Hostelling International announces the winners of the 2014 Hostel Awards
This year’s
HI5ives Hostel Awards ceremony took place at the annual meeting of CEOs of HI Member Associations in Toledo, Spain, with prizes awarded in five different categories based on ratings left by HI’s customers, on
hihostels.com. These included most comfortable hostel, friendliest hostel, green hostel, best hostel and best National Association of hostels. We are pleased to announce the winners of the HI5ives Hostel Awards 2014.
Judging by its 96% rating on comfort, this outstanding hostel has overwhelmed customers during their stay. With an abundance of style and modern facilities,
HI Seoul Youth hostel is a state-of-the–art piece of accommodation which allows people to explore South Korea’s capital city in comfort. The hostel goes that extra step to make sure its customers are at ease in their surroundings. We also honoured
Utano YH, Japan in second place with 94% and
Reykjavik-Loft Hostel, Iceland in third place with 92%.
Nestled in a vineyard haven off the coast of Cape Cod, USA, this hostel’s staff really made an impression on our customers last year, with customer votes taking it to a spectacular 99% friendliness rate. More than sharing a smile, this hostel is there for all, helping to explore the local area by organising activities for groups, and has become a firm favourite, drawing guests back year after year. Close behind and scooping second and third place is Iceland with Reykjavik Downtown receiving 97% friendliness rating and Reykjavik Loft hostel with 96%.
This hostel not only offers unparalleled sea views of Victoria Harbour, but it allows hostellers to enjoy the panorama at peace with their inner responsible traveller. With a 94% green rating, this hostel is environmentally conscious, inspiring the local community through eco initiatives and raising climate change awareness to protect their beautiful surroundings. Top of the environmentally friendly hostel leader board also are USA’s HI-Martha’s Vineyard and Iceland’s Reykjavik Downtown.
With the best of Iceland’s exciting capital on its doorstep, and the ultimate experience inside the hostel too, hostellers have adorned Iceland with yet another win. This time it comes from Reykjavik Loft with a total rating of 95.3%. From the stylish facilities and friendly people who work there, to great views of the city centre and the unique ability to catch a glimpse of the northern lights from the rooftop in winter, this is a much-deserved award which we are delighted to present. The second best hostel as voted by customers is Iceland’s Reykjavik Downtown and the third, HI-Martha’s Vineyard from the USA.
Best National Association of hostels: Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s hard work towards achieving a high level of customer satisfaction has not only paid off at one of their hostels, but across their four hostels reaching an outstanding 90% overall satisfaction. Customers are not only satisfied, but have given spectacular feedback about Hong Kong YHA’s ability to go the extra mile and make sure guests have an exceptional hostelling experience, across the region. The Czech Republic (12 hostels) and the USA (47 hostels) also exceeded in this category as runners- up.
