A new study by ebookers.com, the European online travel specialist, has found British hotels need to clean up their act.

To help promote this campaign, ebookers is launching a new competition in which you could become a Hotel inspector. The report found that everything from beds to air conditioning, cleanliness to staff approachability all made up the overall hotel experience, which was topped by US hotels, with Spain, France and Greece coming in at the bottom.

Steven Rice, ebookers Head of Offline Marketing in the UK, France and Ireland said:”Choosing the right hotel can be a stressful task and our search for the ebookers’ Hotel Inspector aims to take some of the stress out of the decision-making process, by producing high quality reviews for our customers”. The competition is open to all UK residents, and all you need to do to enter is send an email to ebookershotelinspector@redconsultancy.com by Friday 23rd July including a recent photo and 250 words on where you believe you’d find the best hotel, what you think makes a hotel experience great and why ebookers should choose you.

“This is a great opportunity for one lucky person to travel the World to locate the ultimate hotel, sharing their personal tips and experiences to our customers along the way. We’re looking for people with a passion for travel to help uncover the best hotels on offer and if you think you’ve got what it takes to become ebookers Hotel Inspector we encourage you to get in touch,” said Rice.

Katie Price, Cheryl Cole, and Lindsay Lohan are off the tanning chart, literally. The trio of stunners has been named as just some of the many celebrities who have used fake tanning services, with the results occasionally being a disaster.

The new Debenhams ‘Tan Tone Colour chart’, which looks remarkably like a painting colour guide, has been put together to help those addicted to getting some colour avoid ending up either florescent of overly coloured, which the likes of Cole, Price and Lohan can all admit to. Other notable celebrity tanners include Alex Reid, Dale Winton and wrestler Hulk Hogan.

The Beauty Halls of the leading high street retailer have recently been revamped to match the change of season, and welcome a new round of tanners while providing them with the best solutions to they’re pale pores. Now customers can identify where they place on the tanning chart, which ranges from ‘pale and interesting’ up to ‘radioactive orange’, with Alex Reid’s latest effort a good example of the latter, while Nicola Roberts has been suggested as typifying the former.

Director of Beauty at Debenhams, Sara Stern, claimed this summer was all about looking bronzed, but that research by her team had found that a high 70 per cent of DIY tanners get it wrong. Unsurprisingly, says Stern, the three major sins committed were using too much product, choosing the wrong tone for their skin and applying to frequently.

The lead up to the so far blessedly pleasant British summer saw Debenhams fake tan sales soar by around 64 per cent, as people rushed to give themselves a base tan to go on holiday with, in keeping with the historical irony of the trend for using tanning products when the sun comes out.

The most popular brands of fake tanning products are Clarins, Lancaster Sun, St Tropez, Fake Bake, Xen Tan and Famous Dave’s. Stern also said that they had started stocking tan remover from St Tropez, making the analogy with a paint shop even more poignant.

‘The Body’ Elle Macpherson has caused a furore after posting online claims she used a globally banned product.

The supermodel has sparked outrage after revealing that she uses the Chinese-based medicinal therapy of powdered rhinoceros horn in her beauty treatments.

She was in the process of conducting an online interview with leading British newspaper The Times Online, when she apparently condoned the use of the powdered product made from the endangered species to the interviewer, claiming via her Twitter link-up that simply put, the product worked for her. Macpherson compounded matters by going on to describe in detail the rhino horn taste, suggesting it resembled a mix of fungus and crushed bone in capsule form, before adding that it does a good job. Exactly what crushed bone and fungus actually does a good job of doing was not specified.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare was quick to react to the incident, claiming they have prepared an information brochure for Macpherson which they will be sending in order to educate her on both the use of traditional alternative medicines and also the plight of the rhino, stating that her comments were frankly shocking. They added that not only was the practice of using endangered animal products inexcusable, it was technically illegal. Spokeswoman Erica Martin lamented the notion that Macpherson’s long run of successful careers and businesses, and generally a well-respected image, had meant that the public were impressionable to her comments and listened to whatever she had to say.

Yet another fashion designed has caused public indignation following an insulting outburst.

Proving the old adage that fashion designers are often better seen than heard, controversial Welsh designer Julien MacDonald has spoken out against plus-sized catwalk models, labelling them a ‘joke’.

MacDonald’s comments have already sparked condemnation from health groups, with the Welsh Assembly’s Cross-Party Group on Eating Disorders Bethan Jenkins saying Macdonald’s statements were particularly damaging to young women with eating disorders who looked up to models and tried to emulate them, placing undue stress on impressionable youngsters.

MacDonald, who is due to appear alongside host Elle MacPherson in the new series of Britain’s Next Top Model, said that the lack of full-figure models on the TV show was understandable, and that it would be inconceivable that a plus-sized girl could win the competition. He bluntly added that a size 14 in the dressing rooms was clearly on the wrong show, and that they would only be setting themselves up for failure. His comments came as he was trying to hype the show, which is due to premier soon, and certainly has drawn attention to the series.

MacDonald claimed the show was ‘serious’, and that it would be turned into a farce should larger women be allowed to compete, despite the curvaceous Whitney Thompson taking out first prize in the Tyra Banks-hosted American version of the same show. MacDonald has made it clear that the UK edition would have no such plans, while at the same time making it clear that this year’s entrants would be likely to suffer public humiliation during the show. This from the rather short man who once wanted Amy Winehouse as his model.

The trend of retailers selling high-heels to young girls has parenting groups concerned that children are being sexualised prematurely.

The trend, which can be traced back to the three-year-old daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise – Suri – has seen high street shops target the new audience, after Suri has been photographed regularly sporting sparkled heels. Next, GapKids and Asda are all among the major retailers to offer heels for tots.

However, some parent’s groups have declared that some of the footwear on sale was more appropriate for a lap-dancing setting rather than the kindergarten, leading them to claim that such items prematurely sexualise young children. Retailers are being encouraged to take a closer look at what they are offering and ask themselves – is it really appropriate?

Tesco has also come under fire for selling a school shoe with a two-inch heel, which can be detrimental to the growth of a young child whose feet are still developing. While it is accepted than children mimic adults, the fear is that they may be growing up too fast too soon, according to the group mumsnet, which has launched a campaign – Let Girls Be Girls – to get retailers to sign a new code of practice agreeing not to prematurely sexualise young kids.

Fellow parenting group Netmums also suggested that putting a three-year-old into heels is a recipe for disaster, with young girls likely to topple over and cause themselves an injury. Podiatrists have roundly denounced the practice of children in heels, claiming that anything over 2cm may affect growth and development.