I'm looking for a consolidated list, organized by state, of all
restaurants and lodgings that received AAA's five-diamond award for
2005.

Hello Nautico,

The AAA Five Diamond Award webpage provides links to the precise
information you require.
http://www.ouraaa.com/news/news/diamond/

Due to copyright restrictions I cannot reproduce the full listing
here; however I will provide you with a direct link to the listings.
Each listing is organized by State.


Here is the direct link to the Lodgings 2005 AAA Five Diamond Award Winners.
This listing is organized by State.
http://www.ouraaa.com/news/news/diamond/lodging.html


Here is the direct link to the Restaurants 2005 AAA Five Diamond Award Winners.
This listing is organized by State.
http://www.ouraaa.com/news/news/diamond/rest.html


Search criteria:

AAA five-diamond 2005 
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-23,GGLD:en&q=AAA+five%2Ddiamond+2005


I hope this is helpful. 

Best regards,
Bobbie7

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Request for Answer Clarification by nautico-ga on 03 Jan 2005 06:19 PST

One additional question:

What is it that prompts the inspections that can result in either a
AAA diamond award or a star award from the Mobil Guides? Do
restaurants and lodgings have to REQUEST an inspection before they can
initially qualify for such an award? And what's the procedure for
retaining or upgrading the award in subsequent years? For example, if
a restaurant has three stars (or diamonds) in the current year, does
Mobil (or AAA) reinspect it the following year to ensure it continues
to meet criteria for that level award? One hears of restaurants losing
a star, especially those that are downgraded from five to four, but
it's hard to believe these ratings organizations have sufficient staff
to validate EVERY award winner (one to five) every year.

---

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 03 Jan 2005 07:16 PST

AAA and Mobil Travel Guide?considered the gold standards of rating
systems?employ inspectors who visit every property they list (AAA once
a year; Mobil every 18 months) and assign ratings on a scale of 1 to
5. Inspectors mea-sure television screens, count hangers, and check on
numerous other items. AAA awards diamonds to 31,500 lodgings in the
United States, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean, scouting both urban
hotels and far-flung motels. Mobil gives stars to 9,000 hotels in the
United States and Canada.
http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/Hotel_Ratings04.asp


 To be considered for AAA approval and rating, lodgings and
restaurants must undergo a thorough, unannounced, inspection by one of
AAA's 60 full-time professional evaluators.
http://newsletter.casinocity.com/Issue62/

One condition of the free AAA or MOBIL listing is that you allow an
unannounced annual inspection of your property
 http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases1998_4th/Dec98_NoblesAAA.html

To be considered for AAA rating and approval, restaurants and lodgings
must undergo a thorough inspection by one of AAA?s 65 full-time,
trained, professional evaluators. Five Diamond establishments go
through more extensive inspections and final committee review. AAA
evaluated more than 55,000 properties for the 2005 TourBooksŪ.
http://www.ouraaa.com/news/news/diamond

How AAA and Mobil Travel Guide compare:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2004-11-11-ratings_x.htm
 
AAA Implements New Hotel Inspection Guidelines 
http://www.hotel-online.com/SpecialReports1998/Oct98_AAAInspections.html

Many thanks!

Thank you for the five stars and tip!
--Bobbie7

Many, many thanks! That USA Today article is just what I needed!

Great! I'm glad to have helped.