Renting a dorm room in Burlington, Vermont

April 26, 2009 1:07 PM

Hi, MeFi's collective oracle. I was wondering if anyone out there has ever successfully rented as vacation accommodations a dorm room from either UVM, Burlington College or Goddard College in Burlington, Vermont. I'm planning a Memorial-Day getaway there and, because my needs are few, I figured that staying in a dorm room might be the most cost-effective option. Any tips, tricks or other insights would be gratefully received!
posted by Ylajali to Travel & Transportation around Burlington, VT (7 answers total)

I'm not sure if you know the area at all. From Burlington you'll be able to take public transportation and/or walk all over the place. The location is decent, I do not know anything about the dorms specifically. Goddard is way in the middle of noplace, a neat funky area. Great if you like noplace -- the town of Plainfield is actually nifty but it's very small -- but maybe not if you're not expecting it. It's a bit of a drive to even get to Barre or Montpelier. What are you hoping to do while you're there?
posted by jessamyn at 1:37 PM on April 26, 2009

If you don't have luck with a dorm room:

Burlington lacks *good* hotels. It does not lack cheap motels. Run down route 7 (Shelburne Rd, leads right into downtown and UVM) towards South Burlington and you'll see all sorts of nice little Mom and Pop motels.
posted by txvtchick at 1:43 PM on April 26, 2009

VT CHEAP MOTEL LIST:
posted by txvtchick at 1:46 PM on April 26, 2009

Goddard College is way the hell out there. UVM sits up on a hill and is about a fifteen minute walk from downtown. The buses run every half hour but are pretty unreliable. If Burlington College offers the service your looking for, it's probably the best option. It's in the north end of Burlington, and about a five minute walk from Church Street (the main drag). The area is slightly seedy, but if your aim is to be in the thick of Burlington, it's as close as you're going to get.
posted by pintapicasso at 4:05 PM on April 26, 2009

I'd disagree about the "slightly seedy" part of pintapicasso's post. It's mostly middle class people, fairly well off elderly people, hippies and college kids in the surrounding blocks. If you venture in the opposite direction from downtown it gets seedier, but the part of Burlington directly surrounding Burlington College (Lakeview Terrace, North Ave, etc...) is nice, friendly, and literally a block away from the police station.

It's a 2 minute walk to the waterfront, and 5 or 10 to downtown, depending on how fast you walk.
posted by papayaninja at 6:06 PM on April 26, 2009

Unless the colleges are renting rooms themselves, beware that subletting a room from a student will likely subject that student to disciplinary measures.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:09 PM on April 26, 2009

Dorms might also be closed for the summer, since this will be well after the end of spring semester.

Why don't you try couchsurfing?
posted by bengarland at 7:15 PM on April 26, 2009