The red carpet was rolled out in Dublin last night for one of the budget travel industry’s most anticipated events of the year as the HOSCARS (Hostelworld Customer Annual Ratings) took place to recognise the best hostels in the world.
Lisbon hostels lead the pack when it came to the world’s top hostels when Travellers House Hostel in Lisbon, Portugal won the coveted prize of number one hostel in the world while Rossio Hostel and Lisbon Lounge hostel gave the Portuguese town an impressive one, two, three. Dublin’s Marlborough House Hostel won the award for “Most improved hostel”.
More than 20,000 properties from across the globe, all featured on Hostelworld.com, were eligible for the awards. The winners were voted for by over 800,000 customers worldwide who booked their accommodation online and rated and reviewed the hostel on six criteria character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness.
Gonzalo Figueira, co-owner of the hostel was delighted with the award, saying, “We are very happy. It’s been a successful year for us, so we thought we had a good chance of winning a HOSCAR. “Manager of the hostel, Adriano Cardoso, said he believed the hostel was popular because guests were treated the way they would like to be treated when staying in a hostel. He said, “You have to be there for travellers and take care of them – know your guests and offer the things you know they need.”
Aille River Hostel in Doolin was voted the best hostel in Ireland. The second-place winner was Kilronan Hostel in the Aran Islands, followed by Kinlay House Hostel in Galway (see full list of winners below).
Alongside those mentioned above, HOSCAR’s were also awarded for the top three hostels on each continent, and categories including ‘Best location’, ‘Most fun’, ‘Best character’ and ‘Most improved’. In a new category for this year, and proving that a backpacker’s favourite pastime hasn’t changed, the backpacker pub crawl in Dublin won the award for ‘Best tour’.
The HOSCAR’s took place as part of Hostelworld’s 5th annual Hostel conference and was attended by over 350 hostel owners, managers and industry professionals from around the world. This year’s conference addressed the issue of the current economic climate and the subsequent impact on the travel sector. Industry leaders looked at the opportunities the environment has created alongside new and emerging markets, how to market hostels and maintaining profit margins.
Top 10 Worldwide Hostels
1. Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
2. Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
3. Lisbon Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
4. The Riverhouse Backpackers, Cardiff, Wales
5. Greg- Tom Hostel, Krakow, Poland
6. Sitting on the City Walls Courtyard House, Beijing, China
7. Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
8. Goodnight Backpackers Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
9. Flamingo Hostel, Krakow, Poland
10. Mambo Tango Backpackers, Barcelona , Spain
Top 10 Hostels in Ireland
1. Aille River Hostel, Doolin
2. Kilronan Hostel, Aran Islands
3. Kinlay House Hostel Galway
4. Killarney Sugan Hostel, Killarney
5. Sleepzone – The Burren, Cliffs of Moher
6. Kirwan House, Wexford
7. Globetrotters/The Townhouse, Dublin
8. Sleepzone Connemara, Connemara
9. The Galway City Hostel, Galway
10. Sleepzone Galway City, Galway
* Top Hostels by Continent
North America
1. Clarence Castle, Toronto, Canada
2. Hostel Seattle, Seattle, USA
3. Alexandrie-Montreal, Montreal, Canada
Latin America
1. Hi Patagonia Hostel, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
2. Hostel Estoril, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. Hostel Lao, Mendoza, Argentina
Oceania
1. YHA Rotorua Treks, Roroorua, New Zealand
2. Dreamtime Travellers Rest, Cairns, Australia
3. Jailhouse Accommodation, Christchurch, New Zealand
Africa
1. Equity Point Marrakech, Morocco
2. Hostel Essaouira, Essaouira, Morroco no website
3. The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre
Asia
1. Sitting on the City Walls Courtyard House, Beijing, China
2. Zhengjia International Youth Hostel , Pingyao, China
3. Eight Elephants Hostel, Taipei, Taiwan
Special Awards
Cleanest Hostel
Lisbon Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
Best Staff
The Riverhouse Backpackers, Cardiff, Wales
Most Secure Hostel
Budapest Bubble, Budpaest, Hungary
Best Location
Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
Best Character
Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
Most Fun
Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
Best Large Hostel (min 300 beds)
Wombats City hostel, Berlin, Germany
Best Small Hostel (max 50 beds)
Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
Most Improved Hostel
Marlborough House, Dublin, Ireland
Best Hostel Chain
1. Wombats
2. Hatters
3. St christophers
New Category
Best Tour
1. Backpacker Pub Crawl – Backpacker Pub Crawl (Dublin)
2. Bus2alps – Florence to Sorrento & Capri
3. Wild Wicklow Tours – Wild Wicklow Tour