Travel

A luxury hotel in Boston just earned 5 diamonds from AAA

It was the only new property across North America and the Caribbean added to AAA's coveted list in 2021.

By Kristi Palma

March 12, 2021

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A Back Bay hotel with a killer view of the city and “ultimate comforts” now ranks in the upper echelon of the hospitality industry, according to AAA.

Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston, which opened in 2019 inside a 61-story glass skyscraper, was just granted AAA five diamond status, the only new property across North America and the Caribbean added to AAA’s coveted list in 2021. It joins the following AAA five diamond hotels in Boston: Boston Harbor Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel Boston, Mandarin Oriental Boston, and The Ritz-Carlton, Boston. 

Hotels that earn five-diamond status must pass a rigorous evaluation that includes unannounced inspections, anonymous overnight stays, and careful review by a panel of industry experts. Out of 53,000 AAA diamond-designated hotels and restaurants across North America, only 0.3 percent have earned the five diamond designation, according to AAA.

“Boston’s newest luxury hotel is steeped in a creative blend of arty inspirations and ultimate comforts,” an inspector for the organization wrote about Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston.

The inspector lauded the hotel’s beautifully designed rooms, luxe furnishings, “sumptuous” bed linens, plush lobby, and Boston artwork, according to AAA. The hotel has also launched enhanced health and safety protocols in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are honored and humbled to have won this coveted distinction and to be one of only five hotels in Boston with this designation,” Reed Kandalaft, general manager of Four Seasons One Dalton Street, Boston, said in a statement. “To be ranked in the same category as the best hotels in the world and to join the upper echelons within the hospitality industry is a testament to the exceptional Four Seasons team members who go above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis and display a genuine passion for what they do. Thanks to them, we are able to not only fulfill, but to surpass, our guest expectations and create memorable moments consistently.”

Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston, was also awarded AAA’s Best of Housekeeping designation, as well as a Best of 2020 designation for its “spectacular and expansive” views of the city.

Hotels and restaurants in the AAA diamond program must meet AAA’s high standards of cleanliness, comfort, and hospitality and are classified as approved, three diamond, four diamond, and five diamond. The diamond hotels and restaurants are reevaluated annually. AAA now has 182 five diamond properties: 119 hotels and 63 restaurants.