Hilton Hotels lose five-star rating

A shopper is reflected on the front door of the Sydney Hilton Hotel. Picture / Reuters

SYDNEY - The Hilton hotels in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Cairns have lost their coveted five-star ratings.

Failing to make the grade on things like decor, maintenance and external appearance, they've been downgraded to 4.5 star status, The Australian Financial Review reports today.

The move has triggered a stoush between the luxury hotel chain and the country's only star-rating agency, AAA Tourism, the paper says.

A Hilton Hotel spokesman said the chain did not acknowledge AAA Tourism.

"What we do instead is Hilton sets global brand standards that it works to in over 80 countries in the world," he said.

"These standards go into far more detail on the entire guest experience."

AAA Tourism chief executive Jeff Floyd said Hilton had been a member of Australia's star rating scheme for a long time and was only now withdrawing the properties that did not meet five-star standards.

But The Australian Hotels Association (AHA), Australia's peak hotel body, says it also is reluctant to support star rating systems.

"We are concerned with the nature of the assessment process," said the AHA's national affairs manager, Bill Healey.

"Quite often it's based on the quality of the infrastructure and doesn't take appropriate account of the quality and breadth of services available."

- AAP