The best hostels in the world gain “Hoscar” recognition from Hostelworld.com

by McLean Robbins on

Gaining a Hoscar might not sound like a big feat – unless, of course, you know what a Hoscar is. The award, now nine years in the running, is the top honor granted to hostels worldwide. Given by Hostelworld.com, the “Oscars of the Hostel World” chooses the best properties from among 25,000 hostels in more than 180 countries.

Hoscar winners are chosen based on their overall score in six categories – fun, cleanliness, staff, security, location and character – and were voted for by more than one million Hostelworld.com customers who booked their accommodation online and stayed in the properties in 2010.

The awards recognize the top hostels in a number of categories including the best hostels in each of the seven continents, the most improved and the top hostel chains. Several new categories were introduced this year including the top 10 Best Large and Small Hostels along with Best Seasonal Hostel, Best Hostel for Groups, New to Hostelworld and a Special Contribution and Lifetime Achievement Award.

While we at Gadling can’t personally vouch for these properties, we can say that an industry award based on user reviews seems to be a rousing positive. Next time you visit one of these properties, do remember to leave us your feedback in the comments section!

The winners include:

Best Hostels Worldwide
1. Travellers House – Lisbon
2. Lisbon Lounge Hostel – Lisbon
3. Living Lounge Hostel – Lisbon

Best USA Hostels
1. USA Hostels San Francisco – San Francisco
2. USA Hostels Hollywood – Los Angeles
3. HI Chicago – Chicago
4. Miami Beach International Hostel – Miami
5. Adelaide Hostel and Hotel – San Francisco
6. HI Washington DC – Washington DC
7. HI Boston Downtown – Boston
8. The New York Loft Hostel – New York
9. India House Backpackers Hostel – New Orleans
10. HI New York – New York

Best Hostels in North America
1. Montreal Central, Montreal
2. ACBB Hostel Niagara, Niagara Falls
3. USA Hostels San Francisco, San Francisco

Best Large Hostels Worldwide
1. Travellers House – Lisbon
2. Living Lounge Hostel – Lisbon
3. Yes! Lisbon Hostel – Lisbon
4. Hostel Mostel – Sofia
5. Friendly Fun Franks Backpackers Hostel – Riga
6. Montreal Central – Montreal
7. Han Tang Inn Youth Hostel – Xi’an
8. Home – Lisbon
9. EastSeven Berlin Hostel – Berlin
10. Castle Rock Hostel – Edinburgh

Best Small Hostels Worldwide
1. Lisbon Lounge Hostel – Lisbon
2. Rossio Hostel – Lisbon
3. Greg & Tom Hostel – Krakow
4. Academy Hostel – Florence
5. Rivoli Cinema Hostel – Porto
6. Hostel of the Sun – Naples
7. Oporto Poets Hostel – Porto
8. Oasis Backpackers Hostel Granada – Granada
9. BackHome Kuala Lumpar – Kuala Lumpur
10. Sant Jordi Diagonal Hostel – Barcelona

Hostel World names world’s best hostels

by Katie Hammel on

TripAdvisor recently released its list of the best and worst in the hotel industry. Now it’s the hostel industry’s turn. Hostel World just announced the winners of the “Hoscars“, their annual ranking of the world’s best and worst hostels, rated by cleanliness, location, staff, fun, security, and character.

Over 20,000 properties around the world were eligible for the awards, yet because most of the 900,000 or so Hostel World users who may have voted are from Europe, the world’s best top ten seems to be a bit skewed geographically. All ten are located in Europe. Five of the top ten are located in Portugal.

This year’s winner, The Traveller’s House in Lisbon, won last year as well and is the first hostel to win two years in a row.

In other locations – the US, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania – the top three hostels are listed. Additional awards were given out for categories such as best location, most fun, best character, most improved, cleanest, most secure, best small/large hotel, and best chain.

[via Guardian]

Tell your best travel story and win a Hostelworld.com voucher

by Katie Hammel on

Think you have the ultimate travel story? Hostelworld.com is celebrating its 10th anniversary and wants to hear about your best travel adventure of the last decade. Tell your inspiring, amazing, crazy or hilarious tale and you may win a €500 travel voucher.

Stories must be between 500 and 1500 words and be accompanied by a photo. The writer of the story selected as the best will receive the grand prize voucher, while nine other winners will be awarded a €50 Amazon card. Contest winners will be announced on October 7th.

Entries must be submitted by September 30th, so get writing!

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of July 25 – July 31.

by Jamie Rhein on

The end of July is here. This is also the last day of Gadling’s “Hotel Month” and time to vote for the winner of Gadling’s Perfect Road Trip contest. The voting for the contest goes through next week, but why wait?

With vacations in mind, here are posts that offer a mix of where to go, what not to miss and details worth knowing.

  • Luxury train travel is one of the most elegant ways to go across Australia. Kraig gives an overview of “The Ghan,” a wow factor passenger train that on August 4th will have been in service for 80 years.
  • A trip to New York City should include time to see “Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia.” Sean’s post on the exhibit is a thoughtful glimpse of what makes this a must-see happening. Later, head to the beach. Jeremy has five suggestions for beaches close to Manhattan.
  • Tired of the bar scene where it’s hard to hear a person talk or to relax? Katie offers a solution in her post on speakeasy lounges. Her favorite is The Violet Hour in Chicago.
  • To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Hostelworld is offering a contest. Alison has the scoop on how to win a golden ticket and the great prize it will get you.
  • If you need a reason to buy trip insurance, the statistics from Tom’s post on how airline cancellation fees mean big bucks for the airlines might be it.