(SAN DIEGO, Oct. 13, 2009) —  Twenty-eight San Diego hotels and restaurants have earned the 2010 AAA Four Diamond Award, the Automobile Club of Southern California announced today.   The Hyatt Regency La Jolla, the Rancho Valencia, an Auberge Resort, and El Bizocho Restaurant in the Rancho Bernardo Inn received AAA Four Diamond Awards for the 20^th year. Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort in Valley Center received its first AAA Four Diamond rating.

The coveted rating plaque featuring a design of four raised simulated diamonds and the AAA Four Diamond Award logo is presented to hotel and restaurant general managers and executive chefs to recognize the award-winning properties, which rank among the top 3.4 percent of more than 2,600 Southern California hotels, motels, and restaurants inspected by the Auto Club, the nation’s largest AAA affiliate.

 

“North America’s AAA Diamond Rating System is a long-time trusted method of rating lodgings and dining establishments, especially during what has been a difficult economic year for the hospitality industry and also for travelers,” said the Auto Club’s Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco.  “Southern California’s hotels and restaurants that earn the AAA Four Diamond award maintain a very high standard of service in their hotels and restaurants in order to continue pleasing their guests.” 

 

The list of 2010 AAA Four Diamond hotels and restaurants throughout San Diego follows, along with the consecutive years each property has earned the award:

 

San Diego County		Hotels				Years
Coronado	Hotel del Coronado					5
	Loews Coronado Bay					18
Del Mar	L’Auberge Del Mar					8
Pala (near Fallbrook)	Pala Casino Spa and Resort					6
Julian	Orchard Hill Country Inn					14
La Jolla	Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa					5
	Hyatt Regency La Jolla					20
	The Grande Colonial					2
Rancho Santa Fe	Rancho Valencia An Auberge Resort					20
San Diego	Hard Rock Hotel San Diego					2
	Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego					17
	Omni San Diego Hotel					5
	Rancho Bernardo Inn					33
	Pacific Terrace Hotel					3
	San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina					26
	The US Grant					3
	The Westgate Hotel					3
	The Westin San Diego					16
Valley Center	Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort					1
San Diego County		Restaurants				Years
Carlsbad	Vivace (Four Seasons Resort Aviara)					11
La Jolla	A.R. Valentien (The Lodge at Torrey Pines)					6
	George’s California Modern					10
	Sky Room (La Valencia Hotel)					19
Rancho Santa Fe	Mille Fleurs					19
San Diego	Baci’s					6
	Bertrand at Mister A’s					16
	El Bizcocho Restaurant (Rancho Bernardo Inn)					20
	Grant Grill  (The US Grant)					3

 

AAA’s Diamond rating program is the only hotel and restaurant review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives. As part of AAA’s national network, the Auto Club’s own staff reviews establishments in Southern California without prior notification using objective and detailed rating procedures.

 

Lodging inspections include at least one unannounced inspection each year. Inspectors review and rate exterior, grounds and public areas, room décor, ambiance and amenities, guest room, bathrooms, housekeeping and maintenance, management and staff and guest services. Once the inspection process is complete, properties that meet all requirements receive a rating of one to five Diamonds.

 

AAA approves and rates more than 31,000 lodgings and 27,000 restaurants each year throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.  A wide range of property listings are included in regional TourBook® guides, with a yearly distribution of nearly 20 million, and on AAA.com, where many travel planning and information services – including the well-known TripTik® Travel Planner, TourBook® listings and Diamond Ratings – are now available to non-members as well.  The AAA Four Diamond rating is exclusive in that less than 4% of all AAA approved properties achieve this rating. 

 

The 2010 AAA Five Diamond Award lodging and restaurant recipients will be announced in November.

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