AAA; Dallas Is A Four Star Kind Of Town

DALLAS & FT. WORTH, Texas--Feb. 4, 2002--AAA is presenting its prestigious Four Diamond Award® rating for the year 2002 to 12 lodgings and nine restaurants in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Area lodgings and restaurants receiving the 2002 AAA Four Diamond Award are the: Doubletree Hotel at Lincoln Center, Fairmont Hotel -- Dallas, Hotel St. Germain (Hotel), Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion, Hotel Adolphus, The Westin Park Central Dallas, The Westin -- Galleria Dallas, The Dallas Omni Parkwest, The Renaissance Worthington Hotel, Four Seasons Resort & Club, The Las Colinas Omni Mandalay Hotel, Renaissance Dallas -- Richardson Hotel, Abacus, Hotel St. Germain (Restaurant), Laurel's, Mediterraneo, Nana Grill, Old Warsaw, Star Canyon, The Pyramid Grill and The Riviera.

``AAA Four Diamond recipients know the language of quality as they consistently deliver premier experiences, complete with superior personal service, first-class amenities and impressive surroundings,'' said George L. Clarke, general manager of AAA Texas.

These area establishments join a select group of Four Diamond winners. Only 2.82 percent of the estimated 28,000 AAA Rated® lodgings and 3.85 percent of the estimated 13,000 restaurants are awarded Four Diamond designations each year.

The Four Diamond symbol will be included in each property's and restaurant's listing in the 2002 AAA Texas TourBook® guide. AAA's more than 44 million members depend upon TourBook guides to assist them with their travel-related decisions. An establishment's Diamond rating is often the deciding factor when members choose a lodging or restaurant.

More than 60 AAA/CAA tourism editors visit nearly 50,000 lodgings, campgrounds, restaurants and attractions each year throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Tourism editors conduct unannounced evaluations of lodgings and restaurants, scrutinizing such areas as cleanliness, ambiance, amenities and service.

AAA has included lodging information in its travel publications since the early 1900's. The association began rating hotels and other accommodations in 1963, adopting the current rating systems in 1977 in celebration of AAA's 75th anniversary. Evaluations and Diamond ratings of restaurants began in 1986.

AAA Texas will present the Four Diamond Awards on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002, at the Hotel St. Germain (restaurant) located at 2516 Maple Avenue beginning at 6:00 in the evening.

AAA Texas, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, has been serving Texans since 1902. Today, AAA Texas offers its members, TourBook guides with diamond-rated hotels and restaurants, a full service travel agency, emergency road service, financial services and legislative advocacy.