Top holiday cities with the dirtiest hotels revealed

Stained bedsheets, grime on the walls and worse, bedbugs - these are probably the top irks of travellers everywhere when staying in hotels.

A new study compiled in Sep 2014 by hotel booking website Hotel.info has surveyed the accommodations around the world and fished out the filthiest cities for an overnight stay, reported British lifestyle site Daily Mail.

Around six million travellers were surveyed and the cities were given a score out of ten for their cleanliness.

The dirtiest hotels ranking was dominated by Western European cities but the top spot was taken by the popular Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro with a score of 7.29.

The city hosted last year's FIFA World Cup and has been ranked one of the top holiday spots for its beaches and Carnival celebrations.

London and Oslo - two of the world's most expensive destinations - came in second and third place respectively.

None of the Asian cities appeared in this list.

Over at the cleaner end of the spectrum, Japan's capital, Tokyo, was named the city with the most spotless hotels.

Asian cities Seoul and Bangkok also made it into the list, coming in at third and ninth place respectively.

The cleanest list featured many hotels in up-and-coming destinations in Eastern Europe such as Warsaw in Poland, Bratislava in Slovakia and Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

If a traveller encounters a dirty room during their holiday, Mr Ralf Priemer from Hotel.info advises to stay polite but firm when speaking to the hotel staff.

Mr Priemer said such shortcomings should be corrected immediately or the guest should be permitted to have another room instead.

If the issue cannot be resolved, he said the guest should take photos of the scene and make a formal complaint by writing to the management.

wjeanne@sph.com.sg