Dirtiest Hotels in US revealed

TripAdvisor chose its 2008 worst hotels, selected by members as "beyond scummy," and the Hotel Carter in New York City romped into a resounding first place.

"On inspection the room was dirty, the sheets were not fresh and there was obvious evidence of vermin. It was on entering the bathroom when we decided to leave due to a filthy toilet and a dirty pair of ladies' briefs hanging on the wall," writes one critic.

In its explanation to "save you from hotel hell," TripAdvisor mentioned these as the top ten to avoid:

Carter Hotel - New York
Ramada Niagra Falls - Niagra Falls
Days Inn Vanderbilt / Music Row - Nashville
Red Carpet Inn - Fort Lauderdale
Regency Inn & Suites - New York
St Augustine Beachfront - St Agustine, Florida
Travel Inn Civic / Medical Centre - Miami
Eden Roc Motel - Wildwood, New Jersey
Pacific Sands Motel - Santa Monica, Calafornia
Days Inn Lancaster - Lancaster, Pennsylvania

The 700-room Hotel Carter on West 43^rd street in Times Square earned the No. 1 spot for the third straight year. Guests tell of bedbugs, dodgy bathrooms and even the body of a woman found under one of the beds.

If it's any consolation, the average price of rooms at the Hotel Carter is only $107, a genuine bargain in a city where the average price of a "zero star" hotel is $162, according to the latest research.