Albion have been kicked out of their Cardiff hotel by play-off final rivals Bristol City.

The Seagulls were planning a two-night stay at the luxurious Vale of Glamorgan Hotel Golf and Country Club to prepare for Sunday's big match at the Millennium Stadium.

They made a provisional booking for the hotel, used last week by FA Cup winners Manchester United, and rang to confirm last Friday as soon as they knew they were through to the final, only to find out City had beaten them to it.

An Albion spokesman said: "We were utterly gobsmacked and very angry. Bristol are stopping there because they confirmed their booking first.

"Apparently, the general manager of the hotel is friendly with someone at the club and they have stayed there before, so they booked them in and threw us out.

"The Football League told us the same hotel did the same thing to another club two years ago."

After a frantic search for an alternative Albion are now staying at the five-star St David's Hotel, which has stunning views over Cardiff Bay and was home to FA Cup runners-up Millwall.

St David's is more expensive, £205 per night for a single room, but is not equipped with training facilities like the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Albion spokesman said: "The lads do not need any extra incentive to win on Sunday but this whole incident is bound to fire them up even more."