THE Hilton hotels in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Cairns have lost their coveted five-star ratings.

Failing to make the grade on things like decor, maintenance and external appearance, they have been downgraded to 4.5 star status.

The move has triggered a stoush between the luxury hotel chain and the country's only star-rating agency, AAA Tourism, the paper says.

A Hilton Hotel spokesman said the chain did not acknowledge AAA Tourism.

"What we do instead is Hilton sets global brand standards that it works to in over 80 countries in the world," he said.