In the middle, we see info about the property and some of the things they offer. Right off the bat I notice “The Yellow was voted the #1 hostel in Rome”.
This, of course, grabs my attention. This hostel is already looking like a winner.
On the right, we can see all the reviews by people who have stayed at this hostel. The next thing I look for is how many people have reviewed this hostel.
The fact that The Yellow has 9,693 reviews and still has an 86% rating tells me two things.
1- This hostel is extremely popular. Meaning it will be busy and a great way to meet people.
2- It has almost 10,000 reviews and is still in the high 80’s. Meaning that chances are this hostel is fantastic.
Looking at the number of reviews is key. Sometimes you have hostels with a 95% but only a couple reviews. This is not enough information to tell you if the hostel is great.
As a general rule I think anything over 75% is acceptable, anything in the 80’s is good, and anything above 90% is excellent.
An 86% with 9,693 reviews – I would say is superb.
The next three things I look at our atmosphere, location, and security. These are personal preferences as they are the most important things to me. They all have ratings in the high 80’s. This hostel is looking better and better.
Now you might be asking yourself, “What about price?”.
There is a good reason why I didn’t mention the price before.
I want a central location.
There is no point paying for a cheap dorm that is miles away from the heart of the city.
Yes, hostels tend to drop in price the farther you go from the city center, but chances are you will spend more money traveling into the city than you would have by staying there.
Also, you are wasting valuable time traveling on buses getting back and forth.
Going deeper into the reviews you can see what people liked and disliked about staying at the hostel.
The Yellow is one of my favorite hostels in the world. Personally I think the rating should be much higher than an 86%.
I hope this travel resource answers the question, “What is a hostel?” as well as provide you with a couple tips on how to pick a choose a good one while backpacking around the world.
Have you stayed in a hostel? What is your favorite hostel from your travels?
Check out hostelworld to book your hostels.