Putting up a fight: Mr Salmond, pictured at the Ryder Cup handover during the trip, defended its cost . Alex Salmond yesterday dismissed criticism of a taxpayer-funded £51,000 trip to a five-star hotel in America as 'ridiculous frippery'. The Scottish First Minister confirmed that he stayed in the luxury Peninsula Hotel in Chicago during a trip to the Ryder Cup last year. It is one of the of the most exclusive hotels in the city and Mr Salmond has come under-fire for the stay which came during the official handover ceremony of the trophy. Golf fan Mr Salmond and his wife Moira were accompanied by Sports Minister Shona Robison, a team of 12 government officials and 22 workers from publicly funded agencies. But while in Chicago, the SNP leader stayed for a few nights at the luxury hotel, which is popular with Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston and Eva Longoria, while most officials checked in elsewhere. Labour leader Johann Lamont yesterday demanded to know why he had chosen to stay at the £1,205 a night hotel and not the cheaper one with others in the delegation. But Mr Salmond sparked anger when he dismissed the calls as 'ridiculous frippery'. Miss Lamont said: 'The First Minister has to explain where he spent that money, because he should understand in the real world the people of Scotland will be disgusted at how the First Minister treats himself at their expense. 'Can he now have at least the decency of explaining to them how he spent, in just one week, the taxpayers’ money which he still hasn’t accounted for.” But Mr Salmond replied: 'There were, in my memory, 17 people in the Scottish Government delegation. That is the expenditure in terms of the flights and accommodation for 17 people.' 'The visit was not just about the two days of the Ryder Cup. The visit stretched over the range of events in Chicago to attract investment to Scotland. Luxury: The First Minister stayed at the five-star Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, pictured . Pricey: Located in East Superior Street, the hotel features a spa and a swimming pool . 'The investment to Scotland that was announced in that trip was worth tens of millions of pounds and brought jobs to many areas of Scotland. 'All that justifies a substantial effort to promote this country and this ridiculous frippery we get from Johann Lamont'. The First Minister and his entourage spent almost half-a-million pounds of taxpayers’ money to go to the Ryder Cup. The £468,581 ‘Team Scotland’ bill included £80,264 on accommodation and £54,192 for flights. The true cost to taxpayers will be even higher, as Perth and Kinross Council and Tayside Police also sent representatives to Chicago. The week-long trip in September was to celebrate the hand-over of the Ryder Cup to Scotland, which is hosting the event at Gleneagles in 2014. A breakdown of the bill shows £82,165 was spent on an exhibition stand, office costs reached £20,178 and ‘programme delivery’ spending was £202,600. Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont: 'In just a week he spent more than twice what the average Scot earns in a year'. She added government officials were staying in a different, less opulent hotel . But there remains around £54,000 unaccounted for after VisitScotland revealed its part of the cost in a detailed reply last year. The Scottish Government has yet to publish details of Mr Salmond’s bill and had not confirmed the luxury hotel stay until yesterday. Miss Lamont condemned the Government for having 'failed to account' for more than £50,000 of spending on the Chicago visit, which cost almost £470,000 in total. Stylish: Mr Salmond defended the trip to the hotel, pictured, for the handover of the Ryder Cup . She said the Peninsula Hotel was described as being 'for those who love to spoil themselves with a luxurious five-star experience without losing that comfortable home away from home feeling'. She added: 'For the First Minister to dismiss questions about how he spent £54,000 on a trip to the golf as "ridiculous frippery" shows just how out of touch Alex Salmond is with the real lives of the people of Scotland. 'In just a week he spent more than twice what the average Scot earns in a year. 'He cannot tell us why he chose to stay in a five star luxury hotel at the taxpayers’ expense in Chicago rather than the one Scottish government officials were staying in. 'Alex Salmond cannot account for how thousands of pounds of public money was spent. 'The people of Scotland won’t see asking him to account as "ridiculous frippery" – but they will fear that thousands of their money was spent by Alex Salmond on ridiculous fripperies.' But a spokesman for the First Minister said costs for the delegation made up of the First Minister and 17 others - was around £51,000 for the Chicago visit. He added that included £13,500 for accommodation and £37,500 on travel expenses. The spokesman said: 'There was a Ryder Cup component (to the visit) where they were at the golf itself, but also a very strong business component to the visit. 'There were various business meetings which were held at the Peninsula Hotel and there was a block booking made at the Peninsula in order to get best value for that. 'He stayed there some of the time when he was in Chicago for the business meetings, but when he was attending the golf at the Ryder Cup itself he was staying at a different hotel, which was the same hotel everyone stayed at for the golf at Medina.'
Mr Salmond was at Peninsula Hotel, Chicago, for Ryder Cup handover .
It is popular with Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt and Beyonce .
He stayed at £1,205-a-night hotel while his delegation took cheaper rooms .
Labour: Week-long trip cost more than the average Scot earns in two years .
Putting up a fight: Mr Salmond, pictured at the Ryder Cup handover during the trip, defended its cost . Alex Salmond yesterday dismissed criticism of a taxpayer-funded £51,000 trip to a five-star hotel in America as 'ridiculous frippery'. The Scottish First Minister confirmed that he stayed in the luxury Peninsula Hotel in Chicago during a trip to the Ryder Cup last year. It is one of the of the most exclusive hotels in the city and Mr Salmond has come under-fire for the stay which came during the official handover ceremony of the trophy. Golf fan Mr Salmond and his wife Moira were accompanied by Sports Minister Shona Robison, a team of 12 government officials and 22 workers from publicly funded agencies. But while in Chicago, the SNP leader stayed for a few nights at the luxury hotel, which is popular with Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston and Eva Longoria, while most officials checked in elsewhere. Labour leader Johann Lamont yesterday demanded to know why he had chosen to stay at the £1,205 a night hotel and not the cheaper one with others in the delegation. But Mr Salmond sparked anger when he dismissed the calls as 'ridiculous frippery'. Miss Lamont said: 'The First Minister has to explain where he spent that money, because he should understand in the real world the people of Scotland will be disgusted at how the First Minister treats himself at their expense. 'Can he now have at least the decency of explaining to them how he spent, in just one week, the taxpayers’ money which he still hasn’t accounted for.” But Mr Salmond replied: 'There were, in my memory, 17 people in the Scottish Government delegation. That is the expenditure in terms of the flights and accommodation for 17 people.' 'The visit was not just about the two days of the Ryder Cup. The visit stretched over the range of events in Chicago to attract investment to Scotland. Luxury: The First Minister stayed at the five-star Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, pictured . Pricey: Located in East Superior Street, the hotel features a spa and a swimming pool . 'The investment to Scotland that was announced in that trip was worth tens of millions of pounds and brought jobs to many areas of Scotland. 'All that justifies a substantial effort to promote this country and this ridiculous frippery we get from Johann Lamont'. The First Minister and his entourage spent almost half-a-million pounds of taxpayers’ money to go to the Ryder Cup. The £468,581 ‘Team Scotland’ bill included £80,264 on accommodation and £54,192 for flights. The true cost to taxpayers will be even higher, as Perth and Kinross Council and Tayside Police also sent representatives to Chicago. The week-long trip in September was to celebrate the hand-over of the Ryder Cup to Scotland, which is hosting the event at Gleneagles in 2014. A breakdown of the bill shows £82,165 was spent on an exhibition stand, office costs reached £20,178 and ‘programme delivery’ spending was £202,600. Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont: 'In just a week he spent more than twice what the average Scot earns in a year'. She added government officials were staying in a different, less opulent hotel . But there remains around £54,000 unaccounted for after VisitScotland revealed its part of the cost in a detailed reply last year. The Scottish Government has yet to publish details of Mr Salmond’s bill and had not confirmed the luxury hotel stay until yesterday. Miss Lamont condemned the Government for having 'failed to account' for more than £50,000 of spending on the Chicago visit, which cost almost £470,000 in total. Stylish: Mr Salmond defended the trip to the hotel, pictured, for the handover of the Ryder Cup . She said the Peninsula Hotel was described as being 'for those who love to spoil themselves with a luxurious five-star experience without losing that comfortable home away from home feeling'. She added: 'For the First Minister to dismiss questions about how he spent £54,000 on a trip to the golf as "ridiculous frippery" shows just how out of touch Alex Salmond is with the real lives of the people of Scotland. 'In just a week he spent more than twice what the average Scot earns in a year. 'He cannot tell us why he chose to stay in a five star luxury hotel at the taxpayers’ expense in Chicago rather than the one Scottish government officials were staying in. 'Alex Salmond cannot account for how thousands of pounds of public money was spent. 'The people of Scotland won’t see asking him to account as "ridiculous frippery" – but they will fear that thousands of their money was spent by Alex Salmond on ridiculous fripperies.' But a spokesman for the First Minister said costs for the delegation made up of the First Minister and 17 others - was around £51,000 for the Chicago visit. He added that included £13,500 for accommodation and £37,500 on travel expenses. The spokesman said: 'There was a Ryder Cup component (to the visit) where they were at the golf itself, but also a very strong business component to the visit. 'There were various business meetings which were held at the Peninsula Hotel and there was a block booking made at the Peninsula in order to get best value for that. 'He stayed there some of the time when he was in Chicago for the business meetings, but when he was attending the golf at the Ryder Cup itself he was staying at a different hotel, which was the same hotel everyone stayed at for the golf at Medina.'
Ryder Cup handover during the trip, defended its trophy. Golf fan Mr Salmond and his wife Moira nights at the luxury hotel, which is popular with Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt, Beyonce, the five-star Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, spent more than twice what the average Scot earns same hotel everyone stayed at for the golf at