Seven Austin Area Establishments Receive Prestigious AAA Four Diamond Rating

    AUSTIN, Texas--March 26, 2001--AAA has awarded its coveted Four Diamond Award rating for the year 2001 to seven lodgings in the Austin area.
    The establishments receiving the award are Austin Marriott at the Capitol, Barton Creek Resort & Club Inc., Four Seasons Hotel, Hyatt Regency Austin, Omni Austin Hotel Downtown, Renaissance Austin Hotel and The Driskill Hotel.
    "AAA Four Diamond winners consistently deliver first class service, complete with first-class amenities and impressive surroundings," said Rose Rougeau, a spokesperson for AAA Texas. "The Four Diamond Award is one of the industry's most prestigious honors. It recognizes restaurants and lodgings that have shown an ongoing commitment to superior service."
    Four Diamond establishments are in a class of their own, as only three percent of the nearly 25,000 properties and four percent of the more than 12,000 AAA approved restaurants nationwide are Four Diamond recipients. Out of the hundreds of restaurants and lodgings in Texas, only 48 have been recognized for the Four Diamond distinction for 2001.
    Each year, a team of 60 specially trained AAA representatives drive more than a million miles to conduct unannounced inspections. Upon completion of a rigorous and thorough AAA inspection, the establishment is assigned a rating of one to five diamonds. AAA began rating properties in 1963 and adopted the diamond rating system in 1977.
    The Four Diamond rating will be included in each hotel's and restaurants listing in the AAA Texas TourBook guide, which AAA's members and the public have come to rely on when choosing exceptional hotels and restaurants.

    AAA Texas, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, has been serving Texans since 1905. Today, AAA Texas offers its members, TourBook guides with diamond-rated hotels and restaurants, a full service travel agency, emergency road service, financial services and legislative advocacy.