ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2001--A record 120 lodgings and restaurants have earned AAA's prestigious Five Diamond Award for 2002, including four new California establishments bringing that state's total to 16.
Each of these winners represents the ultimate in world-class service and facilities, said Michael Petrone, director, AAA Tourism Information Development. That means their customers can and should expect an extraordinary experience.
Sixty-nine lodgings and 51 restaurants made the list that includes 12 new lodgings and six new restaurants.
The increase in the number of Five Diamond properties is a reflection of the prosperous economy of the past several years, said Petrone. There are more luxury properties throughout North America now than ever before.
California has the most Five Diamond lodgings with 11, followed by Florida and Mexico with five each. California added three Five Diamond lodgings this year: Raffles L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, and The Beverly Hills Hotel, both in Beverly Hills; and Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles.
Also new to the list of Five Diamond lodgings are: Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, Scottsdale, Ariz.; The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC; The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club, St. Simons Island, Ga.; The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans; Bellagio, Las Vegas; The St. Regis, Houston; Las Ventanas al Paraiso, San Jose del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico; Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Jal., Mexico; and The Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall, M.B., Jamaica.
Las Vegas joins the list of cities with Five Diamond restaurants for the first time with Picasso, in Bellagio, and Renoir, in The Mirage.
Other new restaurants are: Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, New York; Charles Nob Hill, San Francisco; L'Escalier at The Florentine Room, Palm Beach, Fla.; and Seeger's, Atlanta.
Illinois and New York lead the list of states that have Five Diamond restaurants with six while Florida and California each have five.
Five lodgings have distinguished themselves by earning the elite AAA Five Diamond rating for 26 consecutive years: Marriott's Camelback Inn Resort, Golf Club & Spa, Scottsdale, Ariz.; The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo.; C Lazy U Ranch, Granby, Colo.; The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.; and Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
To be considered for AAA rating and approval, lodgings and restaurants must undergo a thorough evaluation by one of AAA's 65 full-time, trained, professional tourism editors. Five Diamond establishments go through a more extensive review. More than 41,000 lodgings and restaurants will be listed in the 2002 AAA TourBook(R) guides, and less than one-half percent receive a AAA Five Diamond rating.
AAA first started listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900s. In 1937, the first field inspectors were hired to inspect hotels, motels and restaurants. In 1963, AAA began to rate all accommodations as good, very good, excellent and outstanding. The current one- to five-diamond rating system was introduced in 1977 for lodgings and 1989 for restaurants and continues to be the recognized language of quality for North American lodgings and restaurants.
For a complete listing of the AAA Five Diamond winners go to the AAA NewsRoom http://www.aaa.com/news and click on the diamond button.
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