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PostJul 14, 2006#11

mcarril wrote:AAA also releases diamond ratings for hotels based on similar criteria as the Mobil Travel Guide - doing actual investigative work by sending real people to research the hotels. Most of the internet sites rely on user ratings. St Louis has four 4 Diamond hotels and no 5 diamond hotels.



Chase Park Plaza

The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis

Westin St. Louis

Hyatt Regency St. Louis At Union Station



The AAA ratings are updated every 12 months while the Mobile Travel Guide ratings are updated every 18 months


The Renaissance St. Louis Suites Hotel and the Renaissance Grand Hotel also have been given the AAA 4 Diamond rating according to the 2006 AAA Missouri Tourbook.
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PostJul 14, 2006#12

Thank you for the clarification.



I have contacted Pinnacle on the flagship of the new property. My response reads:



"Our 200-room Four Seasons hotel and spa is scheduled for completion in St. Louis in 2007. It will be connected to the new casino on the historic Laclede's Landing via an elevated pedestrian walkway."







Their website reads:



"Five star luxury hotel with 200 guestrooms and adjoining luxury spa

The project features two hotels, including a five-star property and an Embassy Suites. The five-star hotel will include 200 rooms, a spa, two fine restaurants and a magnificent pool and entertainment area off the hotel lobby overlooking the Gateway Arch. At night, the hotel tower will light up in an arc reminiscent of the Arch from the side of the tower and across the top, creating a signature mark for the property and a stunning new addition to the city skyline."



http://www.pinnaclestlouis.com/
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PostJul 14, 2006#13

What is the classification for a "Five Star Hotel"?



Amenties? Room pricing?



What is the difference between Five Star and Four Star?



So, I'm guessing.....



Motel 6, Howard Johnson, Travelodge is a One Star



Days Inn, Fairfield Inn, Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn is a Two Star



Courtyard at Marriot, Hilton, Marriot, Radisson, Ramada are Three Star



Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Renaissance, Hyatt, Inter-Continental are Four Stars
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PostJul 14, 2006#14

^The ratings are very subjective, so don't expect any definitive answer as to what the difference is between 4 and 5 stars. It's just like restaurant ratings, it has to do with service and quality, all of the expected basics must be performed perfectly and it really must exceed expectations in some way. A 5 star restaurant is one that really stands out nationally and internationally, just like a 5 star hotel. There are only a few dozen in the U.S.



There are only a handful of chains that are usually 5-star: Swissotel, Ritz, Pennisula, Shangi-La, Four Seasons, etc., but even these chains don't always rate 5 stars, e.g. the Ritz here. And, sometimes a Marriott, Hilton or Omni can be a 5 star, it just depends...
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PostJul 14, 2006#15

It also takes time to become a 5 star/5 diamond hotel... the Four Seasons may eventually become that, but you ahve to be established for a certain amount of time before you are given a 5th star, it is one of the criteria.



it is very subjective, but if you look at the criteria, its pretty easy to figure out...



the consistant 5 star hotels seem to be four seasons, J.W. Marriott, St. Regis, Sofitel



every time a hotel is rated, they are given a list of criteria in which they need to improve to gain another star/diamond. An example of this is that last year the Sheraton City Center wasa 3 star hotel...they have been trying to get a 4th star, so they added wet bars to every room as that was one criteria that they were short...so next time they can pitch that.



All I can say a bout a 5 star hotel is that it may not make sense until you stay in one...then you really understand what makes a hotel 5 stars
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PostJul 15, 2006#16

That's what I don't get: How can anyone claim a Hotel is going to be 5-star before its even built?
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PostJul 15, 2006#17

^The same way they can claim it is going to be a Four Seasons, or that they can claim that the casino will benefit Laclede's Landing, or that the design of the hotel and casino is a "Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design". They just do it, with no basis in reality, expecting that people here won't ask too many questions...
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PostJul 15, 2006#18

^ tough crowd. I'm sure there's very specific industry standards that must be met and I'm sure they will be ...
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PostJul 17, 2006#19

I just checked the Exxon Mobil website (that's who gives out the official stars) and not a single hotel in St. Louis even scored 4 stars. That said, the Ritz wasn't listed at all so maybe it hasn't been reviewed (or they don't want to be), but the Ritz seems to score well in other places, 5 stars in NY, Palm Beach, Naples, Chicago and San Francisco. And as posted earlier, in the US, Mobil only lists 32 hotels as receiving 5 stars on their website. The Chase was listed as three stars as did several of the other hotels mentioned here. I wonder who else is giving out stars to explain the disparity. Maybe that someone is on the take, selling stars.



http://mobiltravelguide.howstuffworks.c ... hannel.htm



And on another note, I don't think it's that absurd to claim you are going to be a 5 star hotel before you even build it. I mean you knew the Wynn was going to be a 5 star property the moment he put it on a napkin. Now, whether they build what they say they are going to build, is another story.



And speaking of other stories--can we talk about who is going to stay at a five star hotel in St. Louis, each star adds $$$$ to the price of the room. Are the other premium hotels in St. Louis like the Ritz and the Chase, doing that well. I visit St. Louis a lot and those hotels don't seem to be that busy expect on graduation weekends and special things like that.
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PostJul 17, 2006#20

I just checked the Exxon Mobil website (that's who gives out the official stars) and not a single hotel in St. Louis even scored 4 stars. That said, the Ritz wasn't listed at all so maybe it hasn't been reviewed


I just looked and the Ritz showed up as 4 stars, not sure what you were looking at.



http://mobiltravelguide.howstuffworks.c ... -hotel.htm
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PostJul 17, 2006#21

^ And if you go to kayak.com, which is the hotel search link that the Mobil Travel Guide provides, the Ritz is listed as 5 stars. :lol: So, who the hell knows...



http://www.kayak.com/h/hotel/14784



FYI, AOL hotel guide calls the Ritz, "the only 4 star, 4 diamond hotel in St. Louis", which is also kind of funny, considering it is not even in St. Louis.
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PostJul 20, 2006#22

^ Well that explains why the Ritz didn't come up on my search, it's not in "St. Louis". I still forget that St. Louis is split up like it is.
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