Sleepzone Hostels has confirmed all three of the hostels in the group were included in the Top Ten in Ireland, at the Hostelworld Hoscars event at the Hilton, Dublin.

Hostels from all over the world gathered at the annual two day conference, the highlight of which is the Hoscars award ceremony, where the highest ranking of the 20,000 hostels on Hostelworld.com are announced.

Each hostel in the group featured in the Top Ten in Ireland, with the most recent addition to the group, Sleepzone – The Burren taking the title of fifth in Ireland, Sleepzone Connemara ranking eighth in Ireland and Sleepzone Galway City being named tenth in Ireland.

As a group Sleepzone Hostels were ranked 7th Worldwide.

The awards are based on ratings by guests, who rate each hostel in five categories – character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness – 800,000 voted on the awards this year.

Sleepzone Galway City has received a number of Hoscars since the property opened in 2001 – including Best in Ireland (2006) and 7th Best Worldwide (2004).

Sleepzone Hostels comment that recognition of this kind is particularly important in today’s changing economic times, saying: “These awards recognise that hostels offer an affordable alternative for both the domestic and international markets, at a time when everyone’s travel budgets are threatened.”

Chris O’Toole