Hostelworld: Hostel Travel App Reviews

by 3rdm@n

So I'm a current HI-USA cardholder/member. I looked into Hostelworld to make searching for hostels, cheap hotels, couch surfing, and B&B's simpler.

Here's the thing: wouldn't you want Hostelworld to hold your actual travel cards? What if you're an ISIC card member? What about mileage cards? What about AAA card members? How about AARP? Why couldn't you enter your HI-USA card information to speed up your searches & transactions and save you the headache by using ONE app. It'd be the best app ever!

No. That functionality doesn't appear to be in the mindset of the developers. No customer service to speak of.

What's the point?

I don't mind carrying all the cards, passport, identification, IDP, etc. I was just hoping to use a one app to get everything sorted out and readily available. Why should anyone use four apps?

Don't download. If you see any posts with one star check out WHY that person chose one star. I'm sure you'll see a pattern. Seems to me the employees of this developer are just making up entries of five stars to make them more relevant.

by Mistiq

I made a booking for 3 nights, but the hostel was a dump so I left after night 1. I tried to get a full refund of the remaining two nights from the hostel but was given a partial refund bc they said they have to pay Hostel world a booking fee(which makes sense). I tried to solicit Hostel Worlds help and they provided no assistance and took no responsibility for what is ranked as a “Very Good” hostel on their site. They did not refund me the portion which is their booking fee for the 2 nights I didn’t stay (total $22). So I ended up paying hostel world 2 nights worth of booking fees for nights I did not stay there. Also The lowest possible ranking on their app is a 2. Pretty sure there are numbers lower than that... Lesson learned: If you see a hostel you want to stay at on Hostel World don’t book it through their site. You will save money by booking directly with the hostel and you will have more rights to your money

by Kayla_rosex3

I am so upset because they have updated Hostelworld . & now there is no more hostel favorite/wish list that you can create! I That is what I really loved and enjoyed about using Hostelworld. Creating a favorites list of places I look forward to travel to also having everything already planned out. Having the favorites list list helped with saving time for searching for a hostel and helped with quickly booking my trip & me most likely to travel. I would like to know may you please bring things back. Because again I worked so hard planning and putting it together

by Its Honey

I don’t know why Hostelworld was updated in the first place, and it was updated to remove features not add any, like every other app. The ability to make lists of hostels I wanted to visit…gone with no notice and didn’t even tell me what was on the list. Thanks a lot. Also thr entire design has changed and is incredibly ugly now. Also…why is the feature to filter reviews by age gone?! Such a great feature that I used because different age groups can have differing opinions of the same hostel! Seems like they’re gatekeeping these feautures and other features for a future ‘plus’ membership, as if they don’t already have the money monopoly on the hostel-booking market. Why not add more features to a plus membership instead of taking away ones that already existed for years? So greedy and such stupid updates.

by Ric582

i just landed in El Cairo, Egypt
at Miami Cairo Hostel
i have to say, i never had this problem but i think that this app just ruined part of my vacation, because now i have to go out and find a hotel room. This place is a total DUMP, never seen anything like this and i been staying in hostel for a long time in different countries.
This references in the this app app must been fake, (made by someone for the hostel)
because this place is ugly and dirty, is nasty, nothing like in the pictures.. the pictures must had been altered.
There is no one staying here but me. Im completely alone, is a scary place and situation.
I dont understan why this app doesnt have someone rating this places for Hostelworld .
because this does not qualify to be called a hostel. period.
This is not cool at all.
now i feel i cant trust this app no more.
I will cancel my second day stay and will spend my whole day looking for a decent place to stay, thats not fair for me who came here on vacation.
I had been in bad hostels, dirty, etc..
but never something like this...
Is completely empty, no one is here, is scary place and dirty.. like i said, all references must be fake. Feel like i want to run out of here.

by CrunchyCat1

When purchasing a hostel for spring break, my web browser autofilled the wrong email while completing the purchase and for some reason this tiny mistake was entirely irreparable. Assuming this was an easy issue to fix, I emailed support. After a day, the entirely unhelpful, Maks from support, replied spelling my name wrong and telling me that there is simply no way to change the email associated with a booking EVEN if I’m the owner of that email and can receive emails sent to it. I found this to be extremely annoying and I was incredulous that he vaguely blamed this on some “data protection laws”. There is simply no way that this is true. Many companies allow
you to change an associated email (I’ve done it with Microsoft for example).

If you’re reading this devs, add a way to change the email associated with a booking.

by Netia1128

My app has been non-functional for weeks, not letting me log in or book accommodation. I have the latest iPhone with the latest software. I’ve uninstalled, reinstalled, and updated Hostelworld . I’ve reset my account password. Nothing has worked and the this app support team has done nothing but ask me questions that I’ve already given them the answers to in my requests for help
(for example, when I write them asking for help with the synopsis above and they suggest silly things like updating my software that I already said was up to date 🤦🏻‍♀️). Honestly, I’m ready to start looking for alternative booking platforms as it’s impossible to work with this app when there’s a technical glitch.

by Perry Bush

This is by far the worst experience I have ever had! It’s 9:19 am, check out is at 10. I went down and told the front desk manager that I was going to extend for 2 days but would needed to go to the bank (which doesn’t open until 10 ) asked if I could have a late check out, but that I wasn’t actually checking out and was told yes. Went to my room and less than 5 minutes later she was knocking on my door asking for the key. Literally! I explained that it’s not 10 and was told “ it’s ok, you can hang out until 10, we need to clean the room “ I asked how am I do you expect me to get back in and again, the same phrase was stated! I would NEVER recommend this place, in fact I’m contacting my lawyer.

by Flyjimmyfly

So I used to really love Hostelworld however during my two month long trip to South Korea I had A LOT of trouble getting my bookings both current and past to load. This forced me to rely on email confirmations when trying to check in with the Hostel. Additionally since the bookings weren’t loading it was also difficult to quickly reference the address and contact information for each of the hostels.

To be honest I’ve started using Agoda since they have all of the hostels listed in this app (sometimes at cheaper rates) and, at least in South Korea, more recent reviews.

by Thiessen12

Great app to connect to great hostels around the world and providing free cancellations makes this app a wonderful app/website. HOWEVER I booked a hostel reading it had good and no negative reviews at all on this app, and booked it. When I went everywhere else TripAdvisor reviews, yelp reviews, etc. everyone said the hostel was the worst imaginable hostel in the city! Hadn’t had a good review since 2015!!! Maybe you can say reviews are biased but photos AREN’T and it was clear this place was a complete nightmare. So I cancelled my stay and my trust in this app definitely declined a lot after that. Is this app a sell out allowing hostels to buy good reviews when they don’t deserve it? It seems like it.

by Brithanybm

It’s so much easier to manage my bookings through my phone since it’s my main form of communication, so I appreciate Hostelworld ’s existence in general. I do like the interface, very similar to its desktop version. And I appreciate that some rooms are available on Hostelworld that are not in the website, though it is a bit off putting for those who are trying to book online. My only concern is that flexible booking doesn’t seem to be an option on Hostelworld , no matter who hard I look.

by Mandilions

Hostelworld has been great for finding hostels and reading reviews. I think one feature that would dramatically improve the hostel experience was if Hostelworld allowed you to rate people who shared a room with you. While I have had no problem with some of the hostels themselves, some of my experiences have been miserable thanks to inconsiderate roommates. This would enable hostels to see a rating for a specific person and decline them staying at the hostel if they have a bad rating, or charge them extra. This would hold people more accountable for being considerate when sharing a room with others. Please consider this.

by D. Hill

this app is a solid hotel booking application that allows users to easily book accommodations at any of the listed residences. Hostelworld provides all the information on listed hostels you would want to know whether it be prices, images, policies, details on the place itself and more. Hostelworld has user reviews to provide even more information to help better inform your decision. Search is easy with the ability to type in your destination, party and how long you plan to stay. Users can create accounts to better manage their travel allowing you to save locations as well as perform other activities. Hostelworld even works as a mini travel guide with the My Trips section giving you information on places you plan to visit.

by Dbds20223

As a mobile developer, I really appreciate a company that puts in the time and effort to have a functional, polished mobile app. Not only is Hostelworld working without issue, but they’ve managed to properly take advantage of the iPad’s screen size for certain interfaces—when viewing hostel options, they use the space to show a map alongside the list info.

Keep up the good work.

by Kajapapaya!

My daughter and I spent a year traveling with backpacks and continue to travel at least every couple of months. this app app makes it so convenient to find places that suit us (by reading the profile, the reviews, and studying the map) and to book rooms. In just a few quick clicks we have a place to stay and have all the important booking, location, and direction info stored. It’s been a life-saver.

by EMHHKL

this app has time and time again exceeded my expectations. It is by far the most useful app you could possibly have while traveling. Not only do they let you book hostels in advance but they let you know the period you have to cancel or change your reservation in case your travel plans have changed! They provide you with the best index of hostels all around the world and let their customers make the decisions about which Hostels are the best to stay in. You can read other reviews and look at hostel ratings and decide which one would be the best for you. Could not have traveled without this app and will continue to use it for a very long time

by Wilhelm R.

Hostelworld is very user friendly. I appreciate being able to read reviews on the Hostels I book because I want to get value for my money and pay a little extra for things that are important to me, like not sleeping in a place with bed bugs. But the best part is the Map! It’s better than google maps if you ask me. I can figure out where I need to be and all the local spots around it no problem. I use it all the time.

by Daniel Vanciel

The deals are great and I use Hostelworld a lot, but because of that I can tell you that it’s a garbage app that hardly works. Irrelevant pop ups about cancelation policies, crashing while paying, really, the thing hardly works on the technical side, but you’ll still get some mind bending deals. Great for on the fly travelers and last minute bookings, as well as for those of you like me who plan every detail ten years in advance. (Y’all gotta rebuild the whole app from scratch fo real tho ngl..) 💙

by Kels1138

I love Hostelworld, the only thing I wish was different was the filter settings. Instead of only being able to filter through the overall rating of the hostel I wish I could search by the rating of each characteristic individually. For example cleanliness may be more important than location for me, so I could search for high cleanliness ratings, because that’s what’s most important to me. Also it would be nice to be able to search for things such as rooftop access or hostels that have a good view.

by Hui63

Our stay in dream house was perfect. The apartment is located in the middle of the mountains. You will see the most spectacular mountain and nature view from the apartment. There is a river in front of the apartment. You can hike around into the most beautiful nature including river and mountains of northwest Tehran. Its 20 minutes away from center of Tehran. The apartment is beautiful, clean, well decorated and has the breathtaking view from the windows. The bed is very comfortable. You can cook in the kitchen and barbecue in the backyard. There is refrigerator too. Mojtaba, the host is very accommodating, friendly and kind. He is available 24/7. The breakfast is really good. I will stay here again. Thank you Mojtaba for our stay in your lovely apartment.

by Honestpants

This is the best app when your traveling. Hostels aren’t scary, dirty or unsafe. Hostels are the new hotels but cheaper! If you doubt it, just stay at one! I backpacked Europe for 3 weeks on the cheap. And every hostel was like a hotel. If you don't like people, GET YOUR OWN ROOM! It’s cheap! Nothing compared to the price of a hotel especially in high demand cities like Rome, Paris or Barcelona. Hostels are humbler than hotels for sure. They won’t have 1000 thread count sheets and a fridge with a mini bar. BUT! They’re clean, they’re friendly, they’re SUPER cheap. Hostelworld provides the best rating system of hostels. You like clean? Hostelworld will tell you which hostel is the cleanest. You like environment? Hostelworld tells you which hostels are the more lively ones. Get Hostelworld.
Just do it-Nike