21 Michigan Lodgings and Restaurants Awarded 2004 AAA Four Diamond Rating

DEARBORN, Mich., April 27 -- Michigan's travel and tourism industry will benefit from a record number of world-class dining and lodging facilities in 2004. Twenty-one Michigan properties earned the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award(R) for hospitality excellence this year, and one restaurant -- The 1913 Room at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids -- earned five diamonds for a second consecutive year.

The 1913 Room is the first restaurant in Michigan to attain five-diamond status and is one of only 55 restaurants nationwide to earn the distinction.

Eight restaurants and 13 lodging establishments in Michigan now carry the four-diamond rating. One Metro Detroit-area hotel and two restaurants are first-time winners this year -- The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Cafe Cortina in Farmington Hills and Il Posto Ristorante in Southfield.

Only 3.25 percent of the estimated 31,000 AAA Rated(R) lodgings and 3.21 percent of the estimated 18,700 restaurants are awarded the prestigious AAA Four Diamond designation each year.

AAA's more than 47 million members rely on diamond ratings in the AAA TourBook(R) guide to assist them in choosing an establishment.

More than 65 AAA/CAA tourism editors visit over 70,000 lodgings, campgrounds, restaurants, and attractions each year throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Tourism editors conduct unannounced evaluations of lodgings and restaurants, scrutinizing such areas as cleanliness, ambiance, amenities, and service.

According to AAA guidelines, guests staying at a Four Diamond property in Michigan will find establishments "upscale in design and amenities, attentive to detail and with a high level of hospitality."

The other Michigan establishments receiving 2004 Four Diamond awards are: Amway Grand Plaza Hotel of Grand Rapids, 19-year recipient; The Townsend Hotel of Birmingham, 16 years; Ritz-Carlton, 15 years, Hyatt Regency, two years, and The Grill, two years, all in Dearborn; The Lark Restaurant of West Bloomfield, 14 years; The Atheneum Suite Hotel, 11 years and Omni Detroit River Place, two years, both of Detroit; the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Webster's Restaurant of Kalamazoo, 11 years; Grand Hotel of Mackinac Island, 10 years; Garland of Lewiston, nine years; Tribute of Farmington Hills, seven years; Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort of Mount Pleasant, six years; Rugby Grille of Birmingham and Iridescence in Detroit, three years; and Westin Hotel Southfield, two years.

The Dearborn Inn - A Marriott Hotel, is rejoining the list of four-diamond winners after a short hiatus.

Diamond ratings will be included for each lodging and restaurant listed in the 2004 AAA Michigan/Wisconsin TourBook(R) -- one of a series of popular travel guides published for AAA members in the U.S. and Canada. AAA Michigan members can access the Auto Club's online TourBook(R) at www.aaa.com .

AAA has included lodging information in its travel publications since the early 1900s. The association began rating lodging properties in 1963 and adopted the diamond designation in 1977. Restaurant evaluations began in 1986.