Durham hotel among AAA Four Diamond winners

21c Museum Hotel in Durham earned its first Four Diamond award from AAA on Monday.

Posted 7:59 p.m. Jan 24, 2017 — Updated 8:25 p.m. Jan 24, 2017

DURHAM, N.C. — Seventeen hotels and nine restaurants in North Carolina were honored by AAA during a Four Diamond ceremony in Chapel Hill Monday.

21c Museum Hotel in Durham earned its first Four Diamond award, while The Carolina Inn celebrated 20 years of receiving the honor.

Others honored with the distinction and the number of years receiving the award:

Raleigh: Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel (6 years)
Durham: The King's Daughters Inn (6 years), Arrowhead Inn Bed & Breakfast (14 years) and Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club (17 years)
Chapel Hill: The Siena Hotel, Autograph Collection (21 years)
Greensboro: Proximity Hotel (9 years), Grandover Resort & Conference Center (18 years) and O. Henry Hotel (18 years)
Wilmington: The Verandas (15 years) and Graystone Inn (18 years)
Winston-Salem: The Kimpton Cardinal Hotel (1 year)
Duck: Sanderling Resort (6 years)
Pinehurst: The Carolina Hotel (35 years) and Holly Inn (15 years)

No new restaurants joined the list this year. Il Palio Ristorante at the Siena Hotel celebrated its 27th year earning the honor.

List of Four Diamond restaurants and number of years won:

Raleigh: Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern (13 years)
Durham: The Fairview Dining Room (25 years)
Chapel Hill: Carolina Crossroads Restaurant (15 years)
Pinehurst: 1895 Grille (16 years)
Duck: Kimball's Kitchen (4 years)
Kinston: Chef and The Farmer (7 years)
Gibsonville: Saint Jacques at the Burke Manor (3 years)
Wilmington: Manna (3 years)

"AAA's requirements for a Four Diamond rating are scrupulous, and those achieving this status are among the finest hotels and restaurants in the country," Dave Parsons, president and chief executive of AAA Carolinas, said in a statement. "Less than 4 percent of annual inspections conducted nationally result in a Four Diamond rating."

Five Diamond winners will be honored in February, but the 2017 list has already been released.

North Carolina Five Diamond honorees are:

AAA's Diamond Rating relies on physical on-site evaluations, with inspection team members assessing each of the eligible properties based on comfort, cleanliness, security and offered services and amenities. Each hotel is then awarded a Diamond Rating between one and five, with five being the best.

Suggest A Correction