Hostelworld

Very user friendly with comprehensive listings

The hostelworld website is well set out with prices, availability and reviews of all listed hostels easily viewable. Booking is quick and easy to process, confirmation emails are sent straight away, once the booking is done and hostels always have records of your booking upon arrival. A possible improvement could be a more definitive labeling of the type of hostel beyond just "good for" (i.e. as a "party" or "quiet" hostel with some basic description of the type of stay you would expect on all listings) as reviews and ratings can be very misleading for someone looking for a quieter or more homely stay (a hostel could potentially have 600 high rated reviews by energetic party-goers) yet be a nightmare stay for someone not looking for that sort of atmosphere.