AURORA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AAA Chicago today unveils the five hotels and six restaurants named as AAA Five Diamond Award designees for 2015 in Illinois and northern Indiana. All eleven designees are located in Chicago, Ill. This year, Chicago added one Five Diamond rated hotel, The Langham, Chicago, one of only 8 new Five Diamond hotels added in 2015 throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The 2015 Five Diamond hotels for Illinois and northern Indiana are as follows: The Four Seasons Hotel Chicago (25 years), The Langham, Chicago (new this year), The Peninsula Chicago (13 years), Trump International Hotel & Tower (5 years) and Waldorf Astoria Chicago (5 years). The 2015 Five Diamond restaurants for Illinois and northern Indiana are as follows: Acadia (2 years) Alinea (9 years), Everest (19 years), Grace Restaurant (2 years), Sixteen (2 years) and Tru (15 years). All AAA Five Diamond rated hotels and restaurants are located in Chicago, Ill. The full listings of the 2015 AAA/CAA Five Diamond restaurants and hotels can be found here.
“Attaining the Five Diamond Rating is an impressive accomplishment and a point of great pride for these top hotels and restaurants,” said Alicia Lyles, Regional President of AAA Chicago. “Five Diamond establishments stand apart by redefining personalized service, using creativity to enhance guest comfort and providing memorable experiences.” Candidates for the rating undergo multiple unannounced evaluations and a final decision by a panel of experts. Inspectors meticulously evaluate guest services and physical attributes, closely examining the level of competence, refinement and hospitality, from reservations to checkout for hotels and from seating to presentation for restaurants.
Additionally, Illinois and northern Indiana boast 67 AAA Four Diamond establishments. Forty-seven Four Diamond hotels and 16 Four Diamond restaurants are in Illinois (31 and 15 respectively are in Chicago). Northern Indiana has one Four Diamond Hotel and three Four Diamond restaurants. The full listing for the 2015 AAA/CAA Four Diamond restaurants and hotels can be found here.
2015 AAA/CAA Diamonds Highlights
- The Four Seasons Hotel Chicago is one of 8 hotels across the AAA rating territory that has maintained its Five Diamond status for 25 or more consecutive years
- The Langham, Chicago is one of 8 new Five Diamond hotels and 6 new Five Diamond restaurants added to the 2015 list throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean (AAA rating territory)
- Four new Four Diamond hotels and four new Four Diamond restaurants have been added to the list. The hotels include: Silversmith Hotel Chicago Downtown (Chicago), Thompson Chicago (Chicago), Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront (Chicago) and Le Meridien Chicago (Oakbrook Center). The four new Four Diamond restaurants are as follows: Arun’s (Chicago), Café Des Architectes (Chicago), Sepia (Chicago), Travelle (Chicago)
- Chicago is the city with the second most Five Diamond restaurants (6; one behind New York) and Four Diamond hotels (31 as compared to New York with 49)
Nationally, 184 establishments were named as AAA/CAA Five Diamond Award® designees for 2015. Just 121 hotels and 63 restaurants that have earned the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Rating in the past 12 months, qualifying them for the 2015 Five Diamond Award lists. This exclusive group represents just 0.3 percent of the more than 58,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants.
To become AAA Diamond rated, hotels and restaurants undergo a thorough inspection by one of AAA’s 65 full-time, highly trained professional evaluators. Five Diamond establishments complete a more extensive review that includes a series of inspections and final committee review. AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity and is one of only two that conduct physical, on-site evaluations.
AAA first started listing accommodation information in its travel publications in the early 1900s. In 1937, the first field inspectors were hired to inspect hotels, motels and restaurants. In 1963, AAA began to rate all accommodations as good, very good, excellent or outstanding. The Diamond rating process, introduced in 1977 for hotels and 1989 for restaurants, continues to be recognized as one of the most trusted rating process for North American travelers.
