Bath hotel rooms 'most expensive'

Bath hotels are more expensive than London's

Hotel rooms in Bath have beaten London as the most expensive in the UK, a new survey suggests.

Hotel rooms in the Somerset town cost an average of £110 a night, compared to £107 in London.

The cost of a hotel room in the UK now averages £98 a night - the highest in Europe, the survey says.

The average cost of a night in a London hotel room rose by more than 20% by the end of 2006, said the survey from a travel website.

Dearer than Rome

The most expensive cities after Bath and London were Edinburgh (£95 per room), Aberdeen (£91) and York (£90).

The cheapest average hotel room prices were to be found in Birmingham (£74 per night), Coventry (£67) and Nottingham (£61).

Hotel prices in Bath and London were more expensive than the average price for rooms in European hotspots such as Rome (£94 per room), Copenhagen (£93) and Amsterdam (£93).

Hotels.com marketing director Patrick Oqvist said: "The UK remained the most expensive country in Europe during 2006, demonstrating the rising popularity of our cities as tourist destinations.

"The fact is that it is easier than ever for overseas travellers to come to the UK, with falling costs of air and rail travel undoubtedly having an impact."

Holidaymakers were urged to shop around before booking a room, because bargains could be found through the major hotel chains, he said.