Top SoCal Hotels Receive 2016 AAA Four and Five Di

LOS ANGELES, CA --(Marketwired - January 15, 2016) -  AAA has unveiled 118 hotels that have earned the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Rating in the past 12 months, qualifying them for the  2016 Five Diamond Award®  list. This exclusive group represents just 0.4 percent of the nearly 28,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels. Fourteen Southern California hotels received the AAA Five Diamond Award®, the travel authority's highest rating, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. The Auto Club also announced the AAA Four Diamond Award ^®  list for Southern California. The AAA Four and Five Diamond ratings for restaurants will be announced in February. 

"The AAA Five Diamond Rating is earned through very hard work while today also using virtual touch points of text messaging, apps and social media to provide guests with a highly-personalized luxury experience. Service is a point of pride for these top hotels," said the Auto Club's Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco. "The Auto Club congratulates Southern California's fourteen outstanding AAA Five Diamond establishments, their management and employees who were rated on guest services, in addition to the hotel's physical attributes, refinement, and hospitality."

Travelers can find Diamond Rated establishments and inspector insight in AAA trip planning products including: the  AAA Mobile® app  for tablets and smartphones, the  TripTik® Travel Planner  and Travel Guides on AAA.com and AAA TourBook ^®  guides available at AAA/CAA offices.

AAA Four and Five Diamond hotels across the U.S. and Canada are listed at AAA.com/diamonds. 

AAA Four Diamond Ratings in Southern California

In Southern California, 102 hotels have earned the AAA Four Diamond Award ®, the Auto Club also announced today. Four hotels appear on the rating list for the first time:

• The Padre Hotel, Bakersfield  
• Bacara Resort & Spa, Santa Barbara  
• The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey
• Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, Los Angeles

The coveted AAA Four Diamond Award is presented to hotel general managers to recognize award-winning properties inspected by AAA and the Auto Club, the nation's largest AAA affiliate.

AAA's Diamond rating program is the  only  hotel review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives who collectively visit some thousands of hotels and restaurants every week. As part of AAA's national network, the Auto Club's staff reviews establishments in Southern California without prior notification using objective rating procedures.

In order to achieve four diamonds, the lodging establishments must be "refined, stylish with upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail," according the AAA Diamond rating guidelines.

The AAA Diamond rating system provides consumers with the broadest coverage of any U.S. rating system, geographically and by number of properties rated, including the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. 

To be considered for AAA approval and rating, lodgings and restaurants must undergo a thorough inspection. The Auto Club's full-time inspection staff reviews Southern California establishments. AAA Five Diamond establishments go through the most extensive reviews of the Diamond rating programs with candidates for the rating undergoing multiple unannounced evaluations. The inspectors bring significant prior industry experience to the association and apply that experience to give members effective, consistent evaluations that can be used to select the property and restaurant that meets their travel desires.

For more information about Diamond Ratings and the complete lists of AAA Four and Five Diamond hotels, visit  AAA.com/Diamonds . AAA started listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900s. AAA has been doing field inspections of lodgings (and restaurants) since 1937.