Orange County Register

Five Orange County hotels received AAA’s top rating of five diamonds, the automobile club announced Friday.
The local winners and the number of years on the list:

The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, 24
Island Hotel Newport Beach (former Four Seasons), 18
St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach, 3
Montage Laguna Beach, 2
The Resort at Pelican Hill (Newport Coast), 1

The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel has the longest tenure of any California resort on the list - 24 years. The Resort at Pelican Hill jumped onto the top tier in its first year of existence. The St. Regis held on to its top mark despite its owners financial crisis.

In all, 17 Southern California hotels and two restaurants received the AAA Five Diamond Award for 2010. Nationwide, the mark went to 113 lodgings and 52 restaurants. The AAA’ uses full-time, professional inspectors evaluate and rate who rate 58,000 lodgings and restaurants.

The other Southern California hotels ton the list and number of consecutive years:

Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, 9
The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, 2
The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 17
Four Seasons Resort Aviara, Carlsbad, 11
The Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, 8
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, 9
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, 18
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, 4
The Grand Del Mar, San Diego, 1
Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara, 5
Simpson House Inn, Santa Barbara, 13
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, 2

AAA started listing accommodations in the early 1900s and began ratings in 1937.

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