Best Hostels of 2009 Announced at the Hoscars
Travellers House, in Lisbon, Portugal has won the coveted award for Hostelworld.com Top Hostel in the World for the second year in a row! The award, as voted for by Hostelworld.com customers, were given to hostel owners at a glitzy ceremony in Dublin’s Button Factory in the city’s famous Temple Bar quarter and was attended by over 350 people from the hostel industry from all corners of the globe.
Speaking at the conference after winning the award, when asked what makes the hostel so popular, Joao Pires from Traveller’s House said “We have a very passionate group of people. Passionate towards hosting people and passionate towards showing them what’s good in our city. We try to accommodate people the best we way possible by trying to show them the little secrets in our city. We make sure they’re comfortable and we give them all that they need. And of course I have to give a special mention to Lisbon which is a fantastic city. Not only does our hostel accommodate people, but Lisbon is a very welcoming city too.”
Traveller’s House is the first hostel ever to retain the title of World’s Top Hostel. When asked about this Joao added “I am very proud - proud for our hostel, proud for our team, and proud for the city and all the Portuguese people. It’s been a good couple of years and it’s always good to be recognised in this way - it’s an honour.”
The HOSCARS (HOStelworld Customer Annual Ratings) Hostel awards take place every year to recognise the best hostels in the world. More than 20,000 properties from across the globe, all featured on Hostelworld.com, are eligible for the awards. The best hostel winners were voted for by over 900,000 customers worldwide who booked their accommodation online and rated and reviewed the hostel on six criteria - character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness.
The Portuguese city of Lisbon was the top location for hostels with Living Lounge Hostel and Rossio Hostel winning second and third best hostels respectively.
Alongside those mentioned above, HOSCAR’s were also awarded for the best three hostels on each continent, and categories including ‘Best location’, ‘Most fun’, ‘Best character’ and ‘Most improved’.
The winners of the coveted Hoscars were:
1. Traveller’s House, Lisbon, Portugal
2. Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
3. Living Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
4. Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
5. Carpe Noctem, Budapest, Hungary
6. The Riverhouse Backpackers, Cardiff, Wales
7. Lisbon Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
8. Greg & Tom Hostel, Krakow, Poland
9. The Naughty Squirrel Backpackers Hostel, Riga, Latvia
10. Lisboa Central Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
Top Hostels by Continent:
North America
1. ACBB Hostel Niagara, Niagra Falls, Canada
2. USA Hostels San Diego, USA
3. Clarence Castle, Toronto, Canada
Latin America
1. Hostel Lao, Mendoza, Argentina
2. America del Sur Hostel Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. Hostel Estoril,Buenos Aires, Argentina
Africa
1. Dahab Dorms, Dahab, Egypt
2. Riad Massine II, Marrakech, Morocco
3. The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
Asia
1. Sitting On The City Walls Courtyard House, Beijing, China
2. Chinese Box Courtyard Hostel, Beijing, China
3. Nagasaki International Youth Hostel AKARI, Nagasaki, Japan
Oceania
1. Jailhouse Accommodation, Christchurch, New Zealand
2. Sydney Central YHA, Sydney, Australia
3. Backpack Oz, Adelaide, Australia
Special Category Awards were also given to the following hostels:
1. Cleanest Hostel: Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
2. Most Secure Hostel: Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
3. Most Fun Hostel: Carpe Noctem, Budapest, Hungary
4. Hostel with Best Location: Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
5. Best Staff: The Riverhouse Backpackers, Cardiff, Wales
6. Hostel with Best Character: Living Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
7. Best Small Hostel [Max 50 beds]: Hostel Majdas, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal Giovanni’s Home, Naples, Italy
8. Best Large Hostel [Min 500 beds]: H.I. Chicago, Chicago, USA Wake Up! Sydney Central, Sydney, Australia smartcityhostels Edinburgh, Scotland
9. Most Improved Hostel: The South Beach Hostel, Miami, USA
Source: HostelWorld.com