For budget-minded travellers who love exploring the world, hostels are always the way to go. But with so many new establishments popping up all over the place, it can be difficult to make out traveller favourites from the mediocre ones. There is good news though – The list of 2018 winners for the annual HOSCAR awards is out, recognising the world’s best hostels just in case you may be visiting any time soon.
HOSCAR, or HOStelworld Customer Annual Ratings, showcases excellence in affordable accommodations, and the 2018 winners were based on at least a million reviews from travellers throughout 2017 who booked their stays through Hostelworld.com, one of the world’s leading travel agent for budget accommodation. Amongst the criteria include overall customer experience, value for money, security, location, staff, atmosphere, cleanliness and facilities.
Many new cities around the globe are represented in the Most Popular Hostel category, and Hostelworld saw an upsurge of bookings of about 46% in Colombian cities this time around, including Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin and Santa Marta. As far as Asia is concerned, a few Vietnamese cities also made it to the Most Popular category. Here are a few of the highlights, but for the full list of winners, access here.
Best New Hostel – Faloe Hostel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Best Hostel by Country (Malaysia) – Backhome Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Best Value for Money – Dalat Friendly Fun, Da Lat, Vietnam
Best Small Hostel – Sungate One, Madrid, Spain
Best Medium Hostel – Soul Kitchen, St Petersburg, Russia
Best Large Hostel – Star Hostel Taipei Main Station, Taipei, Taiwan
Best Extra Large Hostel – Lub D Phuket Patong, Phuket, Thailand
