AAA Five-Diamond Hotel inspectors got tough in 2013, dropping more resorts than it added. Among the surprising absences were two great Las Vegas properties, Wynn and Encore. The Plaza Hotel in New York also slipped from the list, surpassed by newcomer Trump SoHo.

Canada doubled its Five Diamond properties to four. The newcomers are century-old The Ritz-Carlton, Montreal, which emerged from a $200-million-dollar renovation at the end of 2011 and towering, ultra-modern Shangri-la Hotel Vancouver.

Compare this year's AAA Five-Diamond Hotels & Resorts in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico with previous years or view those considered 2013's crème de la crème:

See Current Winners

ARIZONA

The Phoenician - Scottsdale
The Canyon Suites at the Phoenician - Scottsdale
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

CALIFORNIA
The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows
L'Ermitage Beverly Hills
Four Seasons Biltmore - Santa Barbara
The Grand Del Mar
Island Hotel Newport Beach
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village
Lodge at Torrey Pines
Montage Beverly Hills
Montage Laguna Beach - new this year
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
Park Hyatt Aviara Resort - Carlsbad
The Peninsula Beverly Hills
Pelican Hill Resort
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel - Dana Point
The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
Simpson House Inn - Santa Barbara
St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach - Dana Point

COLORADO
The Broadmoor - Colorado Springs
The Little Nell - Aspen
The Ritz-Carlton, Denver

CONNECTICUT
The Mayflower Inn & Spa - Washington
Winvian - Morris

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C.
The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown
The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC

FLORIDA
Acqualina Resort and Spa on the Beach - Sunny Isles
The Breakers - Palm Beach
Four Seasons Hotel Miami
Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach
Mandarin Oriental, Miami
Ponte Vedra Inn and Club
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island - new this year
The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples
The Ritz-Carlton, Naples
The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach - now under new management
The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
St. Regis Bal Harbour - new this year

GEORGIA
Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta
InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta
The St. Regis Atlanta Hotel
The Lodge at Sea Island - St Simons Island
The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta
The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead
The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation

HAWAII
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka'upulehu - Kailua-Kona
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua

ILLINOIS
Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
The Peninsula Chicago
Waldorf=Astoria Chicago
Trump International Hotel

MASSACHUSETTS
Four Seasons Hotel Boston
Mandarin Oriental, Boston
The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common

MISSOURI
Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis

NEVADA
Aria Resort & Casino
Aria Sky Suites
Bellagio
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas
Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas
The Palazzo
Skylofts at the MGM Grand Hotel
The Venetian

NEW YORK
Four Seasons Hotel New York
Mandarin Oriental Hotel New York
The Peninsula New York
The Pierre New York - A Taj Hotel
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
Trump International Hotel & Tower
Trump SoHo - new this year

NORTH CAROLINA
Umstead Hotel & Spa - Cary
The Fearrington House Inn
The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte

OHIO
Inn Walden - Aurora

PENNSYLVANIA
The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia
Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia
Falling Rock at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
The Rittenhouse Hotel - Philadelphia

RHODE ISLAND
Ocean House

SOUTH CAROLINA
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff
The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort

TENNESSEE
The Hermitage Hotel - Nashville

TEXAS
Four Seasons Hotel Houston
Four Seasons Resort & Club - Irving
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas
The St. Regis Houston

UTAH
Grand America Hotel - Salt Lake City
Stein Eriksen Lodge - Park City

VIRGINIA
The Jefferson Hotel - Richmond
The Inn at Little Washington

WEST VIRGINIA
The Greenbrier - White Sulphur Springs

WISCONSIN
The American Club - Kohler

WYOMING
Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole

C A N A D A

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Four Seasons Resort Whistler
Shangri-la Hotel Vancouver - new this year

ONTARIO
The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto

QUEBEC
The Ritz-Carlton, Montreal - new this year

C A R I B B E A N

ANTIGUA
Jumby Bay

BARBADOS
Sandy Lane Hotel

CAYMAN ISLANDS
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman

DOMINCAN REPUBLIC
Tortuga Bay Punta Cana Resort & Club

JAMAICA
The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort, Rose Hall - under new management in 2013

NEVIS
Four Seasons Nevis - new this year

PUERTO RICO
St. Regis Bahia Beach - new this year

ST. LUCIA
Jade Mountain Resort

M E X I C O
Capella Pedregal Resort and Spa, Cabo San Lucas - new this year
Fairmont Mayakoba
Le Blanc Spa Resort - Cancun
JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa
Four Seasons Hotel Mexico, D.F. - Mexico City
Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita
Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort - Nuevo Vallarta
Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort - Riviera Maya
Rosewood Mayakoba
The Ritz Carlton, Cancun
The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort
Las Ventanas al Paraiso - San José del Cabo
Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Resort - Riviera Maya

More Winners:
AAA Five-Diamond Winners
Mobil Five-Star Winners
Best New Hotels for Romance

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