AAA Releases 2013 Five Diamond Award List With 13 New Restaurant & Hotel Additions

AAA released its 2013 Five Diamond Award list which is comprised of178 hotels and restaurants that qualified for the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Rating. The top establishments were chosen from 59,000 places. The 2013 list features 13 brand new additions.

Out of the 13 new additions, which include nine hotels and four restaurants, hotels from Nevis and Puerto Rico made the list for the first time. Also on the list are three New York establishments and three Florida establishments. The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island is also home to a newly added restaurant, Salt.

AAA Five Diamond hotels offer guests a meticulous degree of personalized attention and extensive amenities in a luxurious setting, and Five Diamond restaurants feature world-class service and imaginative menus using the finest ingredients," Michael Petrone, director, AAA Tourism Information Development said in a release. "These establishments consistently exceed the expectations of the most discriminating traveler - the AAA inspector -- and AAA is pleased to recognize them with a Five Diamond Rating."

Here are the new additions to the Five Diamond Award list:

New Five Diamond Hotels (9):

Montage Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach, Calif.
St. Regis Bal Harbour, Bal Harbour, Fla.
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, Fla.
Trump SoHo New York, New York, N.Y.
Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Ritz-Carlton Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Four Seasons Resort Nevis, West Indies, Charlestown, Nevis
St. Regis Bahia Beach Puerto Rico, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Capella Pedregal Resort and Spa, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

New Five Diamond Restaurants (4):

Benu, San Francisco, Calif.
Salt (in The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island), Fernandina Beach, Fla.
Eleven Madison Park, New York, N.Y.
Le Bernardin, New York, N.Y.

AAA inspectors visit up to 1,200 hotels and restaurants a week to determine which establishments use personalized efforts to ensure guest comfort and satisfaction is guaranteed. "The definition of Five Diamond luxury continues to evolve as guests seek unique experiences with intrinsic value," said Petrone.

Some other notable establishments with a Five Diamond Rating include The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., which has been on the list every year since AAA started the rating system in 1976, and The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room in Washington, Va., which is the restaurant that has qualified for the longest. It has been on the list for 25 consecutive years, since 1988.

For more the complete Five Diamond hotel and restaurant lists, visit NewsRoom.AAA.com.