Where to start?
Besides the fact that the owner is American, nothing would show the American standards.
1. What they call a kitchen is an open room with one fridge and a microwave. The dishes are really clean as nobody cares much who will use them afterwards.
2. The shower rooms: one of them has a shower curtain that needs disinfection.
3. The toilets: economy is made on toilet paper that is not really comfortable to use; cheapest on the market does not exist.
If you are in 8-bed bedroom, you need to exit to the staircase and cross it to go to the toilet. But don't forget your magnetic card if you go during the night or you might find yourself sleeping on the stairs.
4. The staff: Make mistakes in bookings. There are two receptionist who speak English during the day. Night and day, they employ a retired woman that has to clean up all the room, make sure that facilities are clean. But they watch their favourite TV program in the evening, even if you would like to watch something else than sitcoms.
Those retired ladies don't speak a word of English. It was good that there was a foreigner there to translate and explain things. They are also rude if you don't understand them or their Russian.
5. The staff does not care about your well being there but mainly about their job.
6. One night, it was snowing. The room was cold, because the next room window was open all night freezing all around. because they had started painting the room, leaving a smell of old socks for the rest of the night.
7. Rooms: old mattresses, old windows that let the cold wind in, doors difficult to lock or unlock.
8. if you have a complain, you are answered that they do what they are told by the boss and we should address ourselves to him. (the boss did not notice that his chat with his employee at 90 decibels was bothering 3 customer in the living room. He does not greet you anyway.)

a bit tricky to find, the hostel is split in two with reception and dorm on one side of a stairwell, and other rooms, bathrooms and half a kitchen on the other side. OK location near metro stations. Friendly staff, pretty secure.

I can not believe the previous positive reviews from this place. I based my booking on them. How foolish of me!

We tried to get the hostel arrange a pick up at the airport for us since we arrived quite late. I emailed the specific time for our flight 3 times and got it confirmed, yet no one showed up at the airport.

We found the place after some hassle, arrived at 11.30 pm. The woman who greeted us there didn't speak a word of English, said (or rather conveyed with sign language,) that she couldn't find our booking (I had to log on to my Hotmail account to find it,) and the we were given the smallest, most cramped, airless room in history of time! It was the closest room to the 'reception'. The traffic outside the little window was ear deafening, it was little hope to get some sleep that night and then we made the mistake of actually going to bed... There were bedbugs in the sheets and we scratched ourselves silly both nights.

There's no real kitchen, the shared toilet is so small you can hardly fit in there, the shower-cubible formed like a spaceship is okay-ish, but the drain is clogged, so you basically end up taking a bath in your own shower water. Yuck!!!

I know that there are some rooms on the same side of hallway as the bathroom is. They looked infinitely better.

The location is not bad, you can easily walk from the hostel to the Red square in 20 minutes, but I'd highly recommend forking out some extra cash to stay at a decent hotel, even if Moscow is ridiculously expensive. The staff we met during the day spoke decent English and were helpful. They reconfirmed our visas, but we later found out, we didn't have to since we never stayed more than 3 days anywhere.

We stayed in this hotel for 10 days its close to Red Square & under ground,but its next to 12 lane road,so if your bedroom is in the front & you open the window as you do in summer 30%c plus you cant hear your self speak & cant sleep at night,we where given a fan so we could close window at night,if not we would have left.The rooms are small roomfor double bed one chair & small table,& hooks on wall,plus tv.The room was not cleaned the whole time we stayed, you had to ask for clean towels sheets but not every day as they did not like it.There is only 2 showers for hostel & hotel plus 2 toilets.The kitchen is very small one table 4 chairs microwave oven kettle, fridge, no sink so you had to wash up in bathroom,there is no breakfast unless you do it yoursel.