Which Cities Have The Cleanest And Dirtiest Hotels?

Cleanliness is often a key factor when choosing a hotel. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, most of us would prefer not to stay in dirty or unhygienic accommodation.

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Review sites are commonly used by travelers when determining which hotels are clean and which are dirty. If analyzed correctly, online reviews can also reveal which cities have the cleanest and dirtiest hotels on average.

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To get a clear picture of which cities have the cleanest and dirtiest hotels, we analyzed the cleanliness ratings on over 18 million reviews (on sites such as TripAdvisor) across 20,000 properties in the world’s top 100 city destinations.

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Key Findings

• Hotels in Palma de Mallorca are the cleanest, while hotels in Johor Bahru have the lowest average cleanliness scores, according to reviewers.
• 5-star hotels in Vancouver, Vienna, Heraklion, and Tallinn are the cleanest overall, with reviewers giving them an average 4.9-star rating.
• In Tbilisi, 5-star hotels are rated lower for cleanliness than non-5-star hotels. This is the only city where luxury 5-star hotels are rated as less clean than 4-star or lower hotels.
• In the US, Washington DC hotels are rated the cleanest, while those in Las Vegas are rated the filthiest. 

Which cities are the cleanest destinations?

The latest American Hotel & Lodging Association 2025 report revealed that cleanliness remains a core aspect of people’s travel decisions, with many using cleanliness ratings to choose their hotels and to motivate their reviews after their stay. 

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By reviewing and analyzing cleanliness ratings on review platforms, we found that Palma de Mallorca has the world's cleanest hotels. On average, hotels in the Balearic Islands' capital are rated 4.54 out of 5 for cleanliness by guests.

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Tbilisi has the second-cleanest hotels, according to guest reviews. Our analysis shows that the average hotel in Georgia's capital city is rated 4.52 out of 5 for cleanliness. 

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In joint third place, hotels in Tel Aviv and Washington, DC are both rated 4.51 out of 5 for cleanliness in our analysis. Vilnius, Lithuania, has the fifth-cleanest hotels in the world, with guest reviews giving them an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.

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Hanoi, Marrakech, Porto, and New York City are all joint sixth in the rankings, each rated 4.49 out of 5 stars for cleanliness in their hotel rooms. Rounding out the top 10, Abu Dhabi and Dublin are joint tenth, with cleanliness ratings averaging 4.48 out of 5.

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Cities with the dirtiest hotels

Among the top 100 Euromonitor destinations we analyzed, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, has the worst-rated hotels for cleanliness. On average, hotels in Johor Bahru received reviews, rating them 3.7 out of 5 for cleanliness; more than half a review point below the average score in the study (4.29).

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Hotels in Honolulu, Guangzhou, and Pattaya-Chonburi are the next-lowest-rated, with an average rating of just 4.03 points in consumer reviews. Delhi, Cairo, Sharjah, and Kuala Lumpur come 93rd in the rankings, with hotels in the cities typically rated 4.05 out of 5 for cleanliness. 

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Marne-La-Vallée (4.06), along with Jerusalem and Medina (both 4.08), round off the 10 dirtiest destinations in our analysis. 

Does a luxury hotel equal cleanliness?

Overall, our review analysis found that hotels typically score 4.29 out of 5; however, the ratings between luxury (five-star) and non-luxury (four-star or lower) differ by almost half a score point (0.4).

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On average, 5-star hotels in the study were rated 4.67 out of 5 for cleanliness, while those rated 4-star or less were rated 4.23 out of 5. But that doesn’t tell the full story.

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While the typical hotel in Sharjah ranks 93rd in hotel cleanliness reviews, our analysis found that luxury hotels in the United Arab Emirates city are rated almost a full point higher than their non-luxury counterparts. On average, 5-star hotels in Sharjah are rated 4.78 out of 5 for cleanliness, while 4-star hotels or lower score just 3.75 out of 5.

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Hotels in Doha and Pattaya-Chonburi have the next largest difference between “luxury” and “non-luxury” hotel cleanliness (0.7). On average, 5-star hotels in Doha score cleanliness reviews of 4.76, while their “non-luxury” counterparts are rated 4.06 out of 5 for cleanliness by guests.

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Similarly, 5-star hotels in Pattaya-Chonburi are rated 4.68 for cleanliness by guests, while “non-luxury” hotels in the city are rated just 3.98 out of 5. 

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In 99 out of 100 destinations, booking a 5-star hotel is likely to be cleaner than a non-5-star hotel. However, our analysis shows that in Tbilisi, “luxury” hotels don’t necessarily live up to the name. On average, 5-star hotels in the Georgian capital are rated 4.4 out of 5 for cleanliness, while 4-star hotels or lower score cleanliness at 4.52 out of 5.

Cities with the cleanest 5-star hotels

As part of our analysis, we looked at the cleanliness scores given to 5-star “luxury” hotels, to help identify where they are the cleanest and whether paying for the extra star is worth it.

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On average, 5-star hotels in Vienna and Vancouver are the highest-rated in the analysis of guest reviews. Both cities have a joint cleanliness average rating of 4.87 among their luxury hotels, while 5-star hotels in Heraklion (3rd place) score an average of 4.86 out of 5 for cleanliness.

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“Luxury” hotels in Tallinn and Los Angeles round off the city destinations with the cleanest 5-star hotels. 5-star hotels in Tallinn are rated 4.85 by guests, while those visiting Los Angeles rate 5-star hotels at 4.85 for cleanliness. 

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Cities with the cleanest 5-star hotels according to guests

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At the other end of the scale, 5-star hotels in the city destination of Medina are rated just 4.13 out of 5 by guests, making Medina the city with the lowest-rated 5-star hotels in the study. 

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5-star hotels in Antalya are the second most disappointing for guests, earning an average cleanliness rating of just 4.37 out of 5. 

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Honolulu and Tbilisi have the joint 3rd-lowest-performing 5-star hotels for cleanliness, rated just 4.4 out of 5 by guests, while visitors to Jerusalem (4.43) and Mecca (4.44) rank them the 5th and 6th most disappointing for cleanliness.

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Cities with the dirtiest 5-star hotels according to guests

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Cities where non-luxury hotels are the cleanest

For many, the cost of a 5-star luxury hotel can feel excessive. For a clean 4-star or less option, travelers should look to Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, and Palma de Mallorca.

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Our analysis found that hotels rated 4-star or lower in Tbilisi are the cleanest, based on guest reviews. On average, non-5-star hotels in Tbilisi are rated 4.52 out of five for their cleanliness. 

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Tel Aviv ranks second-best for clean, non-5-star hotels, with the average 4-star or lower hotel rated 4.51 out of 5 for cleanliness. 

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Already rated the cleanest on average, Palma de Mallorca has the third-cleanest non-5-star hotels in the world, with guests rating the city's non-luxury hotels 4.48 out of 5 for cleanliness. 

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Rounding off the city destinations with the cleanest 4-star or lower hotels are Vilnius and Washington DC (joint fourth), followed by Hanoi and Marrakech (joint sixth), and Dublin, Kyoto, and New York City (joint eighth).

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Cities with the cleanest non-5* hotels according to guests

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Cities with the dirtiest non-luxury hotels

At the other end of the spectrum, we found that non-luxury hotels in Johor Bahru are rated just 3.7 out of 5 for cleanliness by reviewers and guests. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, non-5-star hotels earn an average cleanliness review score of 3.74 out of 5.

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Cairo has the third-least clean “non-luxury” hotels, with hotels rated 4-star or lower earning a cleanliness rating of just 3.87 from guests. 

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Rounding off cities with the ‘least clean’ non-luxury hotels are Guangzhou and Kuala Lumpur (joint fourth), Cancún (sixth), Sharjah (seventh), Pattaya-Chonburi (eighth), Delhi (ninth), and Beijing (tenth).

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Cities with the lowest cleanliness ratings for non-5-star hotels, according to guests

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Full Data Table

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Methodology

To review the cleanliness of hotels in the 100 most popular destinations (according to Euromonitor), we analyzed publicly shared review data, examining the average ratings given by guests to properties overall, as well as the cleanliness scores and ratings in people’s reviews.

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Our analysis used figures from over 18 million reviews across 20,000 properties. To better understand people’s reviews and how figures differ across hotels' service levels, we split the data into 5-star (luxury) and 4-star or lower (non-luxury) groups. This allowed us to see in which cities 5-star service translates to 5-star hygiene, and in which cities non-5-star hotels offer the best value in terms of cleanliness.

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