HostelworldReviews 135

1.)repetition:I booked via hostelworld a hotel/hostel in Honolulu,after a long procedure which I described in an earlier review did I want to cancel.I had seen more negatice rezensions that positive after looking again.2.) After 4 days of contact and treals+errors am I still unable to cancel.I get always with their system the answer:" we received your request".Many times different people respond but until now am I unable to cancel. Their support does not help at all and untilnow after 10 requests did I not receive any real answer or cancellation.In 1 review did I read that " hostelworld" did not return the money.So I must add it looks like "hostelworld" is not really capable of helping or solving the problemand a question" not interested"? Every answer looks like a response but it does not really refer to my problem.Additionall their side say" Sorry we are not able because our side does not function!" Question: why does hostelworld has a support info when it does not help at all? I cannot add any images ecause the download function does not transfer to this side. I worked today many hours, I am really upset because it cannot be only me-it looks like the support of hostelworld is not efficient,sorry to say that.

Response is good and efficient. However, there should be a centralised helpline for all the hostels maybe country wise

They charged me for a reservation on a hostel, only to find out later that it was fully booked and cancelled it without warning, hours before my arrival. Instead of giving back my money on my credit card or cancelling the transaction, they gave me a voucher, which I did not ask for, and refused to give me my money back.

Very unreliable, AVOID USING IT.
Very very bad experience and their support just ignored me.

Hostel world quoted to pay 39myr at the property and I had to pay 50 MYR.
Couldn't contact any customer support at the time to discuss the problem.

I was scammed by a hostel in Lisbon (they took my money from my bank account but I couldn't get inside or contact them for the 2 days I booked for). I booked through Hostelworld because I thought I would have some kind of protection for the huge commission they charge, but no. They really don't care. I haven't had any response from their customer service about this scam. They are just allowing these kinds of things to happen to their customers with no recourse.

Me and my girlfriend booked a twin private room in Porto, but ended up getting a bunkbed room, causing us to book a new hotel last-minute. After almost 2 weeks we are still waiting to be reimbursed by Hostelworld.

Currently I don't know of any other service that exists which centralizes listings and reservations for hostels, so Hostelworld has definitely been waaayyy more helpful than any other hotel/accommodation booking site. Even on other sites that do list hostels, usually the listings are few, prices high, and availability limited. I like being able to look for results based on price range but also via distance to a city center (via kms or via a map). The Hostelworld criteria for rating hostels you've stayed in, coupled with the brief reviews, have also been very useful for getting a good idea of what kind of place you're looking at, apart from official writeups and photos. While there are times you can get a slightly better deal for a particular hostel by booking directly on that place's own website, Hostelworld also frequently offers promos for discounts on booking or free cancellation, which evens things out if you frequently book hostels.

Why hostels via Hostelworld instead of a place through AirBnB? I realized that as a solo traveler, it is hard to get an accommodation for a comparable price and comparable value if you're by yourself. If you want something comparably cheap, you will probably end up with a room in someone's actual home residence, but in my experience, rooms like that have been rather homely, plus you can't just arrive/leave whenever you want, which can be tricky given that you don't always get flights/trains at "reasonable" hours. I'd book on AirBnB if I was traveling with at least one other friend or was with a friend group because then you could get your own place, probably one spruced up nicely for renting out and separate from the owner's residence, so no problem with privacy or coming and going at odd hours.

Never more! Hostelworld has cancelled my booking of a hostel, 20 hours before my arrival, apparently with a good reason but without any support finding, for the same period, another accomodation or offering to paying the difference of the price of another structure. I had a lot of problems looking for another place is so few hours, loosing time and money. It has happened other times that a reservation was cancelled less than 24 hours, but i've always got support from Booking and Airbnb to find another place.

Search engine is awful, website is buggy.

Free cancelation but you've to pay them a fee that you never get back.

Site doesn't work as expected at all and sometimes hostels dont even get the booking.

Disappointed please avoid

Do not use Hostelworld! Our booking was cancelled due to Covid and generously we decided to take a voucher rather than a refund as we thought we were helping them out during a global crisis. When I tried to use that voucher they said it could only used towards the deposit! Why? I'd have to book loads of times to ever use up this kitty. Desperately unfair. After some dialogue we had to cancel anyway due to Covid again and now the money has disappeared completely. Apparently Hostelworld have decided it's been long enough and have just stolen my £200. No reminders, no warnings, they have just taken it. They were quick to take my money in the first place and quick to steal it in the end. Steer clear of these robbers.

Hotel Taj Plaza is on a heart throbing location just 600 mts away from Taj Mahal. The view of Taj from the deluxe rooms and the terrace is magnificent.
No Hotel symbolizes the grandeur and hospitality of the historic city of the Taj Mahal more than Hotel Taj Plaza. Set in a prime location and on a walking distance from the symbol of love Taj Mahal. This hotel is a familiar and distinctive landmark. Its architectural contours set it apart from the glass and concrete conformity of other hotels.
Hotel Taj Plaza is well Standard 'Budget' Hotel in Agra city at prime location near The Taj Mahal. Hotel Taj Plaza equipped with all modern luxurious Hospitalities. It has 5 minutes walking distance (Only 600 meter) from the great TAJ MAHAL. Hotel Taj Plaza offers 24-hour elegant & panoramic view of the TAJ MAHAL & also a real & fantastic view of the TAJ MAHAL in sunrise, sunset & moonlight from the Hotel Taj Plaza Rooms & Roof top Restaurant. The special Taj touch has further enhances the intrinsic advantages of the Hotel.

BEWARE OF VOUCHERS BEING OFFERED IN LIEU OF REFUND; COMPANY WILL NOT HONOR THEM.

Long story short, my friend and I had to cancel a reservation we made through Hostelworld because of Covid, and they offered us a voucher for 150% of our original payment so we thought why not? We eventually were going to book again so it seemed a great option. WRONG.

We booked another hostel recently and our voucher was not used for the booking. So after several weeks and several back and forth emails, we eventually got a straight answer from them telling us that our voucher cannot be used towards our booking, only towards the deposit for the booking. WHAT?
On top of that, we were still charged $20 for the deposit which was apparently supposed to be covered by our voucher and they told us that we would be refunded that $20 and it's been several weeks and still no refund.

As well, they set an expiry date for the voucher so it has to be used up within a certain time frame, which is ridiculous considering the voucher is for roughly $200 Canadian so we'd have to book a minimum of 10 times just to use up the remaining balance.

So now we are out about $150 for the original booking and no way to use it up before it expires. I honestly cannot belive they're allowed to run their business like this.

Save yourself the trouble and book directly with the hostel to avoid nonsense like this in the future.

This is a scam. The hotels that are on here aren't associated with this site and so you won't be booked in anywhere. They'll just take your money with no refund

I cancelled two reservations within the legal deadlines to obtain a refund of the amounts paid.

I've never seen those values. The problem is that I received an email with a print screen saying that they had returned it to me, this never happened.

To my surprise, the cancelled hostel charged me the full amount. As soon as what happened, I sent an email to which they responded quickly asking for proof.

I sent the proof and they never responded. Situations like this cannot go unpunished.
Don't book in this platform, they are liars. Companies that cheat people shouldn't be in business.

When I use a travel site I do not only for their searching engines but also because I need sone kind of warranties. Seems that Hostelworld is only a search engine. Having a problem with one Hostel (information published incorrectly and cancellation), they asked me to request the hostel the refunding (who fully charged us), not them. They don't assume any responsibility (only refund the reservation fee). The Hostel did not assume responsibility either (they said that Hostelworld published wrongly, that they did not passed our cancellation, etc), so the customers fell in the middle, loosing. It's a really fake.

Booked a weekend away (with cancellation cover). Had to cancel through e-mail as the booking is nowhere to be found on their website. As their team couldn't find it either we were charged for the deposit and the first night. Even called the hostel in LA when their number appeared on the credit charge.

They confirmed the e-mail. Provided all evidence to hostel world yet each time they 'will look into it'. Save your money and use a different provider.

I booked a couple weeks in this hostel from Hostelworld. Payed a lot of money as it was a cheap place and thought it looked good, and if it wasn't I would cancel and get refunded. I checked into the hostel. Unclean and had bed bugs. Took two nights before someone noticed and I realised I had ten huge bites on me. Checked out the next day and immediately contacted hostelworld about cancellation and refund. That was 9 days ago. I have since sent another two emails. The only contact I had from them was one automatic response and an email telling me they were still looking into my issue, which was also a week ago. Do not use this site, it's a scam, and the hostels being advertised are unreliable.

This is a scam company, please please please avoid them or you will be a victim like me. (1) when you book directly at the hostel, it is cheaper (2) they charge a scam deposit under the pretense of "insurance fee" - this deposit doesnt even go to the hostel, but is unrefundable and pocketed by hostelworld (3) customer service is really bad