KEY POINTS:
While sleep may have become an exorbitantly expensive commodity at Britain's hotels, an industry body in New Zealand is trumpeting prices here as "exceptionally low" by international standards.
A standard double room at a former hospital in London was selling this month for $1413 a night - excluding breakfast.
The building overlooking Hyde Park is now the Lanesborough Hotel, and is one of the priciest places to stay in Western Europe's most expensive capital.
The annual Hotel Price Index from the online agency hotels.com surveyed 20,000 hotels in 1,000 European locations.
It found the average nightly room rate in London during the last quarter of 2006 was $296.
That compared to Britain's national average of $271.
Last year the average cost of a hotel room in New Zealand was $153 a night, according to the chief executive of the NZ Hotel Council, Mark Oldershaw.
That was an increase of just $2.94 on the previous year's rate.
Auckland's average room rate of $157 was below that of Wellington's $164.
Higher demand drove higher prices, Mr Oldershaw said, but despite the large influx of international visitors to New Zealand over recent years, the hotel industry remained "static".
Hotels.com marketing director Patrick Oqvist said his organisation's survey demonstrated "the rising popularity of [the United Kingdom's] cities as tourist destinations".
The UK remained the most expensive country in Europe and its growing attraction was partly due to its emergence as the hub of the low-cost aviation industry.
A double room tops $1106 on Park Lane at the Four Seasons and the London Hilton. The Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge was this month quoting walk-up customers a rate of $1134 - still $279 lower than its near neighbour, The Lanesborough.
A double room in the centre of Oslo, capital of Europe's richest country Norway, sets couples back $235.
Paris, characterised by a shortage of beds, is the most expensive Continental capital with an average nightly rate of $265.
Just behind Paris is Edinburgh, where the average guest paid $263 for a double room.
The world's biggest spenders, in terms at least of hotels, are now the Russians. The average rate paid at city hotels worldwide by Russian citizens is $293.
The British and the Irish pay an average of $241 for a double room. The global bargain-hunters are the Germans, who manage to pay an average of just $202.
Budget travellers should steer clear of Moscow. An average double room costs $476, with the new Ritz-Carlton quoting a "rack rate" of $1355.
In second place is New York, at $429. Dubai's shortage of hotel rooms is reflected in a nightly average rate of $343.
The world's cheapest city for classy hotels is Bangkok, at $122 a night.
In Auckland, the full rate for a five star indulgence suite at the Langham Hotel on Symonds St sits at $700, though large discounts on "special" packages are available on weekends.
If you're feeling wildly extravagant, however, you could book the "Ultimate Langham Experience" for $6637.50 a night.
Not only will you get to stay in the Royal Suite but you'll have 24-hour access to a limousine and driver. The room comes complete with butler service, champagne - and a checkout time of 6pm.
