Australians have notoriously itchy feet – travel seems to be in the DNA – but they also have a sharp eye for a well-priced hotel room, as hotels.com’s recently released Hotel Price Index reveals.

The index benchmarks what accommodation $150 will buy for two guests in destinations across the world, based on bookings across 90 hotels.com websites.

Of Australians’ 100 favourite destinations in 2017, the top five were all in Asia – where you could bunk down in considerably more style than for the same price in Europe or the US (or in most of Australia, for that matter).

The five-star option

In fact, you could have been living the high life in a five-star hotel with all the trimmings (swish foyer, luxury bathroom, pool service – yes, please) for $150 or less in Bangkok or Phuket (the Grand Mercure in Phuket, is one example) in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, or Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Or Christchurch in New Zealand, if you really wanted to kick your heels up.

To be honest, though, the options for five-star hotels at this price point are relatively limited.

Holiday in five-star style on a budget at the Grand Mercure in Phuket.

The four-star getaway

If you were willing to downgrade to a four-star hotel – hardly a burden if you’re on holidays – you could have laid your travel-weary head down in one of more than 30 destinations around the world for $150 or less (though you wouldn’t have seen much change from your money).

Most of these four-star bargains were in Asia, with a swag of swish hotel addresses from Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An (all in Vietnam) to Beijing and Shanghai in China, Manila in the Philippines or Mumbai in India.

Aussies’ international beach destination of choice, Bali, had plenty of four-star offerings. They even included some in the ever-more expensive hipster haven of Seminyak, such as Sense Hotel.

Four-star style at Sense Hotel in glitzy Seminyak.

Another fave beach retreat for Aussie holidaymakers, Fiji – which is not known for being especially cheap – had four-star options in Nadi.

Europe also catered to penny-pinching four-star clients, including in one of the new must-see spots on the tourist trail, Budapest in Hungary.

Such is the demand for hotel rooms in Budapest that the average price rose by a massive 23 per cent from 2016 to 2017. However, it was possible to find stylish four-star accommodation for $150 or less (such as the Mercure City Centre) – but you’d better hurry if you’re planning to go.

In the Turkish city of Istanbul, hotel prices dropped, so visitors could get the most from their dollars and retreat to a four-star hotel after exploring the Bosphorus and the Grand Bazaar.

For those who chose to go a little further off-grid, South America (although considerably lower on the Top 100 favourite destinations, also offered four-star accommodation in this price range. There was the chance to dance the night away in Buenos Aires, or enjoying stunning Santiago in Chile before holing up in your four-star hotel.

Mercure has another winner in the four-star Budapest City Centre.

The three-star savers

According to hotels.com, the world was increasingly your oyster if you were happy with a three-star hotel.

You could have stopped off in the expensive Asian hotspots of Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo. In Europe, you could also have explored Madrid, Berlin, Vienna, or even Stockholm in notoriously expensive Sweden.

Stars aren’t everything

Travellers who hoped to hit London – one of Australia’s most-loved destinations – had to batten down the hatches and lower expectations a little in the less-than-$150 range, with the money covering a two-star hotel.

Remember, star ratings vary and are quite different in Europe, so a two-star can mean charm and quirkiness – but also usually means a tiny room and a wonky lift.

For those considering visits to New York, Paris or Rome, the HPI showed that $150 covered accommodation with merely a single star. You’d better think about Asia, or start saving now.