restaurants to match.

A hotel inspector for the world's largest motoring club -- the American Automobile Association -- said this week Bermuda's visitors receive and expect "superior treatment''.

After close to two weeks of visiting about a third of the 64 local guest properties and restaurants listed with the inspector, who asked not to be named, said six hotels and restaurants on the Island have drawn high marks in the past.

He has carried out extensive work in Maine, the Caribbean and Mexico over the past six years. And while this is his first visit to Bermuda, he said his purpose for being here is the same -- to ensure hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions were meeting the needs of visitors.

Inspection of AAA local members were expected to be completed by April 1. But ratings for last year showed that Bermuda has six four-diamond guest properties and restaurants; 23 three-diamond; 28 two-diamond; and 7 one-diamond.

Southampton Princess and Fourways Inn Cottage Colony are the only local guest properties of four-diamond standards.

Southampton Princess has held that rating for 10 years, while Fourways has had it for five.

The Newport Room at Southampton Princess, Waterlot Inn, Fourways, and TomMoore's Tavern are the restaurants carrying the four-diamond status.

The first three have held their ratings for four years and Tom Moore's Tavern has kept its rating for the past two years.

While there are no five-diamond properties on the Island, AAA Regional Sales Director Mr. Ian Sutherland said Bermuda has bell-curve ratings that "fits in rather nicely with the shape that were aiming at''.

Since its inception in 1902, Florida-based AAA has been seeking out safe, secure, and comfortable settings for tourists.

The non-profit corporation, which publishes travel guides and maps, has also been rating guest properties, restaurants, and attractions on a five-tier diamond system for the past 20 years.

AAA chose the "diamond'' for a symbol of rating in 1978 when it celebrated its diamond jubilee.

In order for a guest property or restaurant to become a member of AAA, it must meet basic safety, security, and comfort standards.

The inspector said once this is done, properties are regularly inspected and graded.

For AAA members in Bermuda, this takes place annually.

In the case of a guest property, the inspector will arrive on the property without notice and inform the management why he is there.

"We attempt to look at 10 percent of the rooms,'' the inspector said, adding that he inspects just about every internal and external aspect of the facility, including public toilets.

Features such as recreational facilities and a location near the beach are a bonus.

While having a faded bedspread may not result in a downgrading for a property, he said, violating any of AAA safety standards could lead to a second inspection or downgrading.

The inspector said while inspectors can only make recommendations, AAA's Committee on Accommodations makes the ultimate decision on whether or not a property is downgraded.

But the field inspector's report is accepted by the committee 99.9 percent of the time.

After an inspection, a restaurant or property receives a final grade determined by the totaling of grades received in specific areas.

Mr. Sutherland also said that a restaurant or guest property with a one-diamond rating did not mean it was less desirable for tourists.

He said 29,000 properties approved by AAA in North America, the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas, only represent 25 percent of the lodgings and restaurants that exist in those areas.

"Thus that one-diamond (property or restaurant) is tops to 75 percent of the properties,'' Mr. Sutherland said.

AAA held its awards ceremony last night at Fourways Inn.