Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
AAA has announced the 183 select establishments that earned the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Rating in the past 12 months, qualifying them for the 2014 Five Diamond Award lists. The exclusive group represents 0.3 percent of the 59,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants.
RELATED: AAA Announces Five Diamond Award Hotels for 2011
As a result of this year’s additions, Chicago is now on par with New York City in its wealth of fine dining options, each home to seven Five Diamond restaurants. Quebec now has Canada’s most Five Diamond establishments, with four restaurants and one hotel.
Chateau du Sureau, Oakhurst, Calif.
New Five Diamond Hotels:
-Château du Sureau, Oakhurst, Calif.
-Wynn Tower Suites, Las Vegas, Nev.
-Montage Deer Valley, Park City, Utah
-Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto, Canada
-Banyan Tree Cabo Marques, Acapulco, Mexico
-Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, Calif.
New Five Diamond Restaurants:
-The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, Calif.
-Acadia, Chicago, Ill.
-Grace Restaurant, Chicago, Ill.
-Sixteen, Chicago, Ill.
-Per Se, New York, N.Y.
-Restaurant La Tanière, Québec, Canada
-Restaurant Le Patriarche, Québec, Canada
-Cocina de Autor, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
AAA inspectors collectively visit some 1,200 hotels and restaurants each week, allowing them to identify emerging trends in the industry.
Candidates for the rating undergo multiple unannounced evaluations and a final decision by a panel of experts. Inspectors evaluate guest services and physical attributes, closely examining the level of competence, refinement and hospitality, from reservations to checkout for hotels and from seating to presentation for restaurants.
Sixteen, Chicago
Noteworthy for 2014:
-Chicago gained three Five Diamond restaurants: Acadia, Grace Restaurant and Sixteen, bringing its total to seven, on par with New York City.
-California and New York each gained one Five Diamond restaurant, bringing their totals to eight and keeping them tied for states with the greatest number.
-California and Quintana Roo, Mexico, were the only states to gain both a Five Diamond hotel and a Five Diamond restaurant.
-Canada and Mexico both gained three Five Diamond establishments per country.
-One hotel, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., has maintained the Five Diamond Rating for 38 consecutive years – since 1976 when AAA first introduced the Diamond Ratings for accommodations.
The restaurant with the longest consecutive Five Diamond tenure, 26 years, since 1988, is The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room in Washington, Va.
Visit AAA.com/Diamonds.