Five Diamonds for Hotels, Restaurants

Three hotels and nine restaurants, including one in California, have been awarded their first Five Diamond rankings by the American Automobile Assn.

In California, the 1996 newcomer is the Belvedere restaurant in the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. Other first-time restaurants include The Restaurant at the Four Seasons Ocean Grand, Palm Beach, Fla.; The Restaurant, Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.; Aujourd’hui, Four Seasons Hotel, Boston; Fantino, Ritz-Carlton, New York City; Fearrington House Restaurant, Fearrington, N.C. (just south of Chapel Hill); Lemaire, The Jefferson hotel, Richmond, Va.; The Dining Room, Ford’s Colony, Williamsburg, Va., and the Five Sails Restaurant, Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver, B.C.

Lodgings receiving their first Five Diamond rankings include the Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia; Four Seasons Hotel, Houston, and the Ritz-Carlton, Cancun. The 12 are among 48 lodgings and 34 restaurants in North America that this year earned the Five Diamond designation, AAA’s highest honor.