AAA Announces 1998 Five Diamond Award Award Winners
10 November 1997
Historic B&B, Puerto Rican Resort Among 8 Newcomers To 1998 AAA Five Diamond AwardsPALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 10 -- The 1998 lineup of AAA Five Diamond winners includes two firsts in the association's long history of rating establishments -- a historic bed & breakfast and a world-class resort hotel in Puerto Rico. The Simpson House Inn in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Las Casitas Village in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, join four other lodgings and two new restaurants as newcomers to the AAA Five Diamond Awards. New York City's Aureole and LeCirque 2000 are this year's new restaurant recipients, bringing The Big Apple's AAA Five Diamond total to six restaurants and three hotels. The 1998 winner's circle features a total of 57 lodgings and 40 restaurants. The awards will be presented tonight during ceremonies at The Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach. "AAA Five Diamond winners represent the ultimate in world-class service and facilities," said Alan Borne, managing director, AAA Publishing. "Think of the very best, raise the bar a notch or two, and there's where you'll find these crown jewels," Borne said. In addition to the Simpson House Inn and Las Casitas Village, newcomers to the 1998 Five Diamond lodging program are: The Inn at National Hall, Westport, Conn.; Ihilani Resort & Spa, Kapolei, Hawaii; The New York Palace, New York, NY; and the Woodlands Resort & Inn, Summerville, S.C. Five properties have maintained AAA Five Diamond status since the program's inception in 1977. They are: Marriott's Camelback Inn, 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, Vancouver, B.C. All AAA-approved lodgings and restaurants undergo a thorough annual inspection by a team of 60 full-time professionals. Five Diamond establishments go through a more extensive review. Of the more than 34,000 lodgings and restaurants listed in the AAA TourBooks(R), fewer than one-half percent are recipients of the Five Diamond Award. AAA first started listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900's. 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 during AAA's 75th anniversary. AAA news releases can be downloaded from the following sites: AOL -- Keyword: AAA; Click on "News and Events," "News Releases;" or Internet -- http://www.aaa.com/news/news.html 1998 FIVE DIAMOND RESTAURANTS ARIZONA Scottsdale Marquesa in the Scottsdale Princess - 7 Tucson The Tack Room - 6 CALIFORNIA Beverly Hills The Belvedere in the Peninsula Beverly Hills - 3 Los Angeles L'Orangerie - 6 Oakhurst Erna's Elderberry House - 2 San Francisco Campton Place Restaurant - 2 The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco - 2 FLORIDA Amelia Island The Grill in the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island - 4 Palm Beach The Restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort - 3 GEORGIA Atlanta The Restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta - 3 The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead - 9 HAWAII Honolulu La Mer in the Halekulani Hotel - 8 ILLINOIS Chicago Ambria - 10 Charlie Trotter's - 4 Everest - 2 Wheeling Le Francais - 8 LOUISIANA New Orleans The Grill Room in the Windsor Court Hotel - 9 MAINE Kennebunkport The White Barn Inn - 6 MASSACHUSETTS Boston Aujourd'hui in the Four Seasons Hotel Boston - 3 MISSOURI St. Louis Tony's - 9 NEW JERSEY Short Hills The Dining Room in the Hilton at Short Hills - 5 NEW YORK New York City Aureole - 1 Le Cirque 2000 - 1 Les Celebrites - 5 The Four Seasons - 10 Le Bernardin - 10 Lespinasse in The St. Regis Hotel - New York - 4 NORTH CAROLINA Fearrington The Fearrington House Restaurant - 3 PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia The Fountain Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia - 4 Le Bec Fin - 10 SOUTH CAROLINA Summerville The Dining Room at Woodlands - 2 TENNESSEE Nashville Wild Boar - 2 TEXAS Dallas The French Room in the Adolphus - 9 The Mansion on Turtle Creek Dining Room - 9 VIRGINIA Richmond Lemaire in the Jefferson Hotel - 3 Williamsburg The Dining Room at Ford's Colony - 3 Washington The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room - 10 CANADA ONTARIO Toronto Truffles in the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto - 4 BRITISH COLUMBIA Vancouver Five Sails Restaurant in the Pan Pacific Hotel - 3 MEXICO Cancun La Joya in the Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun - 4 *Numbers indicate consecutive number of years as a winner. 1998 FIVE DIAMOND LODGINGS ARIZONA Carefree The Boulders Resort - 9 Scottsdale Marriott's Camelback Inn - 22 Scottsdale Princess - 7 CALIFORNIA Beverly Hills The Peninsula Beverly Hills - 5 Dana Point The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel - 12 Oakhurst Chateau du Sureau - 4 Newport Beach Four Seasons Hotel Newport Beach - 6 Marina del Rey The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey - 6 San Francisco The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco - 4 Santa Barbara Simpson House Inn - 1 COLORADO Aspen The Little Nell - 7 Colorado Springs The Broadmoor - 22 Granby C Lazy U Ranch - 22 CONNECTICUT Washington The Mayflower Inn - 2 Westport The Inn at National Hall - 1 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington Four Seasons Hotel Washington - 9 FLORIDA Amelia Island The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island - 4 Naples The Ritz-Carlton, Naples - 11 Manalapan The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach - 2 Palm Beach The Breakers - 2 The Four Seasons Resort - 2 GEORGIA Atlanta The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta - 5 The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead - 12 HAWAII Honolulu Halekulani Hotel - 13 Wailea Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea - 7 Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa - 5 Lahuipuaa Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows -10 Kapalua The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua - 2 Kapolei Ihilani Resort & Spa - 1 ILLINOIS Chicago Four Seasons Hotel Chicago - 8 The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago A Four Seasons Regent Hotel- 18 LOUISIANA New Orleans Windsor Court Hotel - 12 MASSACHUSETTS Boston Four Seasons Hotel Boston - 10 NEW JERSEY Short Hills Hilton at Short Hills - 8 NEW YORK New York Four Seasons Hotel New York - 4 The St. Regis Hotel-New York - 4 The New York Palace - 1 NORTH CAROLINA Fearrington The Fearrington House Inn - 4 PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia - 14 The Rittenhouse Hotel & Condominium Residences - 7 The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia - 3 SOUTH CAROLINA Summerville Woodlands Resort & Inn - 1 TEXAS Dallas The Mansion on Turtle Creek - 7 Houston Omni Houston Hotel - 16 Four Seasons Hotel Houston - 3 VIRGINIA Richmond The Jefferson Hotel - 5 Washington The Inn at Little Washington - 9 WASHINGTON Seattle Four Seasons Olympic Hotel - 14 WEST VIRGINIA White Sulphur Springs The Greenbrier - 22 WISCONSIN Kohler The American Club - 13 CANADA BRITISH COLUMBIA Vancouver Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver - 22 The Sutton Place Hotel - 9 CARIBBEAN Nevis Four Seasons Resort Nevis - 6 Puerto Rico Las Casitas Village - 1 MEXICO Cancun Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun - 4 The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun - 3 Mexico City Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City - 2 *Numbers indicate consecutive number of years as a winner. SOURCE American Automobile Association