Students to start semester living in hotels due to building delays

Students paying for "three- to-four-star hotel standard" accommodation beside University College Dublin will have to spend the first two weeks of term living in an actual hotel due to building works.

Residents at the new student halls in the former Montrose Hotel, which was scheduled to open its doors to students in September, have been offered alternative accommodation in hotels, as well as compensation of €200 a week and a year's subscription to an online music or film service.

"Despite our best efforts, the opening of two floors of the Montrose Student Residence will be delayed," a statement from developers Ziggurat Student Accommodation said.

The company added that the delay was due to “an unanticipated level of work required to bring a very old building up to high standards we demand”.

While only 58 out of the 166 students due to live in the apartments will be directly affected, all Montrose residents will have their first month’s rent waived due to the inconvenience.

Rooms cost €191 a week for the “classic room” and €230 for the “superior room”, with all utilities included in the price.

The top floor of the Montrose is still under construction, with a further 26 rooms expected to open in early 2015.

Feargal Hynes, student union president at UCD, said the company had taken “full responsibility” for the delays and the students were being “well looked after.