Mobil Guide toasts its 50th

Mobil gave five stars to three spas, 17 restaurants and 41 lodgings this year.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Mobil Travel Guide, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has for the first time awarded five stars to properties in Wyoming and Utah.

The Four Seasons Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah, were both new additions to Mobil’s 2008 five-star club.

Other properties appearing on Mobil’s five-star list for the first time are the Boston Harbor Hotel and The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the longest-running property on Mobil’s five-star list, marking its 48th year of receiving the honor.

Three new restaurants earned five stars from the 2008 guide: the Georgian Room in Sea Island, Ga., The Inn at Dos Brisas in Brenham, Texas, and Le Bernardin in New York.

Only one new spa — the Spa at the Sanctuary at the Kiawah Island resort — was added to the list this year.

A total of 41 lodgings, 17 restaurants and three spas earned five stars from Mobil.

The new guide also lists 50 newly added four-star hotels, restaurants and spas.

The four-star list includes the famed Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. The Greenbrier lost its five-star Mobil rating in 2000, and had hoped to regain the prestigious ranking following the completion last year of a $50 million renovation project.

First published in 1958, the Mobil Travel Guide uses a rigorous standardized system for evaluating properties, with 750 criteria for hotels, more than 250 for restaurants, and 450 criteria for spas. Mobil’s inspectors also make unannounced, undercover visits. Their service evaluation, for example, looks to see if guests are greeted by a valet within 60 seconds upon arriving at a hotel or are offered a beverage within 60 seconds of being seated at a restaurant.

“We are thrilled to share this landmark year with travelers across the world and look forward to another fantastic 50 years,” said Shane O’Flaherty, president and CEO for Mobil Travel Guide.

Special 50th anniversary editions of Mobil’s 15 regional travel guides are available from Langenscheidt Publishing for $16.95-$19.95, or check out the list online at www.mobiltravelguide.com.