London's student digs ... with cleaner and doorman

The days of dingy student digs with magnolia walls and grime-encrusted kitchens are over - at least for a select band of undergraduates who can afford it.

From the start of the next academic year, students who can pay up to £330 a week for housing will be able to enjoy designer furniture, wall-mounted flatscreen TV, broadband and a concierge service.

The flats, called the London Studio Collection, are being opened in three locations by developer Unite, which specialises in student accommodation. Cheapest rooms cost £195 a week.

That contrasts with the average price of university halls of residence elsewhere in the capital - £90 a week.

The three new developments will be available solely to students and cannot be rented privately. When they are completed they will house 700 people.

Most of the accommodation is studio apartments, but there will be some two-bedroom flats and twin rooms. The sites will have a round-the-clock security guard and cleaners will do a weekly round.

A concierge and hospitality service will help arrange airport pick-ups, gym membership and restaurant reservations. The rent includes utility bills.

Ian Banister, regional business director for Unite, said he believed there would be demand for the student complex despite the price. He said he expected the flats to be particularly popular with mature students and scholars from overseas, including the sons and daughters of foreign aristocrats.

"Students are looking for living spaces which emulate the high standards that they are accustomed to at home," he said. "Location is the number-one priority and we have chosen the three sites for their exclusive positions - close to universities and within the city's cultural and recreational hub."

The first phase of the development opens in September in Canto Court, Shoreditch, and Kirby Street, Hatton Garden. In January the remainder will be ready for occupation in Woburn Place near Russell Square.

Mr Banister said research showed a sector of London's student community had the resources and aspiration to live in "premium" accommodation.

However, Ama Uzowuru, vice president for welfare at the National Union of Students, said: "This is all very well for rich students but since the introduction of tuition fees the vast majority are saddled with debt and unable to splash out on fancy accommodation."