AAA Chicago Announces 2003 Four/Five Diamond Award Winning Hotels And Restaurants

AURORA, Ill., April 30 -- In Illinois and northern Indiana, more than 50 hotels and restaurants have earned the AAA Five Diamond and Four Diamond Awards for excellence in service and taste in 2003.

Each year AAA evaluates and rates more than 40,000 restaurants and lodgings worldwide for publication in annual editions of AAA TourBooks. The Diamond ratings provide AAA's more than 45 million members with a valuable system for choosing dining and lodging options. Fewer than 4 percent of the properties evaluated receive the distinction of Four Diamond and less than a half percent receive the coveted Five Diamond distinction. This year, 2 properties were issued the coveted Five Diamond award and 12 properties received the Four Diamond Award for the first time.

"When AAA members see a Four or Five Diamond Award attached to a particular establishment they know they can expect top quality service and amenities," said Steve Nolan, spokesman for AAA Chicago.

AAA's highest rating, the Five Diamond Award, is reserved for accommodations and dining establishments that are reputed for their uncompromising standards of excellence in all aspects of operations. The Four Diamond means patrons will receive superior facilities, exceptional service and the special touches that ensure a satisfying experience.

The AAA Diamond rating process begins when specially trained inspectors pay unannounced and anonymous visits to hotels and restaurants in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. Once inspections are complete, properties are given a rating from one to Five Diamonds.

The following are AAA Diamond Award winners in Illinois and northern Indiana listed with the consecutive number of years the establishment has won the award:

                     AAA Five Diamond Award Restaurants:
           Chicago: Ambria in the Belden-Stratford, 15; Arun's, 1;
  Charlie Trotter's, 9; Everest, 7; Tru, 3; Seasons Restaurant (In the Four
                              Seasons Hotel), 3

                        AAA Five Diamond Award Hotels:
      Chicago: Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 23; Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, 13;
                          Peninsula Hotel Chicago, 1

                   AAA Four Diamond Award Restaurants:
  Arlington Heights:
    Le Titi de Paris, 13 years
  Chicago:
    Avenues, 1 year
    Coco Pazzo, 9 years
    Erawan Royal Thai Cuisine, 1 year
    Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, 1 year
    Les Nomades, 2 years
    M K, 3 years
    Nick's Fishmarket & Grill, 15 years
    Nomi, 1 year
    onesixtyblue, 4 years
    Park Avenue Cafe, 7 years
    Shanghai Terrace, 1 year
    Spiaggia, 9 years
    Spring Restaurant, 1 year
    The Dining Room, 15 years
    Topolobampo, 1 year
    Yoshi's Cafe, 12 years
    Zealous, 1 year
  Evanston:
    Trio, 9 years
  Gary, Ind.:
    Miller Bakery Cafe, 4 years
  Geneva:
    Atwater's, 4 years
  Highland Park:
    Carlos', 15 years
  Lockport:
    Tallgrass, 9 years
  Rosemont:
    Nick's Fishmarket, 12 years
  South Bend, Ind.:
    LaSalle Grill, 7 years
    The Carriage House, 14 years
  Wheeling:
    Le Francais, 1 year

                      AAA Four Diamond Award Hotels:
  Chicago:
    Fairmont Hotel at Grant Park, 15 years
    Hotel Inter-Continental, 13 years
    House of Blues Hotel, 1 year
    Hyatt Regency McCormick Pl. Chicago, 4 years
    Le Meridien Chicago, 1 year
    Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, 4 years
    Omni Chicago Hotel, 9 years
    Park Hyatt, 1 Year
    Renaissance Chicago Hotel, 11 years
    Swissotel Chicago, 12 years
    The Drake, 11 years
    The Palmer House Hilton, 9 years
    The Sutton Place Hotel, 8 years
    The Whitehall Hotel, 8 years
    W Chicago City Center, 1 year
    W Chicago Lakeshore, 1 year
    Wyndham Chicago, 4 years
  Geneva:
    The Herrington Inn, 9 years
  Lincolnshire:
    Marriott's Lincolnshire Resort, 8 years
  Oak Brook:
    The Wyndham Drake Oak Brook Hotel, 4 years
  South Bend, Ind.:
    Book Inn Bed & Breakfast, 4 years

AAA Chicago offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG clubs belong to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada.