PALM BEACH, Fla. Nov. 17, 2003 Six restaurants and nine hotels have been added to the list of AAA Five Diamond winners for 2004, bringing the total number of Five Diamond properties to 137. There are 82 lodgings and 55 restaurants on this year's list.
The 137 Five Diamond winners total only 0.27 percent of the nearly 50,000 properties evaluated annually by AAA. This elite group will be presented their awards here tonight at The Breakers, an 8-year Five Diamond winner.
"As the industry and guests continue to raise the bar on expectations for these properties, the properties continue to meet the challenge," said Michael Petrone, director, AAA Tourism Information Development. In 2003, AAA instituted new guidelines for lodgings and is currently revising their standards for restaurants.
"The quality of service and facilities is very exacting for this level of achievement," said Petrone. "We are convinced that these properties will exceed guest expectations, otherwise they would not have achieved a Five Diamond rating."
First-time winners on the 2004 list include: two restaurants in Banff, Alberta; a restaurant and a hotel in Las Vegas; and hotels in Nashville and Holetown, Barbados. AAA's Diamond Ratings is the only lodging and restaurant rating system that covers all of North America including Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as Canada and all of the U.S. states.
Three lodgings have distinguished themselves by winning the coveted AAA Five Diamond rating for 28 consecutive years: Marriott's Camelback Inn Resort, Golf Club & Spa, Scottsdale, Ariz.; The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo.; and The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
Two restaurants also have held a Five Diamond rating since the Diamond Rating program was applied to restaurants - 16 years: Le Bec Fin, Philadelphia; and The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room, Washington, Va.
"Important aspects of quality service are consistency and hospitality," said Petrone, "and these five have maintained the Five Diamond level of service excellence longer than other establishments in the industry. That's an amazing achievement."
To be considered for AAA rating and approval, restaurants and lodgings must undergo a thorough inspection by one of AAA's 65 full-time, trained, professional evaluators. Five Diamond establishments go through a more extensive review throughout a series of inspections and final committee review. Approximately 50,000 restaurants and lodgings will be listed in the 2004 TourBook(R) guides and the Online TourBook on www.aaa.com, where the Diamond Ratings are published.
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 or outstanding. The current one- to five-diamond rating system was introduced in 1977 and continues to be recognized as the trusted leader of quality ratings for North American restaurants and lodgings.
2004 AAA FIVE DIAMOND RESTAURANTS
UNITED STATES
ARIZONA
SCOTTSDALE
Marquesa (in The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess) - 13
Mary Elaine's (in The Phoenician) - 5
CALIFORNIA
BEVERLY HILLS
The Belvedere (in The Peninsula Beverly Hills) - 9
DANA POINT
The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel - 4
OAKHURST
Erna's Elderberry House Restaurant (in the Chateau du Sureau) - 8
SAN FRANCISCO
Gary Danko - 1
The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco - 8
FLORIDA
AMELIA ISLAND
The Grill Room (at The
Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island) - 10
LAKE BUENA VISTA
Victoria & Albert's (in Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) - 4
MIAMI
Azul (in the Mandarin Oriental, Miami) - 2
NAPLES
The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples - 5
PALM BEACH
L'Escalier (in The Breakers) - 3
The Restaurant at the Four Seasons (in the Four Seasons Resort, Palm
Beach) - 9
GEORGIA
ATLANTA
Seeger's - 3
The Dining Room at The Ritz Carlton, Buckhead - 15
HAWAII
HONOLULU
La Mer (in the Halekulani) - 14
ILLINOIS
CHICAGO
Arun's - 2
Charlie Trotter's - 10
Everest - 8
Seasons Restaurant (in the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago) - 4
Tru - 4
KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE
The Oakroom (in The Seelbach Hilton, Louisville) - 6
MAINE
KENNEBUNK BEACH
The White Barn Inn - 12
MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON
Aujourd'hui (in the Four Seasons Hotel Boston) - 9
L'Espalier - 5
MICHIGAN
GRAND RAPIDS
The 1913 Room (in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel) - 2
NEVADA
LAS VEGAS
Le Cirque (in the Bellagio) - 1
Picasso (in the Bellagio) - 3
Renoir (in The Mirage) - 3
NEW JERSEY
SHORT HILLS
The Dining Room at Short Hills (in the Hilton Short Hills) - 11
NEW YORK
NEW YORK CITY
Alain Ducasse at the Essex House - 3
Atelier (in The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park) - 1
Aureole - 7
Daniel - 5
Jean Georges Restaurant (in the Trump International Hotel & Tower) - 6
Le Cirque 2000 (in The New York Palace) - 7
NORTH CAROLINA
FEARRINGTON VILLAGE
The Fearrington House Restaurant (in The Fearrington House Inn) - 9
PENNSYLVANIA
PHILADELPHIA
Fountain Restaurant (in the Four Seasons Hotel, Philadelphia) - 10
Le Bec-Fin - 16
SOUTH CAROLINA
SUMMERVILLE
The Dining Room at Woodlands (in the Woodlands Resort & Inn) - 8
TEXAS
DALLAS
The French Room (in The Adolphus) - 15
The Mansion on Turtle Creek Restaurant (in The Mansion on Turtle
Creek) - 15
VIRGINIA
MCLEAN
Maestro (in The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner) - 1
RICHMOND
Lemaire (in The Jefferson Hotel) - 9
WASHINGTON
The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room (in The Inn at Little
Washington) - 16
WASHINGTON
WOODINVILLE
The Herbfarm Restaurant - 2
CANADA
ALBERTA
BANFF
Eden (in the Rimrock Resort Hotel) - 1
The Banffshire Club (in the Fairmont Banff Springs) - 1
BRITISH COLUMBIA
VANCOUVER
Five Sails Restaurant (in the Pan Pacific Vancouver) - 9
ONTARIO
TORONTO
Truffles (in the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto) - 10
QUEBEC
HULL
Le Baccara - 4
MONTREAL
Nuances - 4
NORTH HATLEY
Auberge Hatley Inn - 4
MEXICO
DISTRITO FEDERAL
MEXICO CITY
El Restaurante (in the Four Seasons Hotel Mexico D.F.) - 4
QUINTANA ROO
CANCUN
The Club Grill (in The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun) - 6
Numbers indicate consecutive years as a AAA Five Diamond Award winner.
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