Lenox, MA  (July 2002) - Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club has been awarded the prestigious American Automobile Association (AAA) Four Diamond rating for 2002.  Cranwell is now among less than three percent of the nearly 29,000 AAA nationally approved properties to achieve this prestigious distinction.  It is the only resort property in Massachusetts and one of only four resorts in New England to receive the Four Diamond rating. 
 

�AAA Four Diamond Award winners like the Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club know the language of quality, as they consistently deliver premier experiences, complete with superior personal service, first-class amenities and impressive surroundings,� said Thomas Goggins, Vice President of the Berkshire County AAA. �I am very proud of our entire staff at Cranwell for making this resort one of the best in the Northeast,� said Cranwell General Manager Lew Kiesler.  �It is because of their

. The centerpiece of the Cranwell Resort property is the hilltop Tudor-style Mansion, which has dominated the countryside for more than a century.

Cranwell�s new designation will be listed in the AAA 2003 Connecticut/Massachusetts/ Rhode Island Tour Book® guide. 

This spring, Cranwell opened its new, state-of-the-art 35,000 square-foot Spa, which is the largest in the Northeast.  The Spa at Cranwell offers more than 30 treatments, an indoor pool, fitness center, luxurious lounges with fireplaces, and spa café. 

Set on a hilltop overlooking the Berkshire Mountains, the 380-acre Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club is a year-round resort featuring 107 deluxe guest rooms, an 18-hole championship golf course with nationally renowned Golf Digest School. 

In addition, the Cranwell resort offers 16,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space for conferences and weddings, four Har-Tru tennis courts, an outdoor heated pool, 10 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails, and three restaurants with magnificent 60-mile views of the surrounding hills.

Built in 1894, the historic  �Gilded Age� Cranwell Mansion has been restored to its original 19th century grandeur, earning the Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club membership in the prestigious Historic Hotels of America. Cranwell has also recently received the �Excellence in the East Award� from the readers of Meetings East Magazine and is rated �Excellent� by the well-regarded Zagat Hotel Guide. 

The American Automobile Association is one of the world's largest travel organizations.   AAA annually evaluates each lodging establishment appearing in its travel publications.  More than 60 AAA/CAA tourism editors visit nearly 50,000 lodgings, campgrounds, restaurants and attractions each year throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.  Tourism editors conduct unannounced evaluations for lodgings and restaurants, scrutinizing such areas as cleanliness, ambiance, amenities and service.

AAA has included lodging information in its travel publications since the early 1900�s.  The Association began rating hotels and other accommodations in 1963, adopting the current rating system since 1977 in celebration of AAA�s 75th Anniversary.  Evaluations and Diamond ratings began in 1986.