Local restaurants and hotels added to Four Diamond list
Five local restaurants and hotels have joined the ranks of AAA Four Diamond Award winners in Las Vegas.
Travel club AAA added four restaurants to its Four Diamond list Friday, bringing Southern Nevada's total to 29.
The new additions are Bradley Ogden and Mesa Grill, both at Caesars Palace; David Burke at The Venetian; and Michael Mina at Bellagio.
The group also expanded its Las Vegas hotel list by one, to 17. New in 2008 is Trump International Hotel & Tower, just off the Strip next to Fashion Show mall. The $1.2 billion Trump opened in March with 1,282 rooms and suites.
"Nevada as a tourist destination continues to raise the bar for the hotel and restaurant industries," said AAA spokesman Michael Geeser in a statement. "The list of AAA Four Diamond-rated properties and restaurants has been growing for the last 10 years with no end in sight. It's quite a feat to reach this prestigious list, much less to remain on it every year, and it proves that hospitality excellence is a Nevada tradition."
Caesars Palace General Manager John Unwin said property executives were "thrilled" with the addition of two of the resort's restaurants.
Unwin noted that Bradley Ogden is an "example of the really simple farm-to-table concept where (chef Bradley Ogden) and his team deliver these simple farm foods that you're amazed at."
The mashed potatoes are better than the mashed potatoes you've tasted anywhere in your life, probably including your mom's," Unwin added.
Repeat Four Diamond award winners are Alizé, Palms; Andre's French Restaurant, 401 S. Sixth St.; Andre's at the Monte Carlo; Aureole, Fleur de Lys, Mix and Stripsteak, Mandalay Bay; Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, Okada, SW Steakhouse and Wing Lei, Wynn Las Vegas; Craftsteak, Fiamma, L'Atelier Joel Robuchon, Nobhill Tavern, Pearl, Seablue and Shibuya, MGM Grand; Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Paris Las Vegas; Hank's Fine Steaks & Martinis, Green Valley Ranch Resort; Jasmine, Prime Steakhouse and Sensi, Bellagio; Marssa, Loews Lake Las Vegas; and Medici Cafe and Terrace, Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas.
Repeat local hotel winners include: Caesars Palace; Golden Nugget; Green Valley Ranch Resort; JW Marriott; Loews Lake Las Vegas; Mandalay Bay; MGM Grand; Monte Carlo; Paris Las Vegas; Red Rock Resort; Renaissance Las Vegas; the Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas; the Signature at MGM Grand; The Hotel at Mandalay Bay; The Mirage; and Treasure Island.
AAA released its Five Diamond Award winners Nov. 14. Las Vegas claimed five restaurants, second only to Chicago's seven, and five hotels on the Five Diamond list.
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.
