Here’s what it takes to gain 5-star listing from Mobil

Three-fourths of a hotel’s score is for service, and the other fourth is for facilities.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

For 2007, the editors of Mobil Travel Guide considered only 35 U.S. hotels worthy of five-star status, a rating The Greenbrier in southern West Virginia is intent on regaining in the coming years.

New to the list are: The Tower Suites in Las Vegas; St. Regis Resort at Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif.; the Mandarin Oriental in New York; St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco; and The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, the first five-star in Tennessee.

Properties worthy of four and five stars are rated in a two-part inspection process with a total of 750 possible points — 225 points for facilities and 525 points for service, says Shane O’Flaherty, vice president of quality assurance at Mobil Travel Guide. Room service alone is broken down into about 40 questions.

Seventy-five percent of a hotel’s score is based on service, 25 percent on facilities.

To earn a fifth star, properties must score in the 90th percentile; landing in the 80th percentile earns four-star status.

“No one thing can bring you down. It’s really the composite score,” O’Flaherty says. “We evaluate it for what it is, not what we want it to be.”

So, what are some of the criteria?

What’s required

According to the Exxon Mobil Web site, “consistently superlative service and expanded amenities in a luxurious, distinctive environment.” A five-star resort should have all the amenities of a four-star, plus some of the following:

UA well-informed staff that is “extremely well-spoken, polite and clear, avoids slang and phrase-fragments.”

UA choice of at least two complimentary newspapers.

U24-hour room service.

UCloth towels and fresh plants or flowers in public washrooms.

UThree phones per guest room, including one in the bathroom.

UCD player/stereo.

UHigh-quality ice bucket and glasses with sterile tongs.

UFresh flowers in guest rooms.

USeparate shower and tub.

UProactive service at pools, with towel and chair assistance and complimentary refreshments when the weather is warm.

XFor more information, visit mobiltravelguide.howstuffworks.com.