AAA: Virginia hotels, restaurants earn high ratings

AAA Mid-Atlantic has announced the 10 hotels and three restaurants in central and western Virginia that earned the Five or Four Diamond Rating during the past 12 months. The AAA/CAA Four and Five Diamond Ratings are the travel authority’s highest designations for hotels and restaurants.

AAA Five and Four Diamond hotels are refined and stylish with upscale physical attributes. They offer guests personalized attention and extensive amenities in a luxurious setting. The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond is receiving the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Rating for the 20th year. It is the only AAA Five Diamond recipient in the Central Virginia region.

Area lodgings receiving the AAA Four Diamond Rating for 2013 include:

– The Berkeley Hotel, Richmond (for the 24th year)
– The Boar’s Head, Charlottesville (for the 12th year)
– Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa/Short Pump, Richmond (for the 3rd year)
– The Homestead, Hot Springs (for the 9th year)
– Keswick Hall at Monticello, Keswick (for the 12th year)
– The Martha Washington Inn and Spa, Abingdon (for the 15th year)
– The Oaks Victorian Hotel, Christiansburg (for the 18th year)
– The Westin Richmond, Richmond (for the 4th year)
– Wyndham Virginia Crossing Hotel and Conference Center, Glen Allen (for the 9th year).

Restaurants at this rating level offer a distinctive fine dining experience. They feature highly creative chefs, complex menus, fresh top-quality ingredients and knowledgeable staff. Area restaurants receiving the AAA Four Diamond Rating for 2013 include: Fossett’s, Keswick (for the 9th year); Lemaire, Richmond (for the 3rd year); and The Old Mill Room (The Boar’s Head), Charlottesville (for the 26th year).

Representing the upper echelon of the hospitality industry, AAA/CAA Four and Five Diamond establishments make up just 3.9 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, of the total 59,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“Five and Four Diamond hotels and restaurants are committed to providing every guest with a personalized experience and attentive service in comfortable, high quality surroundings,” said Martha Mitchell Meade, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “These establishments consistently exceed the expectations of the most discriminating traveler – the AAA inspector. We are proud to have these dedicated businesses in our region.”

Collectively visiting some 1,200 hotels and restaurants every week, AAA inspectors are in a unique position to identify emerging trends in the hospitality industry. Inspectors have observed hotels and restaurants using increasingly personalized approaches to enhance guest comfort and satisfaction.

Experienced, highly qualified staff are required to provide the custom service today’s upscale hotel guest expects. Larger hotels, faced with the difficulties of responding to individual needs, often restructure their approach. Many use the immediacy of social media to augment the experience as travelers research, book and talk about their stay.