The Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World must be popping some very expensive champagne.
It’s one of only eight new hotel additions to AAA’s exclusive Five Diamond list of resorts and restaurants, the travel company announced Friday. It’s also the only Five Diamond hotel in Orlando.
Some 121 hotels and 63 restaurants have received the AAA/CAA Five Diamond rating over the past year, and they’re mostly repeat winners. The list is made up of only 0.3 percent of the more than 58,000 AAA Diamond-rated hotels and restaurants.
“At the ultra-luxury level we’re seeing an increasing number of hotels offering guests the choice of high-end service by white glove or touch screen — in person or electronically,” said Michael Petrone, director of AAA Inspections and Diamond Ratings, in a news release.
“They’re complementing personal delivery with technology options such as in-room iPads and TV menus for ordering and scheduling services, apps for accessing newspapers and local reservations, mobile check-in and text alerts when their room is ready,” Petrone said. “Some Five Diamond hotels even place a TV within the bathroom mirror to complete guests’ high-tech stay.”
There are also six new restaurant additions to the Five Diamond list.
The ratings come from on-the-ground inspections by the AAA team of inspectors, who visit about 1,200 hotels and restaurants weekly.
The new AAA Five Diamond hotels:
Four Seasons Hotel Denver — Denver, Colorado
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort — Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Grand Luxxe — Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
One&Only Palmilla — San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico
Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa — Rancho Santa Fe, California
Shangri-La Hotel — Toronto, Ontario
The Langham, Chicago — Chicago, Illinois
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman — Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands
The new AAA Five Diamond restaurants:
Le Chique — Puerto Morelos, Mexico
Orchids at Palm Court — Cincinnati, Ohio
Palme d’Or — Coral Gables, Florida
Passion by Martin Berasategui — Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Saison — San Francisco, California
Twist — Las Vegas, Nevada
