After hearing that Hostelworld had recently updated their Anroid app, and having conveniently just purchased a new Android phone, I was keen to check it out. I’ve been a Hostelworld customer for 3 years and used them countless times to book accommodation during my RTW trip. I used to use the iPhone app to look up reviews and prices of prospective hostels on our upcoming itinerary and I was interested to see how this new Android app fared against the old one I’d used previously.
Firstly, the imagery on this app is great. The start screen, the search results lists and each hostel listing have large, colourful images of each of the properties, making it really easy to see whether you like the look of it from first glance. Once you click through to a chosen hostel, you can then swipe through further images and lists of facilities, see a large on-screen map which gives directions and plots the location of each hostel in your search listings, as well as quickly scan through reviews and prices.
Once you’ve found a hostel you like the look of, you can share your results on social media (because who doesn’t like a little humblebrag every now and then?) and there are still the functions you can use on the desktop version of the site, such as filtering the results by price and type of property.
The best thing about the app for me is the option to search your current location for available properties. As Scott and I always switch up our plans at the last minute and sometimes stay longer in one destination than planned, we sometimes find ourselves needing alternative accommodation. This is a good feature for us because we could quickly search for another hostel to move to that isn’t too far away and book it there and then.
Most importantly, the app is FREE (I *hate* paying for apps as you never really know if you’re going to like them until you’ve played around with them) and can be downloaded from the Google Play store. I’d definitely recommend downloading it and having a play. Even if you’re not a hostel person, you can also search for apartments and B&Bs in your chosen area, so there really is something for everyone.
This review was brought to you by Hostelworld but written by me and, as always, all opinions are my own.
Leave a Reply