Jan. 9--ExxonMobil announced its five-star lodging and restaurant award winners Tuesday, and, once again, Broward and Miami-Dade counties were left out in the cold. Miami's top contender, the Mandarin Oriental in Brickell Key, was given four stars, as was its restaurant, Azul, while the hotel's counterpart in San Francisco received five stars for the third year in a row. 

Palm Beach's Four Seasons and Breakers won top honors for the fourth and fifth years running, respectively, and Naples' Ritz-Carlton got the nod too, for the 14th time. 

"I'm not happy. I was expecting a five," said Jorge Gonzalez, general manager of Miami's Mandarin Oriental. "But then again, it's a start. We're all focused on working on the fifth." 

Mobil Travel, considered the industry benchmark in gauging high-end hotels and restaurants, has announced its ratings once a year since 1958. Its inspectors, undercover hotel and restaurant experts, usually wait six to 12 months after a property opens before administering their verdict. 

Industry watchers said Miami and Broward's five-star snub shouldn't last much longer, considering gilded flags like the Four Seasons, St. Regis and two more Ritz-Carltons are coming on board. 

"If you look at other cities with similar product, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Phoenix, you'll find over time that each of those destinations have multiple five-star properties," said Scott Berman, an analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

The Mandarin should take heart in a five-star fact: with the exception of a scant number of resorts, hotels rarely early five stars the first year they are rated. 

"The paths that many five-star properties take is to start as a four star and move up," said Sandy Duhe, program manager for Mobil Travel Guide. 

The Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco earned a four-star rating for three years before earning the extra star in 2000, a rating it has kept. 

Miami did have a five-star property once: the Wyndham Grand Bay Coconut Grove earned that glory in 1994, before slipping to a four-star 1997 through 2000, and finally to a three star last year. 

Attaining a five-star rating can take years, and requires scrupulous attention to detail. Calls to the reservation desk must be answered by the third ring, sheets must have a 300-thread count, and virtually any culinary request must be met, 24 hours a day. The standards must be upheld consistently for a property to keep its rating. 

Loews Miami Beach kept its four stars, as did Miami's Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, the Biltmore in Coral Gables, the Fisher Island Club, Key West's Little Palm Island, the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, the PGA National Resort & Spa in West Palm Beach, and the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Sixteen South Florida restaurants also got the four star nod. 

The coveted five-star award was bequeathed to 25 deluxe lodgings and 14 restaurants nationwide for 2001. The only newcomer to the list was the Alain Ducasse restaurant in New York's Essex House. 

"Getting five stars has tremendous value for all concerned: the customers, the owner, the shareholders, and us," Gonzalez said. "When you're in this market segment, you're reaching for the best. That means 120 percent instead of one hundred. We'll smile a lot more when we get the five star." 

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(c) 2002, The Miami Herald. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. XOM, MAR, WYN, LTR,