The St. Christopher's chain now boasts 7 locations in the U.K., with the recent opening of their Edinburgh location. The remaining six hostels are in London, with the Village being the crown jewel. It's the largest of the bunch, with enough room for 160 guests. It has a couple of bars and even sports a hot tub and sauna on the roof. St. Chris bills itself as "the hostel with attitude," and they mean it. The Village and its built in, neighboring bar Belushi's are rocking. Don't expect to get much sleep, as the music pumps all day and night through the thin walls, making sleep tough (even with earplugs!).

Sleeping:
Okay, so you won't actually sleep all that much, but you can be comforted in the fact that the Village is kept pretty clean. Sheets are provided, and the rooms vary in size from 2-12 beds. Who you get in your room is as predictable as the lottery. Some folks are pretty low-key, while others are content drinking in your room all night and littering the floor with beer cans/bottles. But of course, that's part of what makes a hostel stay so interesting. There are no lockouts, so you can try to sleep off that hangover for as long as you want.

Facilities:
There are plenty of toilets on each floor, and there was never a wait for the showers while we were there. Showers are free. The facilities are kept pretty clean, and there are wooden grates you can stand on in the showers, but if you're that concerned about germs, pack a pair of sandals (flip-flops) to wear.

There are coin-operated laundry machines which work quite well. You should pack some small laundry detergent packets before you arrive. Otherwise you'll be forced to spend money on a big box of soap which you'll hardly use from a mini-mart down the street.

Amenities:
I've already mentioned the hot tub and sauna. We never actually used them, but others did, so I guess they're kept in working order. They're free to my knowledge, but no smoking is allowed on the roof, which is ironic considering that smoking's allowed nearly everywhere else indoors...

The Village has Internet terminals available as well. They're not free, but the amount of online time you get varies on when you decide to log on. In the middle of the day, a pound will buy you about 15 minutes, whereas you'll get 35 minutes for the same price if you log on at 3am.

Breakfast is available every morning. Their web site advertises a full English breakfast for 1.5 quid, but all we ever saw was a choice of corn flakes, Weetabix, toast, coffee and tea. I'm pretty sure you don't have to pay extra for that, so it's nothing to complain about.

Belushi's:
This is the bar that is built into the hostel. Surprisingly, it's a pretty popular local nightspot, attracting not only residents from the three St. Chris hostels nearby, but a few locals as well. Every night is usually pretty busy, and the place stays open until 2am. Occasionally, a DJ or local music group will be brought in. Don't expect a wide variety of music (we heard a few songs 3-4 times in one night), but it can only improve the atmosphere. The staff at Belushi's is a little crazy... seeing them dancing on the bar and pouring free champagne into the mouths of the patrons isn't unheard of. Belushi's specializes in 'uge frozen beverages served directly in pitchers you're supposed to drink out of. Despite the repetitive music and the fact that nobody that's actually English seems to be able to dance, Belushi's offers a lively atmosphere and good times. BTW- you can also order food there during the day.

Security:
The doors at the Village are card key operated. This includes the bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, and countless other doors, including the main entrance. If you don't have a key when you arrive at the hostel, ring the buzzer near the front door, and the staff at the front desk will let you in.

The Village has no lockers, so you should be sure to have locks on your bags at all times. While thievery in particular isn't as prevalent here as on the continent, you never know who you might be rooming with, so it's best to be safe. A girl we were staying with accused another of our roommates of stealing her wallet during our stay. Overall, we didn't have any problems. We arrived early on our first day, and had a few hours before our room was ready. We could have held onto our big ol' bags for that whole time, but instead we dropped them off downstairs with everyone else's belongings, and nothing was stolen.

The Area:
Some might say a drawback of the Village is that it's not centrally located in London, but the tube makes that point moot. The tube makes getting around the city so easy that you're likely to spend no more than 15 minutes traveling underground from the hostel to your destination. The two closest stops to the Village are Borough and London Bridge on the Northern Line. St. Chris' Web site indicates that there are a number of sights within walking distance of the Village, but I wouldn't know, since we took the tube everywhere.

There is a post office and a 24 hour mini mart within a couple of blocks. Nearby, you'll also find two more St. Chris locations, including the original St. Christopher's Inn, where you can watch football on the big screen. The Slug & Lettuce, another popular hangout, is just down the street... and of course you have the world famous Ministry of Sound nightclub a few blocks away.

Reservations:
We made our reservations online via the Web site. Though there have been some indications of problems with their online booking system, we didn't experience any difficulties. There's a chance that you'll be forced to switch rooms in the middle of a multi-day stay, depending on how busy it is. St. Christopher's does not require YHA/IYHF membership.