Auto Club: Top Southern California Hotels, Restaurants Receive 2004 AAA Five Diamond Award

LOS ANGELES--Nov. 1, 20037, 2003--Twelve Southern California hotels and two restaurants have been approved for the AAA Five Diamond Award for 2004, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena received a first AAA Five Diamond Award. The Four Seasons Resort Aviara earned its fifth AAA Five Diamond.

The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, received its 18th consecutive award, and The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey and Four Seasons Hotel, Newport Beach, received the honor for the 12th year.

"The AAA Five Diamond Award goes to very select hotels and restaurants that meet incredible standards of excellence," said Chuck Smith, the Auto Club's Approved Accommodations manager. "The Club congratulates Southern California's outstanding Five Diamond establishments for consistently delivering memorable travel and dining experiences with world-class service."

Approximately 40,000 lodgings and restaurants are listed in the 2004 AAA TourBook(R) guides, but fewer than one-half percent received the AAA Five Diamond Award. Southern California hotels that received the 2004 AAA Five Diamond Award with consecutive years listed are:

Beverly Hills
The Beverly Hills Hotel, 3
Raffles L'Ermitage, Beverly Hills, 3
The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 11

Carlsbad
Four Seasons Resort Aviara, 5

Dana Point
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, 18
The St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa, 2

La Jolla
The Lodge at Torrey Pines, 2

Los Angeles
Four Seasons Hotel, 3

Marina del Rey
The Ritz-Carlton, 12

Pasadena
The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa, 1

Newport Beach
Four Seasons Hotel, 12

Santa Barbara
Simpson House Inn, 7

Restaurants receiving 2004 AAA Five Diamond Awards are The Belvedere in The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9th, and The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, 4th.

Some 2004 Five Diamond Fast Facts: California and Nevada are the only two states to gain both a Five Diamond lodging and a Five Diamond restaurant.

California has the most Five Diamond properties, 20 in all, 15 lodgings and 5 restaurants. Florida is second with 15 properties in all.

States with the most Five Diamond lodgings are: California, 15; Florida, 9; New York, 5; Arizona, 4; and Hawaii, 4.

States with the most Five Diamond restaurants: Florida and New York, 6; California and Illinois, 5; Nevada and Virginia, 3.

To be considered for AAA approval and rating, lodgings and restaurants must undergo a thorough inspection by one of AAA's 60 full-time professional evaluators. The Auto Club's own staff reviews all Southern California establishments. Five Diamond establishments go through the most extensive reviews of the Diamond rating programs.

AAA first started listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900s. AAA introduced the current One to Five Diamond rating system in the 1977 Edition of the TourBook(R) guides.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest AAA affiliate, has served members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit from the organization's roadside assistance, insurance services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, trip planning services and highway and transportation safety programs. More information is available at www.aaa.com