Laguna Beach’s Surf & Sand Resort, the Montage resort and its Studio restaurant each earned the Auto Club’s Four Diamond Award in 2011, denoting a high level of service and hospitality.
Sixteen Southern California hotels and two restaurants also received AAA’s Five Diamond Award, the travel authority’s highest rating, the Automobile Club of Southern California announced. The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, received its 25th consecutive AAA Five Diamond rating, the most tenured top-rated AAA property in Southern California. Other five diamond recipients this year include the St. Regis, of Dana Point, and Pelican Hill and Island Hotel, both of Newport Beach. In the two previous years, Laguna’s Montage also earned the distinction. The ranking is based on proprietary information, a spokesman said.
In total, 10 Orange County hotels and seven restaurants earned AAA’s four-diamond rating. It is the 20th consecutive year that Surf & Sand has received the four-diamond award, which represents the top 3.4 percent of more than 2,600 Southern California hotels, motels, and restaurants inspected by the Auto Club.
