You should see the new freshman dorm (Tritton?) at Haverford, @zobroworld. LEED-certified singles with a really nice common area. Hands down the nicest dorm I’ve ever seen: http://twbta.com/work/haverford-college-dormitories.
I expect dormitories to be clean and in working order (and ideally to have AC since so many people have allergy issues), but I will never understand the fancy apartment-style suites for freshmen. Ideally, you’re forming a community, and that’s hard to do when everybody’s door is closed and nobody has any reason to ever leave their cushy room. Not to mention they generally cost a lot more than the more traditional dorm on the same campus.