Venture Hostel

Good value

Prós: The free breakfast had with hard boiled eggs, yogurt, cereals, etc. The staff was nice and helpful! There are limited toilets and showers, but I didn't have a problem since not too many people seemed to be there. Only thing is that there's definitely not enough sinks. Showers were great and hot.

Contras: Out of management control, but some guy pissed in the showers while I was getting ready for bed ... wear your flip flops.

An All Around Good Time

Prós: The staff was incredibly friendly, they gave me a towel for free because I was staying for so many nights. Any time there was an issue it was solved immediately. Met a lot of great people staying at the hostel. The bar was low key and the beer/cider was relatively cheap. The pool table was great for something to do when everyone was winding down for bed. The whole place was cleaned every day, the cleaning ladies were very nice. It was cheap and close to a national railway station, an overground station, and a docklands light railway station. If you stay here, definitely get an oyster card! I really enjoyed my stay!

Contras: The pictures are a little deceiving, the place is a little disheveled. The chairs and tables in the bar are in various states of falling apart. The water had to be shut off for an hour in the middle of the day when there was a leak that went from the toilets upstairs, through a room, and down into the kitchen area. They felt really bad and gave those of us that were there a free beer. The situation was dealt with very quickly. One morning the toilets were out of order upstairs, so you had to go downstairs. When I came back a couple hours later the situation was dealt with. The neighborhood is a little bit of a trek from downtown London. You've got to take at least two trains to get to the real sight seeing stuff. It's also a little rough as a neighborhood, but I never had any issues staying there for 10 days.