountain in Hyde Park.

The apartments have been developed by Criterion Capital and the lush interiors come from Alexander James Interior Design.

The two bedroom apartments have woodstrip flooring and mood lighting, integrated Miele appliances in the kitchen, while master bedrooms have deep carpets so students will have to remember to take their shoes off.

Figures from the Government’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reveal that there are 107,000 international students studying in London, 40,000 from continental Europe and 67,000 from the rest of the world.

The largest group of international students come from China (18 per cent), followed by students from the United States (9 per cent).

ioxborrow@thenational.ae

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