Two Philadelphia Hotels Retain Top Rating in AAA Annual Survey
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There were some familiar Philadelphia spots on the list today as AAA, the automotive and travel advocacy organization, handed out its top award to the area's best hotels and restaurants.
Only three establishments in the Philadelphia area were awarded AAA's "five diamonds" for 2014: the Four Seasons, the Rittenhouse Hotel, and the Fountain Restaurant at the Four Seasons.
"A five-diamond hotel would have the ultimate luxury and sophistication," notes AAA spokeswoman Jenny Robinson. "Accommodations are first-class. Everything is extraordinary. The service is basically perfect."
Robinson says that AAA has a team of hotel inspectors who make unscheduled, unannounced visits.
"Our hotel and restaurant inspectors go over everything with a fine-tooth comb," she tells KYW Newsradio. "They are looking at everything that the hotel or restaurant offers, down to whether the pillows are fluffed. Everything."
Rittenhouse Hotel general manager Reginald Archambault says his staff works hard to maintain the hotel's five-diamond status, which they've held for 24 years.
"Oh, it has a huge impact -- everything from marketing to positioning to the morale of the staff. They take a great deal of pride," he says.
The Four Seasons has maintained its five-diamond rating for 30 years, and the Fountain Restaurant has held its for 20 years.