AAA Four and Five Diamond Award Winners Announced

Cheyenne, Wyo. 12/13/2010 – AAA has announced seven lodgings and two restaurants achieved Four or Five Diamond Award® status in Wyoming for 2011. The AAA Five Diamond Award designation, the travel authority’s highest rating for hotels and restaurants, was awarded to just one area establishments, and the AAA Four Diamond Rating was awarded to eight area establishments.

Area lodgings and restaurants receiving the prestigious 2011 Four or Five Diamond Rating include:

Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, Teton Village –Five Diamond destination since 2006

Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa, Jackson Hole –Four Diamond destination since 1992

Jenny Lake Lodge, Grand Teton National Park –Four Diamond destination since1994

Snake River Lodge & Spa, Teton Village – Four Diamond destination since 2003

The Wild Sage, Jackson Hole – Four Diamond restaurant since 2004

Westbank Grill, Teton Village – Four Diamond restaurant since 2004

Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa, Teton Village – Four Diamond destination since 2008

The Wort Hotel, Jackson Hole – Four Diamond destination since 2008

Hotel Terra Jackson Hole, Teton Village – Four Diamond destination since 2009

Representing the upper echelon of the hospitality industry, AAA Four and Five Diamond establishments make up just 3.5 percent and 0.28 percent, respectively, of the 58,000 AAA/CAA Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

“Four and Five Diamond lodgings and restaurants represent the best the hospitality industry has to offer,” said Denice Harris, AAA Spokeswoman.  “These properties consistently deliver a high level of personal comfort and attention to every guest. To achieve and maintain these ratings is a commendable accomplishment, and we are honored to present these establishments with the Four or Five Diamond Award designation for 2011.”   

AAA Four and Five Diamond lodgings offer guests a wide range of amenities and services. Restaurants at this level feature a distinctive fine dining experience and complex menus.

The assignment of a AAA rating of One to Five Diamonds marks the completion of a successful annual evaluation by one of AAA’s professional inspectors. Individually, AAA inspectors conduct an average of more than 1,100 property evaluations per year and, collectively, have some 700 years of industry experience. The average inspector tenure is 12 years, with the longest being 28 years. AAA inspectors work remotely and bring significant prior industry experience to the association.

AAA’s Diamond Rating System is the only ratings system that covers all of North America and one of only two that conducts physical, on-site evaluations. It is the only system that uses professionally trained inspectors to evaluate each property using guidelines made available to all establishments. AAA evaluates more properties than any other rating entity.

AAA Diamond Ratings are published in AAA TourBook® travel guides, which are available free to AAA members. All travelers can access the searchable listings of AAA Diamond Rated properties using the Travel Guide on AAA.com and through AAA’s popular online mapping tool, the TripTik® Travel Planner. One click on the handy map icons opens AAA listings, many with photos, from AAA’s database of 58,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants.

AAA MountainWest is dedicated to providing its over 170,000 members in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services. A fully tax-paying, not-for-profit corporation, AAA MountainWest, Inc. works for the improvement of motoring and traveling conditions and is a leader for travel, civic and safety issues. In 2008, AAA was voted the #1 socially responsible business brand in America by Landor’s BrandAsset® Valuator. AAA can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com. To have up-to-date news and safety information from AAA delivered right to your desktop, sign-up for the new RSS Feed at http://mtw.aaashare.com/index.php#rss.