Leinster Gardens

I spent some of my most exciting moments in this hostel. I totally agree that cleanliness and hygiene standards are below the bottom line, but I think the cleaning staff shouldn't be the only ones to be blamed (once I found sh*t on top of the toilet lid). But I met people there--Spanish and Italian, most of them--who are still my friends now. And, of course, a girl (Spanish, por supuesto) with whom I have spent the greatest moments (she was gorgeous and still is, I'm afraid) during more than one year. The staff was nice and welcoming (with me at least), but for sure it was hard to sleep at night and should I have stayed longer, I might have gotten mad or thoroughly exhausted. That's why I'm so so sad to learn that the building was closed. I wish I could have checked in next time I'd been in London. Here's to you, Inma, I loved you so much.

I was there in February, 2004 with 3 friends. It was 11€ a night for a 6-bedroom dorm. That's cheap! The room was huge, you could cook, and there was a closet for each person--more than I hoped for! The only problems had to do with showering: it was small and had no shower-carpet thing (so you had to step on the wet "marble" floor full of wet hairs--eww, totally gross). If only I had brought slippers; then it would've been perfect. And the sinks were way too small to wash the dishes, so that was pretty unhygienic too. Anyway, I don't know why I'm writing this because apparently the building closed!? Oh well. Anyway, for 11€ a night, it was almost perfect for me.

I lived there for 4 months. At the beginning I wanted to leave because it was very dirty, the rooms were small, and I was with 2 stupid Italian girls. In the end, I stayed there because it is near to everything (Hyde park, Paddington, Queensway) and I started to have some friends and a boyfriend. (I'm still with him now, it's 1 year, and I'm very happy.) Now the building is closed. They left us 2 weeks to find another place to live. In a panic, I found another place, but I've got regrets because you could do there what you wanted to.

Terribly noisy and very dirty, but in a good location and the staff were friendly. I was concerned about my safety in a 12 bed coed room and they gave me a better bed instead for the same price, which was very nice. If you're on a really, really, really low budget (like me) and don't care about not sleeping and not showering (unlike me)... try this hostel.

Be careful with pick pockets in the bedrooms, I got robbed. Beds are clean but not confortable. Showers sometimes don't have hot water and you need shoes if you don't want a mushroom growing under your feet. The only good thing about it is the location.

I was there this year during the winter. It was horrible. The place is terrible. The heater in the shower doesn't work. Imagine taking shower in the winter without heater. The bathroom and the toilet is small and dirty. The bed is dirty too. The only good thing about this hostel is the location. I wouldn't go back again to this hostel.

I was there last year. It's fantastic, near the city center, lovely people. I'm coming back this year.