Summary: for my budget, I’m glad I stayed here. Slept well and was close enough to the sights. The host is friendly and responsive. Some cons, but I’d still recommend this place for the price. (More below).
Pros: Biagio, the host, is a friendly and welcoming person with a very affordable room given the distance from Kilburn to central London (about 30-40 minutes on the walk+tube to most main sights). Although the bed is a pull-out sofa, it’s quite comfortable and all very clean. WiFi is strong. There are three tube lines nearby, the orange overground, the gray jubilee underground line, and the brown underground whose name I can’t recall. The cats are also cute and friendly.
Cons: the host is a smoker and the place smells heavily of cigarette smoke. He did ask me if it was ok to smoke, but the smell was already present and I didn’t feel ok telling him no in his own home. Privacy was low — the room door had to be left open to the cats during the day. And also it was a 10-15 minute walk from the home to each of the three nearest train stations, which felt like a lot as a solo female traveler, especially at night.