Minister criticises UK hotels

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Margaret Hodge also told Which? Holiday magazine the facilities at Stonehenge were not befitting a World Heritage Site, and described rush hour on the London Underground as "dreadful".

Hoteliers said the minister's comments did not reflect the hard work and investment being made by the industry to improve standards.

Ms Hodge told the magazine: "I agree that hotels are expensive and I worry about the quality - only half of UK accommodation is kite-marked and has the quality motif (the star rating set up by the VisitBritain organisation and the AA)."

She said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was making great efforts to improve facilities at Stonehenge, which is the subject of a long-running wrangle about how best to develop the site for visitors.

Last December the Tories warned Stonehenge could lose its status as a World Heritage Site if the problem of what to do about the busy A303, which runs nearby, was not solved.

Miles Quest, a spokesman for the British Hospitality Association, which represents 9,000 hotels, said Ms Hodge had failed to recognise the effect of VAT - 17.5% in the UK, compared with 5.5% in France - on hotel prices.

"When she says the quality is not as good, we are building 200 new hotels a year and have been over the last four or five years," he said.

"The industry is making a huge investment in facilities and rooms, and that has been going on for at least the last five years, and is scheduled to go on to 2012 and beyond."