Check Out AAA Diamond Hotels Ahead of Your Next Trip

If you’re looking for a place to stay, reviewing AAA Diamond hotels is a good way of narrowing down your search. AAA Diamond hotels tell guests the properties have been approved by AAA’s expert inspectors, and the number of diamonds – from one to five – tells guests what kind of amenities to expect.

AAA also uses its diamond system to rate restaurants.

In 2017, several properties were honored with Four and Five Diamond ratings for the first time. Four Diamond hotels and restaurants represent just 3.9 percent of nearly 59,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated establishments.

AAA Five Diamond hotels and restaurants are the best of the best, giving guests pure luxury and sophistication, countless amenities and restaurants that serve leading-edge cuisine in extraordinary surroundings. Only 183 establishments – 120 hotels and 63 restaurants – earned their place on the 2017 Five Diamond Award list.

Here is a look at the 2017 Four Diamond additions in Massachusetts and Five Diamond additions in New York. New York was the only city in 2017 to add a Five Diamond restaurant and hotel to its roster!

Massachusetts

Boston Park Plaza is one of many AAA Diamond hotels in Massachusetts’ capital city. The hotel celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2017 after completing a multiyear, $100 million renovation in 2016. Furniture and fixtures throughout the hotel were replaced, the 1,060 guestrooms and communal areas were completely redone and a library room was added.

The Godfrey Hotel. This AAA Diamond hotel opened in February 2016 following a restoration of the historic Blake and Amory buildings in Boston’s Downtown Crossing neighborhood. Its 242 rooms offer luxury bedding and upholstered seating. Guests can also use their smartphones to stream photos, videos and music to 55-inch, in-room televisions.

The Royal Sonesta Boston. Located along the Charles River in Cambridge, the Royal Sonesta Boston provides easy access to attractions like the Museum of Science. It has 400 guest rooms and 28,000 square feet of meeting space. In 2014, the hotel renovated 200 guest rooms and added a new lobby.

The Inn at Hastings Park. This Lexington, MA, property offers a different sort of luxury experience than many AAA diamond hotels. Guests stay in one of three restored historic buildings built in the mid and late 19th century. The inn is a short walk from the Lexington Battle Green, a historic site in the American Revolution.

Among nearly 28,000 AAA Approved hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, just 6 percent are recognized as Four Diamond properties. There are 50 Four Diamond hotels in Massachusetts. Only California (176), Florida (141), Texas (92), New York (82) and Ontario, Canada (52) have more.

New York

The St. Regis New York. A New York landmark since 1904, the St. Regis New York, in midtown Manhattan, is an appealing AAA Five Diamond property that offers style at a grand level.

“When combined with contemporary luxury and attentive services, it is in a rarefied, supreme class altogether,” wrote AAA’s anonymous inspector. “This historic AAA diamond hotel was built by John Jacob Aster IV as a sister property to the Waldorf Astoria, just a few years before Astor went down with the Titanic. Today, guests can enjoy unlimited use of the private on-site health club, complimentary garment pressing upon arrival and fresh fruit or candy delivered daily.”

New York has 10 Five Diamond hotels, all in New York City. The state trails just California (17) and Florida (11) in total number of Five Diamond hotels, though no single city has more. The closest is Las Vegas, with seven.

The Modern, which overlooks the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art, was the only restaurant in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico added to the 2017 AAA Five Diamond list.

“An exquisite museum sculpture garden provides this AAA Five Diamond restaurant a sublime, cosmopolitan and relaxed setting for a most splendid meal,” wrote the AAA inspector. “Service is energetic and diligent. The wine list is ample, and desserts are, like the setting, wonderfully artistic. Chef Abram Bissell adds his own signature and contemporary New American touch, and service staff is a pleasing blend of professional, enthusiastic young servers and a highly knowledgeable old guard.”

New York has 10 Five Diamond restaurants, the most of any state. California trails with nine followed by Illinois with six and Nevada with five. Nine of the New York’s Five Diamond restaurants are in New York City. That’s the most of any city nationwide trailed by Chicago, with six, Las Vegas, with five and San Francisco with three.

Have you ever stayed at one of AAA’s Four or Five Diamond hotels, or dined at a Four or Five Diamond restaurant? If so, tell us about your experience in the comments below.

Click here for more information on AAA inspections and diamond ratings.

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