HostelworldReviews 135

I was cheated by mistepresenting prices for a hostel which was £11 cheaper on all other sites, even after explaining and providing proof of this to customer care they were adamant that it was shown correctly by them. Never again booking from them for their lack of ownership and responsibility!

I booked a hostel through hostelworld, and then had to cancel it almost immediately after making it as hostelworld's info was incorrect. The confirmation email from the hostel had a different number of beds than what hostelworld said ("beds" and "people" are not synonyms). I cancelled it online, and yet was surprised during my trip weeks later when I was charged in full. I know I cancelled it, I remember filling out the form online and seeing it removed from the upcoming trips section. The response I got from them was "our team don't cancel bookings".
Their site and support just aren't worth the risks, contact hostels directly yourselves if at all possible. A simple issue with the number of beds turned into several hundreds of dollars being charged while I was overseas.

It was a one off mistake, which I have forgotten and forgive.I will always book my holiday hostel with hostel world.

I looked options for two people, and the page gave me the options, so I picked one and made my reservation for two people, I paid the partial amount to the page, the hostel charged me the rest, then one day later when I looked at the reservation it said it was for only one person, I requested a refund and they refused. I lost around $500. DO NOT USE THEM.

The Grand Hostel Berlin Classic is one of the best hostels I have been to. The decor is impressive and the reception staff were flexible (for example, they like you to pay with card, but accepted cash because the Hostelworld email said they did, and they let me stay and charge my phone when I arrived early (my Hostelworld email said they opened at 12 noon, but they don't actually open until 3pm)). They stored my rucksack in a locked cupboard and offered me a drink (there is a very nice bar). Being an older solo woman backpacker, safety and cleanliness are important to me and this hostel provided that. The all-you-can-eat breakfast (10 euros) is excellent. The outlook and location by the river is interesting though inevitably noisy, but there is double glazing. Despite there being no lifts (the hostel is on several floors), no self-catering kitchen (there are lots of cafes etc nearby), and no places to hang washing or towels to dry (they offer a laundry service for 10 euros where they take your clothes and wash and dry them for you), the atmosphere was great and I enjoyed my stay.

If you change number of nights stays you lose a substantial sum of money - the hostel we stayed in confirmed we would only be chsrged one night ( reduced from 4) - hostel of the sun in Naples - but we were then charged 67 euro on top of 35 euro deposit paid - so 103 euro for a sub standard / basic room stay. Terrible service a very deceitful. We strongly recommend not using Hostelworld or hostel of the sun in Naples.

Good range of hostel with affordable prices. Good customer service, I'm very satisfied with them. Whenever I have an issue, they dealt with it promptly.

I confidently booked a room without being sure of my dates given the multiple large assurances of free cancellation. Turns out on tiny fine print which I only saw after I received a confirmation, the deposit is non refundable. And to actually cancel, your booking needs to show up in the app. Mine didn't. I spent five days cancelling it and only managed to do so because the hostel manager helped me. I sent 6 emails to Hostelworld with no result. Avoid!

I'm honestly quite surprised to see so many other people have bad reviews on hostelworld, it's quite unfortunate :( I'm a solo traveler on a budget so I love to stay at hostels. I've booked on their website about 5+ times now in both Korea and Japan and I've thankfully had no issues with it.

They have so many options to choose from around the whole country and their prices are usually the lowest too.

Another cool thing they have is the option to pay a bit beforehand and pay the rest up front. It's a nice option to have :) -- I've attached an example from my receipt

I don't know how many emails I've been sent so far and no one gives me a solution.

I have reserved 4 nights at the MadPackers hostel (8-bed room) for an amount of 27 dollars, and when I came to the hotel I decided to reserve two additional days in the same shared room. When I was making the reservation at HostelWorld there was a power outage that was restored after a few minutes. At that time, before the power went out, I was about to make the payment for the two nights. When the light was restored, the website asked him to confirm the payment and I did so.

I was surprised to see that at the time of receiving the confirmation the amount was no longer 70 dollars but 530 dollars, so I immediately canceled the reservation. It's all been very confusing.

I have received an email from Madpackers telling me that there is no refund, and I have contacted HostelWorld for a solution and so far no one has responded.

I am losing almost 80% of my travel budget, in a country that I do not know and that is very far from home. I am desperate and no one can help me.

Please, you guys have a good reputation especially with backpackers. I need my money back and for this reservation to be canceled on your side.

I'm desperate.

My daughter booked with them …Had a issue with the credit card she tried to pay …I called the credit card n was told no one ever tried to send a charge thru …They canceled her booking n gave it to someone else without letting her know.She tried calling and spoke to someone very rude and refused to help her …I emailed them numerous times and the response I got was …we are looking into the issue n get back to you and was never … I will never book anything with these people ever again …lesson learned …my first experience will def be my last …*******@aol.com…-Awful customer service …rate them below zero

A brilliant online business (hostel world) is a great way to find the cheapest and most luxurious hotels around the world. With the most competitive prices beating the majority of any other business by far on price matching and service. Next time booking a hotel I suggest and highly recommend hostel world 10 out of 10 for cheapest prices any where in the by far!.

I used Hostelworld to book a hotel for early January 2023. The quoted rate was $100/night. I booked it. I paid Hostelworld $254.60 and $1455.39 for thirteen nights to the hotel upon arrival. My hostelworld account only showed the amount charged, not the amount quoted at time of booking. The amount charged came out to $131/night, not the $100/night I was quoted. When I pointed out the discrepancy and asked them to show me the quoted rate at time of booking they said they couldn't do that but if I had screenshotted the quote, they'd take a look at it. Of course, I didn't screenshot. Who does that? I won't ever use them again but if you use them SCREENSHOT EVERYTHING!

Hostelworld steals peoples money, I've paid 26euro as a pre-payment to book a hostel and I couldn't see the reservation confirmed on their app so I've sent an email. Days later they've come up with the money didn't come through but my bank says other way. I have the provision number and receipt but hostel world claims they didn't get the money and still doesn't confirm booking. Very good scam. Don't ever trust this agency.

Refused to offer refund after paid extra to be able to cancel reservation. They also take a huge cut for themselves. Always book directly with the hostel.

Booked at stay at Bposhtel in Charlotte. Looks decent on Hostelworld website. However, once we got there, it turned out to be a literal slum. People were hanging around with hoods up and masks on. In our check in line, the guy ahead of us was drinking whiskey out of a bag. Upon check in, the lady couldn't find my reservation. Turns out they're running two businesses out of the same address- one "hostel" for unsuspecting travelers who frequent hostels and another transient motel/temporary housing type thing for all the folks who were loitering outside. We were asked on our way out something we couldn't understand by a dude who was incoherent. We were also made feel unsafe by all the folks loitering outside. It was more of a slum/prison than something we'd actually pay money for.

Now for Hostelworld. We tried to contact them immediately to inform them of this. The listing on the website and what's actually there are two distinct things. First problem, Hostelworld DOES NOT have a contact number for the US. Fine, we left a detailed email (with images) and finally got a reply two days later. We were not issued a full refund- only deposit- and were told to go back to the property to seek the rest. We left that property as quickly as humanly possible once we had taken pictures as proof of the issue and now Hostelworld were telling us it was our problem to get our money back. Do you think the type of person who runs a "business" like that is going to entertain issuing a refund to 3 solo travelers? No is the answer to that.

Anyway, all I can say is- I see why Hostelworld has a 1.7/5 rating. Please, please, please don't use them. If anything happens with your stay, you'll have ZERO support and accountability from them.

These folks left me stranded & Out hundred of dollars on a botched booking. The Hostel said it was their fault and Hostel World said it was the hostel's fault.

In both cases, both vendors refused repayment, were impossible to reason with.

Both have been reported to fraud agencies.

Stay away.