Triple-A-Iowa is set to release its 2006 tour book and only three hotels in the state have been rated with the motor club’s coveted “four diamond” award. Gail Weinholzer is spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa says all three of the state’s top-ranked hotels have been on the list before. The Abbey Hotel, in Bettendorf, has made the four-diamond list for the 13th year in a row. The Ameristar Casino Hotel, in Council Bluffs, has been ranked among the best now for the eighth consecutive year, while the Hotel Pattee in Perry is on the list for the sixth straight year. Weinholzer says they judge hotels on delivering premiere experiences, superior personal service, first-class amenities and impressive surroundings. Weinholzer says very few hotels ever make the four-diamond list. Only about three-percent of the nation’s 32-thousand Triple-A-rated lodgings attain the high level of excellence. The motor club began listing lodging information in its travel publications in the early 1900s and officially began rating properties in 1963.
