Three Hawai‘i Hotels Earn AAA Five Diamond Award Status
AAA unveiled 119 hotels and 67 restaurants nationally that earned the AAA Five Diamond designation in the past 12 months, qualifying them for this year’s AAA Five Diamond Award list. Of the entire list of AAA Five Diamond hotels, three are in Hawaiʻi.
“The AAA Five Diamond designation reflects the hotels that offer world-class luxury, amenities and indulgence and restaurants that offer leading-edge cuisine and preparation with extraordinary guest service,” said AAA Hawaiʻi’s Liane Sumida. “AAA Hawaiʻi congratulates the Aloha State’s Five Diamond establishments which are the ‘best of the best’ of the AAA Diamond Program.”
Hotels receiving a Five Diamond designation undergo in-person inspections, anonymous overnight stays and an expert panel review to ensure credibility. Fewer than half of 1 percent of the nearly 27,000 AAA hotels receive the AAA Five Diamond designation.
The 2020 Diamonds announcement comes on the heels of the unveiling of the new AAA Diamond Program, which included rebranding the Diamonds from ratings to designations, and updating inspection criteria. More diamonds indicate more elaborate surroundings and attention from service staff.
The AAA Five Diamond hotels with the year designated:
| Location | Year |
| Ka’upulehu (Hawaiʻi) | |
| Four Seasons Resort Hualalai | 1998 |
| Lana’i City (Lānaʻi) | |
| Four Seasons Resort Lānaʻi | 2016 |
| Wailea (Maui) | |
| Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea | 1991 |
Wailea Beach panorama, vantage from Four Seasons Resort Wailea. Photo credit: Wendy Osher 2019.
| AAA Five Diamond restaurants with year designated: | ||
| Honolulu (Oʻahu) | ||
| Chef Mavro | 2008 | |
| La Mer | 1990 | |
AAA Four Diamond properties announced
AAA Hawaiʻi also announced the local AAA Four Diamond® hotel and restaurant designations, including these three hotels that received the designation for the first time: The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, the The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach and the Koʻa Kea Hotel & Resort; and these two restaurants that received the designation for the first time: Allen Wong’s Honolulu and Kaʻana Kitchen.
The AAA Diamond Program provides consumers with the broadest coverage of any evaluation system, geographically and by number of properties, including the U.S, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean. AAA began inspecting hotels and restaurants in 1937.
The local AAA Four Diamond hotels with the year designated:
| Location | Property | Year |
| Honolulu | Halekulani | 2001 |
| Hokulani Waikīkī by Hilton Grand Vacations Club | 2018 | |
| Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach | 2017 | |
| The Grand Islander by Hilton Grand Vacations | 2018 | |
| The Kahala Hotel & Resort | 2006 | |
| The Modern Honolulu by Diamond Resorts | 2010 | |
| The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach | 2019 | |
| Trump International Hotel Waikīkī Beach Walk | 2010 | |
| Kāʻanapali (Maui) | Honua Kai Resort & Spa | 2012 |
| The Westin Kāʻanapali Ocean Resort Villas | 2010 | |
| The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas | 2017 | |
| Kapalua (Maui) | Montage Kapalua Bay | 2014 |
| Kapolei (Oʻahu) | Aulani – A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, | 2012 |
| Four Seasons Resort Oʻahu at Ko Olina | 2017 | |
| Kohala Coast (HI) | The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaiʻi | 1991 |
| The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort | 2019 | |
| Poʻipū (Kauaʻi) | Grand Hyatt Kauaʻi Resort & Spa | 1991 |
| Koʻa Kea Hotel & Resort | 2019 | |
| Koloa Landing at Poʻipū, Autograph Collection | 2018 | |
| Princeville (Kauaʻi) | Princeville Resort | 2010 |
| The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas | 2012 | |
| Waikoloa (Hawaiʻi) | Kings Land, Hilton Grand Vacations Club | 2015 |
| Kohala Suites by Hilton Grand Vacations | 2018 | |
| Wailea (Maui) | Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort | 2014 |
| Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui | 2017 | |
| Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort | 1999 | |
| Hotel Wailea, Relais & Chateaux | 2014 | |
| Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa | 2008 | |
The AAA Four Diamond restaurants with the year designated:
| Location | Property Name | Year |
| Honolulu (Oʻahu) | Alan Wong’s Honolulu | 2019 |
| Bali Steak & Seafood | 1989 | |
| Hoku’s | 2002 | |
| Orchids | 1995 | |
| Kapalua (Maui) | The Banyan Tree | 2017 |
| Kohala Coast (Hawaiʻi) | Brown’s Beach House | 2011 |
| Manta & Pavilion Wine Bar | 2014 | |
| Lānaʻi City (Lānaʻi) | ONE FORTY | 2016 |
| Poʻipū (Kauai) | Red Salt | 2015 |
| Wailea (Maui) | Kaʻana Kitchen | 2019 |
| Spago | 2010 | |
| The Restaurant at Hotel Wailea | 2016 | |
| Wailuku (Maui) | The Mill House | 2016 |
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