Most expensive places to book a hotel in the UK revealed

St Andrews, home to one of Britain's oldest university and famed for its gold course, is the most expensive place to book a hotel in Britain, new research has revealed.

Hotels.com's Hotel Price Index found that rooms in the town, where Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge met while studying at the university, were up three per cent from 2013 to 2014 and cost an average of £156 per night, compared to £148 the previous year.

St Andrews beat London to the top spot, where rooms in 2014 cost around £136 per room per night, compared to £133 in 2013.

The Hotel Price Index (HPI) looked at actual prices paid in 2014 by hotel guests in destinations around the world. In the UK, British and international visitors in London spent an extra two per cent for accommodation in the capital, but Bristol recorded the greatest gain of 13 per cent over the year, rising from £78 to £87.

Glasgow, up 12 per cent to £86, recorded the second highest rise, boosted in part by the contribution from the Commonwealth Games held there last summer. Oxford and Durham both saw an 11 per cent increase with hotel prices paid averaging at £127 and £80 respectively.

Leeds benefitted from hosting the opening leg of the Tour de France in July as the average hotel price paid increased eight per cent to £79.

In Scotland, Aberdeen advanced 10 per cent to £118, Dundee was up nine per cent to £90, Perth added eight per cent to £72 and Edinburgh gained two per cent to £106.

While in Wales, both Cardiff on £83 and Swansea on £76 were up eight per cent. In Northern Ireland, Belfast grew six per cent to an average of £81 per room per night, while, after 2013's moment in the spotlight as the first UK City of Culture, Derry/Londonderry was flat on £69.

Places offering the best value include Bradford (£51), Scarborough and Blackpool (£61). The destinations which saw a decrease in prices included holiday favourite the Cotswolds, which fell eight per cent to £87, Jersey (down four per cent to £97) and the Lake District (down two per cent to £86).