Mobil Travel Guide Announces the New List for Five Star Properties in Ohio

Mobil Travel Guide, the originator of the Mobil Travel Guide star ratings certifications, today unveiled its list of Mobil Four- and Five-Star hotels, restaurants and spas. This is a milestone year for a company that has defined excellence and quality in the travel industry for the past 50 years. The complete list of Mobil Star award winners and updated comprehensive reviews written by Mobil Travel Guide’s experts are available exclusively at www.mobiltravelguide.com.

“Consumers today are inundated with an influx of consumer reviews, online booking engine star ratings and self imposed ratings by properties. Much of this information is conflicting in nature making it difficult for the consumer to make an informed travel decision. For the past 50 years, Mobil Travel Guide has been the trusted source in travel ratings and expert reviews, steering travelers in the right direction,” said Shane O’Flaherty, President and CEO for Mobil Travel Guide. “We are thrilled to share this landmark year with travelers across the world and look forward to another fantastic 50 years.”

Several of Mobil Travel Guide’s Five-Star properties are celebrating record achievements of their own. The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs will mark its 48th year on the Mobil Five-Star list, making it the longest running Mobil Five-Star property in Mobil Travel Guide’s history. Several new additions to the Mobil Five-Star list will be the first properties in their respective states to be awarded the honor, including the Four Seasons Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah.

This year Mobil Travel Guide has added eight new properties to the Mobil Five-Star list. Four new Mobil Five-Star hotels join the Five-Star list, including the Boston Harbor Hotel, The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island in South Carolina, the Four Seasons Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah. Three new restaurants have been awarded a Mobil Five-Star rating: the Georgian Room in Sea Island, Ga., The Inn at Dos Brisas in Brenham, Texas and Le Bernardin in New York, N.Y. One new spa—the Spa at the Sanctuary in South Carolina—completes the list of only three Mobil Five-star Spas in the United States and Canada. Along with the newest Five-Star properties, Mobil Travel Guide is announcing 50 new Four-Star hotels, restaurants and spas for 2008.

Since 1958 the Mobil Travel Guide’s ratings process has been based on more than 750 standardized criteria for hotels, more than 250 for restaurants, and more recently 450 different criteria for spas, making it the most rigorous and comprehensive in the industry. The process begins with a facility inspection that considers every aspect of the property, including its overall cleanliness, condition and location. To achieve Mobil Four- and Five-Star status, properties must then meet or exceed Mobil’s bar-setting service standards, which are determined through an unannounced, undercover service evaluation conducted by Mobil Travel Guide’s expert inspectors. The service evaluation focuses on a myriad of details that combine to create the overall guest experience, such as whether the inspector was greeted by a valet within 60 seconds upon arriving at a hotel or offered a beverage within 60 seconds after being seated at a restaurant.

A special 50th Anniversary edition of Mobil Travel Guide’s print guides will be distributed by Langenscheidt Publishing Group (LPG) and will be available at all major book stores starting January 29th, 2008.
For a detailed explanation of how Mobil Travel Guide compiles its star ratings, visit www.mobiltravelguide.com.

ABOUT MOBIL TRAVEL GUIDE:
Mobil Travel Guide, originator of the prestigious Mobil Star ratings and certifications, has provided the most comprehensive ratings and reviews of hotels, restaurants and spas since 1958. Mobil Travel Guide's team of anonymous, expert inspectors evaluates properties against rigorous and objective proprietary standards, giving consumers the insight to make better-informed travel and leisure decisions. Mobil Travel Guide is under license from Exxon Mobil Corporation and is headquartered in Chicago, Ill. For more information, visit www.mobiltravelguide.com.