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Five Hotels and Two Restaurants Honored With North and South Carolina AAA Five Diamond Award

Jan. 14, 2014. AAA Carolinas honored five hotels and two restaurants at the North and South Carolina AAA Five Diamond awards dinner at The Fearrington House Inn and Restaurant on Sunday, Jan. 5.

The Five Diamond rating is the top designation awarded each year by AAA to an elite group of qualified hotels and restaurants after an anonymous overnight visit or dining experience by full-time specially trained inspectors. Only 0.3 percent of the more than 59,000 annual inspections conducted by AAA results in a Five Diamond Rating.

The North Carolina winners, with the number of years won, are:

  • Herons Restaurant (3 years) in Cary
  • The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte (4 years)
  • The Umstead Hotel & Spa (7 years) in Cary
  • The Fearrington House Restaurant (19 years) in Pittsboro
  • THe Fearrington House Inn (20 years) in Pittsboro

The South Carolina winners, with the number of years won, are:

  • The Inn at Palmetto Bluff (3 years) in Bluffton
  • The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (8 years)

“AAA Five Diamond lodgings and hotels offer the highest level of hospitality in the most luxurious surroundings,” said David E. Parsons, president and CEO of AAA Carolinas.

“These properties are unique, enticing and extraordinary – complemented by an extensive array of personalized services that consistently exceed the expectations  of even the most refined traveler.”

AAA gives the Five Diamond Awards annually to qualified hotels and restaurants in North America. In 2014, only 183 properties in North American earned the Five Diamond rating.

Lodgings include eight different classifications, such as bed and breakfast, hotel, cottage and country inn with four sub-classifications such as historic, classic, resort and casino. Restaurants include more than 100 categories based on cuisine and ambiance. Each restaurant and lodging that receives any level of diamond rating from AAA is listed in AAA’s TourBooks, which are distributed for free to any of the organization’s 53 million members nationwide.

AAA Carolinas, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, is a not-for-profit organization that serves more than 1.9 million members and the public with travel, automobile and insurance services while being an advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.