Review of St Christopher's Inn Shepherd's Bush

I've stayed at a fair number of hostels throughout London and elsewhere, and this one does not deserve the 8.1 out of ten it received on hostel world. The chill out room is much better than its sister inn in Camden, but that's about all it has going for it. The rooms are not nearly as nice as the photos would have you believe. The room was poorly ventilated and often smelled terribly because of this. They seemed to have no discretion on who they allowed to stay, I'm sure that during my stay there was at least 2 homeless men in the room. They do not have a ping pong table in the hostels common room (as in the photos on the website) but a pool table you have to pay for. The fridge is tiny, and they do not keep any bowls/plates/silverware/cups in the hostel common room so whenever you want a cup of tea you have to run up a flight of stairs to the bar and ask for a cup. The restaurant and bar itself has a nice atmosphere and cool decor, and that part of the establishment is well kept+very clean. The hostel areas are a whole other story entirely. Everything hostel related seemed to be outdated and grungy. While most things weren't outright dirty, everything had a dirty look to it. Again, I must state again that the ventilation is TERRIBLE and the room often had a steamy feel (and this was in mid October). It is a cheap place to stay, but I've been to hostels of the same price that aren't as nearly as poorly lit/poorly kept as this one. The breakfast is free if you book through their website, which is a nice bonus. It's 3 pounds otherwise. The cool part of the breakfast is the panini maker. It consists of muesli, cereals, yogurt, cheese, ham, white bread, wholewheat bread, orange slices, orange juice, milk, cranberry juice, apple juice, peanut butter, honey, various jams, and comes with good condiment choices such as Sriracha, ketchup, and BBQ sauce. Another pro of this hostel is St. Christopher's choice of built in USB and light ports in each individual bunk, so you can keep your electronics close at hand and no worry about someone snatching your phone (which I would worry about with the people they let stay here). Probably one of the worst hostels I've stayed at so far in London, I would not recommend or stay again unless desperate.