/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tbt.s3.amazonaws.com/public/XFEKGPWEVUI6TKTRIBWI6S7HAY.jpg "Guests at the Don CeSar relax on St. Pete Beach last August. The Don Cesar is one of about a dozen bay area hotels to receive a prized four-star rating from AAA. SCOTT KEELER | Times (2017)")
About a dozen Tampa Bay area hotels Wednesday got four-diamond ratings from AAA. But the bay area has no hotels with the auto club's highest rating of five diamonds.
FOUR DIAMONDS
What AAA says they are: Refined and stylish, with upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and high degrees of hospitality, service and attention to detail.
How many: 145 in Florida. About 6.1 percent of all 27,000-plus hotels rated by AAA.
Where they are around Tampa Bay:
Tampa (The Epicurean, Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, Le Méridien, Renaissance Tampa International Plaza, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa and Westin Tampa Bay)
Clearwater Beach (Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa, Opal Sands Resort and Sandpearl Resort)
Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club
Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach
Ritz-Carlton and Westin in Sarasota
The Resort At Longboat Key Club
FIVE DIAMOND HOTELS
What AAA says they offer: Ultimate luxury, sophistication and comfort. Extraordinary physical attributes. Meticulous personalized service. Extensive amenities. Impeccable standards of excellence.
How many: 10 in Florida (third most in the U.S.), including the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World, The Breakers in Palm Beach and Ritz-Carlton in Naples. Just 0.4 percent of AAA-rated hotels. None in the Tampa Bay area.
Hope for the future? Two hotels-in-the-making have been mentioned as potential five-star candidates: One is a 150-room boutique hotel planned at Water Street Tampa, the big Jeff Vinik-Cascade Investment project. The other is the JW Marriott planned on Clearwater Beach.
RELATED COVERAGE:
Tampa Bay is enjoying a hotel boom. Could a five-star be coming?
The Loews Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach sold for $202.6 million
JW Marriott Clearwater Beach project still on target despite some bumps
Long awaited $100 million project would bring JW Marriott luxury hotel to Clearwater Beach
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/e70f3052-cb47-4f72-839c-325382dad159.png "Richard Danielson - Former Times Reporter")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/bkjiDIAVTZaMmNPr3M0KP0GuNbM=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/XLYWY6MFIVCT5AV6GRG2MO74NY.JPG "A hurricane away, how could St. Petersburg avoid ruin like Fort Myers?")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/7QSFYN5a2QgbvIlzNJaf41pbGME=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/A6NRBL4LMJFNLCXZWHXDM7YP6E.jpg "6 years later, southern St. Petersburg still without a grocery store")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/Y6Ze583Y3nSX96QnYCbgHooOxe8=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/BDBGIRAVDNBHDB3XPEMFYG65RU.jpg "As DeSantis presidential bid becomes official, fundraisers gather at ritzy Miami hotel")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/WAH6YHH3v2Fz8M3d-QM2DGbLclE=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/INEATB6EBRHUPIHKXD7I6VXMEY.JPG "Rays place Pete Fairbanks on injured list, wait for further assessment")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/XZzMjkebIbT4GvBi41SOzWhXgsA=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/CLIMAGXVMR5Y3JPNBSGT4MICBM.jpg "What books are being challenged in schools? Florida is making a list.")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/N_vHVPb-TW8ysYYUSLDcTFGZXWc=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/HLX6TV3ANMHWUOEOW5IOJZ7ANI.jpg "Fact-checking attacks against Ron DeSantis by other GOP presidential hopefuls")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/ksfOmy0i4iD7N3o4Ldw16Tze9Dc=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/5KI54TSD5C3TWOOPE54GEJ2F2A.jpg "The 1 question SEC football coaches want answered about future schedules")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/lMHDXRIi04ccilq_D5T-Ikaknbw=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/QVVXWZSSAZHUNBRJ5UDT362STM.jpg "Amanda Gorman poem among 4 titles restricted after a parent complains")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/RRozawTm9yTFxgWrwInyWjnb7Sc=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/VSA5YCXDPVHLYUGTEDWM7B52MQ.jpg "Read these 11 essential Ron DeSantis stories from his hometown paper")
/www.tampabay.com/resizer/MS7GjkdPSquGhUpIjIPvebNF2BI=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/AQSRBJYF2NBYZJ363LRPVEO4CU.jpg "Florida’s new voucher law allows private schools to boost revenue")