01/07/09, 23:04:34 UTC

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Hotels' high prices 'damage British tourist industry'

yorkshirepost.co.uk

SOARING hotel prices are damaging the British tourist industry, according to experts.

Editors of the latest annual Good Hotel Guide said the high level of prices – the most expensive in Europe – means "a visitor cannot afford to make a mistake" in his choice of hotel.

Prices are now so high that the guide has reluctantly had to drop its budget hotel label and introduce a "value" category instead.

Editors Desmond Balmer and Adam Raphael also noted the number of hotels that fail to welcome children, the playing of "hated" muzak and examples of unhelpful staff.

They said: "Our readers often comment on how much more expensive it is to stay in Britain than in continental Europe. This is backed by the guide's experience.

"The average cost to us of an anonymous overnight inspection of a hotel, including dinner for two with wine as well as bed and breakfast, was close to £200."

The editors also said too many British hotels continued to treat children as second-class citizens, with 25 per cent having some form of age restriction on them.

They said: "It is sad that we find it easier to compile a list of dog-friendly hotels than to identify places which make a point of welcoming children."

The guide describes muzak as a curse, saying many readers, includ-ing musicians, hate it in hotels.

Others complained of poor welcomes, with one 86-year-old woman being left to carry her cases upstairs, through stiff fire doors and along narrow corridors.

A poor welcome and also un-helpfulness encountered when telephoning to make a reservation were among the most frequent complaints by guide correspondents, the editors said.

The 10 establishments featured in the 2008 guide's Cesar awards, named after hotelier Cesar Ritz, include Hipping Hall in Cowan Bridge, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales between Kirkby Lonsdale and Ingleton; The Capital in Knightsbridge, London; and the Lord Poulett Arms at Hinton St George, Somerset.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 01, 2007