Standout AAA Four and Five Diamond Hotels and Restaurants in the Northeast

The best of the best – That’s what you can expect from AAA’s Four and Five Diamond hotels and restaurants. Having inspected restaurants and hotels for decades, AAA knows a thing or two about luxury and comfort. Four Diamond hotels and restaurants represent just 3.9 percent of nearly 59,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated establishments.

The highest ranked properties (AAA Five Diamond hotels and restaurants) take things to the next level, offering 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) have earned their place on the 2017 Five Diamond Award list. That’s just 0.3 percent of Approved properties.

Explore four standout Diamond Rated properties in the Northeast below, including one of AAA’s Five Diamond hotels.

All manor of treasures in West Orange, New Jersey

The Manor, in West Orange, NJ, has maintained its Four Diamond Rating annually since 1988. It’s the longest streak statewide and among the longest of any Four Diamond restaurant in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.

The Manor is surrounded by 20 acres of manicured gardens and enjoys the tranquility of an adjacent 400-acre reserve. Guests can enjoy a la carte and buffet dining, and traditions like Sunday brunch and a Manor buffet offering lobster on select evenings.

Jewels of top quality found in Rhode Island

“Newport.”

For a long time, that was the answer you’d get if you asked Rhode Islanders to name their state’s most opulent tourist spot.

In recent years, however, Watch Hill – a village in southern Westerly – has become an increasingly well-known luxury destination. It’s a summer retreat for pop star Taylor Swift and home to Ocean House, the only property in Rhode Island to earn the prestigious AAA Five Diamond rating.

The community’s reputation keeps getting better, too. The Watch Hill Inn, managed by the same company that owns Ocean House, received the AAA Four Diamond Rating for the first time this year.

Originally opened as Narragansett House in 1845, the inn was renovated in 2014. It’s designed for younger families, couples and those seeking contemporary accommodations. Each suite (there are 21 in all) features a full kitchen and access to washing machines and dryers, making it a good bet for longer stays. Watch Hill Inn guests also enjoy use of a putting green and private beach at Ocean House, among other perks.

Where else but a castle for exquisite jewels on Long Island

You don’t need to visit Europe to spend a night in a castle. You don’t even need an airline ticket.

Although Long Island is an unusual place to see a castle, that’s exactly what you can find in Huntington, NY. Oheka Castle Hotel and Estate is the second largest private home in America and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Like all AAA Four Diamond properties, guests can expect a refined and stylish hotel with upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and high degrees of hospitality, service and attention to detail. Oheka Castle Hotel and Estate cost the equivalent of $158 million in today’s currency when it was built about 100 years ago as the summer home of wealthy financier Otto Hermann Kahn.

Guests can stay in one of 32 luxurious rooms or suites, many of which offer scenic views of the 23-acre estate, which has been featured on screen in movies like “Citizen Kane” and on television including the CBS series “Madam Secretary.”

There’s treasure in the Connecticut hills

If you need a respite from the hustle and bustle of New York City, the Litchfield Hills of northwestern Connecticut are calling. Just a three-hour drive from Manhattan or Boston, the rural, scenic area is a perfect place to unwind.

And, if you’d like to do so in luxury, you’ll find a property unlike any other. Winvian Farm, in Morris, is the only AAA Five Diamond hotel in Connecticut. It’s also home to the state’s only Five Diamond restaurant.

Guests stay in one of 18 individually designed cottages spread among the 113-acre resort. How individual? Accommodations range from a fully restored 1968 helicopter to a treehouse 35 feet in the air. Other options include a golf cottage with carpets that form fairways and putting greens, a music cottage with a patio screened by a giant marimba, and an artist cottage with easels, canvas and paint.

Guests can enjoy farm-to-table menus in the fire-lit, 18th century dining room at the Restaurant at Winvian Farm.

Have you ever stayed in a Four or Five Diamond hotel or dined at a Four or Five Diamond restaurant? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

For a complete list of Diamond Rated properties throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, visit AAA.com/Diamonds.

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