MGM National Harbor Hotel Earns Prestigious Four Diamond Rating

OXON HILL, MD — Three DC area hotels received AAA's second-highest Four Diamond rating, including Oxon Hill's MGM National Harbor Hotel. Watergate Hotel, Trump International Hotel and MGM National Harbor Hotel joined the 17 other hotels in the Washington area that currently hold Four Diamond rankings, according to a report released Thursday.

To earn a Four Diamond rating, hotels must be "refined, stylish with upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail," according to the Auto Club.

"AAA’s Diamond rating program is the only hotel review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives who collectively visit some thousands of hotels and restaurants every week," the agency says.

MGM National Harbor Hotel at 101 MGM National Ave. is a 23-story hotel tower in the $1.4 billion Price George's County resort. The property has 14 restaurants, three bars/lounges, over 300 guest rooms, casino, full-service spa, outdoor pool, fitness center and more.

"Under one roof, guests will enjoy a sophisticated hotel experience, high-energy casino, celebrity-chef restaurants, world-class entertainment, nightlife, destination spa, upscale retail and curated art, complemented by incredible panoramas of D.C., Maryland and Virginia," Bill Boasberg, the resort‘s general manager, said in a release.

The newly-renovated Watergate Hotel at 2650 Virginia Ave. NW first opened in 1967. More than $150 million was recently spent to update the property. Renovations include 80 new guest rooms, adding a rooftop terrace and bar, putting in a spa and two restaurants and raising the level of an exterior garden to fit a new ballroom beneath it, according to the hotel.

AAA called the new Trump International Hotel "intricate and cutting-edge." The hotel at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave NW. opened in September and features more than 260 guest rooms and suites. The hotel has the largest luxury ballroom in DC at 38,000 square feet, as well as the OPO Bar & Lounge and BLT Prime by Chef David Burke.

There are 1,615 hotels with Four Diamond ratings from AAA in the U.S., and only 120 hotels that currently hold Five Diamond ratings. The Washington-area region properties with Five Diamond ratings include:

• Four Seasons Hotel
• The Ritz Carlton Georgetown
• The Ritz Carlton, D.C.
• The Inn at Little Washington

The Four Diamond Properties are:

• The Watergate Hotel
• The Trump International Hotel
• MGM National Harbor
• Fairmont, Washington, D.C., Georgetown
• Mandarin Oriental
• Omni Shoreham Hotel
• Park Hyatt
• The Hay-Adams
• Lansdowne Resort
• Hyatt Regency Reston
• Hilton McLean Tysons Corner
• The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner
• Middleton Inn
• The Loews Madison
• The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel
• The St. Regis Washington, D.C.
• The Westin Georgetown
• The Willard InterContinental
• Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
• The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City

Photo: Maryland GovPics/Flickr