New AAA Five Diamond Restaurants and Hotels for 2020
Learn more about the five restaurants and six hotels that just earned AAA's Five Diamond designation.
Special occasions call for world-class luxury, unmatched indulgence, and extraordinary service for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With that in mind, AAA’s professional travel experts are always on the lookout for the best of the best to recommend to our Members.
Six hotels and five restaurants are new to the Five Diamond list for 2020, comprising just 119 hotels and 67 restaurants. This exclusive group represents only 0.3 percent of the nearly 60,000 AAA Diamond hotels and restaurants across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
To earn the AAA Five Diamond designation, hotels and restaurants must pass a rigorous evaluation that includes unannounced, in-person inspections, anonymous overnight stays for hotels, and review by a panel of experts as an additional step to ensure credibility. All AAA Diamond Program hotels and restaurants are re-evaluated annually to ensure consistency.
Here are the hotels and restaurants that just earned the designation in 2020.
Restaurants
- Ha’ (Playa del Carmen, Mexico) – Guests are surrounded by flowing water as they enter the dining room. The ever-changing, contemporary, seven-course tasting menu reflects a variety of regional influences, paired with fine Mexican wines.
- Providence (Los Angeles, CA) – For a thrilling culinary adventure select the multicourse chef’s tasting menu. It changes seasonally, but expect unusual choices like local Santa Barbara sea urchin, Pacific geoduck (a large saltwater clam native to the West Coast), and Australian spanner crab.
- SingleThread Farm - Restaurant - Inn (Healdsburg, CA) – Enjoy an amazing 11-course dinner, expertly served using ingredients from the chef/owner’s nearby farm and artisan items from around the world. Dishes may include Santa Barbara abalone, smoked trout, and braised lamb, each artfully presented.
- Smyth (Chicago, IL) – This remarkable restaurant partners with an Illinois farm to supply its creative kitchen with fresh products. Choose between three prix fixe menus, each with a variety of wine pairings. Every dish emerges as a work of art in both its appearance and flavor.
Hotels
- Boston Harbor Hotel (Boston, MA) – Enjoy gracious hospitality at this luxury hotel, which merges modernity and classic décor. Rooms offer a supremely luxurious experience and marina views of Boston Harbor's Rowes Wharf.
- Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North (Scottsdale, AZ) – Well-designed landscaping seamlessly blends with the desert surroundings, providing striking views from the territorial-style casitas, each with a fireplace and terrace.
- Hotel Bel Air (Los Angeles, CA) – This classical establishment enters the 21st century with contemporary, elegant décor. Meticulously manicured gardens include a pond that’s home to graceful swans.
- Hotel Xcaret Mexico (Playa del Carmen, Mexico) – This all-inclusive resort is packed with activities, including eight theme parks, multiple pools, three exercise rooms, and a private island. Many rooms open up to pools or the river.
- Mandarin Oriental, Canouan (Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) – This remote world-class property offers just 26 large suites and 13 villas, a private beach, impressive marble work throughout, and leading-edge technology enhancements.
- UNICO 20°N 87°W Hotel Riviera Maya (Akumal, Mexico) – Guest rooms feature spacious balconies, oversize seating areas, and large oval-shaped hot tubs. Each guest room is assigned a local host to ensure guests have a pleasurable stay and maximize their valuable vacation time.