A hostel in Prague has been named the best in Europe, best small hostel and best in the world for solo travellers in Hostelworld’s Hoscars awards. The RoadHouse (from £25.82pp pn), in the city’s old town, was described as the ideal place for sociable backpackers in the awards, which this year includes a new solo category, reflecting a 42% rise in bookings by lone travellers between 2015 and 2017.

Solo travellers praised the Roadhouse’s large shared spaces, group walking tours, organised trips to local festivals and home-from home touches, including Netflix and nightly “family dinners”. A friendly rather than a party hostel, it is the laid-back sister hostel to Prague’s MadHouse.

The Hoscars are based on data from more than 1.2m reviews submitted over the last year, rating over 36,000 properties in 170 countries. The 2019 awards ranks properties in 29 categories, with other new gongs for gap-year travellers and those on career breaks (aged 31-plus).

The new solo travel categories aim to acknowledge hostels that encourage those travelling alone to meet like-minded people. The site’s bookings from solo female travellers increased by 45% last year, with the newly refurbished We Love F Tourists in Lisbon (from £12.37) winning the best hostel for solo female travellers category. It is an affordable hostel, in a safe, central location. Men are also welcome – the F stands for “friendly” and “fun-loving” among other things, the hostel says.

Dorm at We Love F Tourists, Lisbon, which won best hostel for solo female travellers

The highest-rated hostel for male solo travellers is Hostel One Paralelo in Barcelona (from £16.40), which offers free dinners and free parties every night, and was also rated best for career breakers.

Other awards include the best hostels on each continent, in each of the top 50 cities, the best for atmosphere and value for money. Brits continue to favour south-east Asia, voting Cozy Nook Hostel in Da Lat in Vietnam top (from £5.84), followed by Lub D Cambodia in Siem Reap (from £9.37) and Stamps Backpackers in Chang Mai, Thailand (from £7.10).

Poolisde at Lub D Cambodia hostel in Siem Reap

In the UK, Wombats City Hostel in east London (from £25.48), with its vaulted-ceiling bar and all-you-can-eat breakfast, was named top hostel in England; family-run River House in Cardiff (from £20) was top in Wales; rural Skyewalker Hostel on Isle of Skye (from £20) for Scotland; and friendly Global Village hostel in the vibrant Queen’s Quarter of Belfast (from £14.50), topped the Northern Ireland ratings.

“This year’s annual Hoscars mark a momentous 20 years since Hostelworld received its first booking in 1999,” says Hostelworld’s Gary Morrison. “A lot has changed since then, including the quality and variety of hostels … and the ability for backpackers to search, plan and book on the go via our mobile app.”