European city hotel prices soar in April

(AFP PHOTO/ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT)

The average price of a hotel room in Europe has reached its highest point since October 2009, according to figures from hotel comparison site Trivago.

A standard double room for the night will set travellers in Europe back by €121 in April as the spring travel period gets underway, with some cities seeing particularly strong jumps, said Trivago.

This makes it a particularly bad time to take a city break in some places - Seville prices are up a whopping 38 percent (€129), Venice is up 29 percent (€217) and Istanbul and Amsterdam both rose by 27 percent (€144 and €176 respectively).

Several other key city break destinations also saw significant price hikes, including Nice, up 25 percent to €114, Cannes, up 21 percent to €125 and Lisbon and Bruges, up 20 percent to €108 and €148 respectively.

Although fans of the Cote d'Azur are likely to be disappointed by this price surge, other beaches offer some better deals, said Trivago.

Popular holiday destinations in Majorca such as Alcudia and Cala Ratjada both saw price falls, Lanzarote's Puerto del Carmen is ten percent cheaper and Madeira's Funchal is 14 percent lower than it was a year ago.

A night in Geneva is still Europe's most expensive getaway this month, while Sofia is the cheapest at €75.

Europe's most expensive destinations - April 2011

1. Geneva €232
2. Venice €217
3. London €185
4. Amsterdam €176
5. Rome €173

Data provided by Trivago
http://www.trivago.co.uk