AAA Showcases Additions to 2012 Five Diamond Hotel & Restaurant List
AAA unveiled its annual list of 126 lodgings and 53 restaurants that have earned the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Award designation for 2012. Of the 16 new additions for 2012 are first-ever Five Diamond establishments for Rhode Island and Antigua.
In the restaurant category, not surprisingly New York tops the list for growth with three new Five Diamond establishments. California is the only state to grow in both categories, with two new hotels and one restaurant.
AAA's professional inspectors also noted other changes in store for 2012. For hotels, a prevalent trend is creating a home-away-from-home environment, according to AAA inspectors.
Another growth area is "smarter" hotel rooms that learn guests' habits as they use a central remote to control everything from heating and air to lights, curtains, music and wakeup calls. In the restaurant industry, prevailing themes include more natural ingredients, locally sourced foods and healthier meal options.
New Five Diamond lodgings include: ARIA Sky Suites, Las Vegas, Nev.; The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, S.C.; Jumby Bay, A Rosewood Resort, Jumby Bay, Antigua; Mandarin Oriental, Miami, Fla.; Montage Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Ocean House, Watch Hill, R.I.; The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Calif.; The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and The St. Regis Houston, Houston, Texas.
New Five Diamond restaurants include Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Tarrytown, N.Y.; Del Posto, New York, N.Y.; Herons Restaurant, Cary, N.C. (in the Umstead Hotel & Spa; The Kitchen Restaurant, Sacramento, Calif.; Marea, New York, N.Y.; Menton, Boston, Mass.; Restaurant Initiale, Quebec, Canada
Three hotels have maintained the Five Diamond Rating for 36 consecutive years – since 1976 when AAA first introduced the Diamond Ratings for accommodations: The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., and JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. The restaurant with the longest Five Diamond tenure, 24 consecutive years, since 1988, is The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room in Washington, Va.
