ANAHEIM, Calif. Aug. 17, 2011 – AAA has bestowed its coveted 2012 Four Diamond award upon the landmark Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California making it the second property at the Disneyland Resort to secure such a high rating.

The designation was announced in a recent letter to the resort. The announcement noted that only four percent of the 31,000 hotel properties AAA reviews achieve this enviable distinction.

“This is tremendous news, especially for the 1,000 Cast Members who work at the Disneyland Hotel and create magical experiences for our guests,” said Tony Bruno, vice president resort hotels and Downtown Disney. “The award underscores our continued investment in the guest experience and all our ongoing work, which has transformed the Disneyland Resort and Anaheim into Southern California’s world-class, multiday tourist destination.”

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa also is a AAA Four Diamond award winner and is home to yet another AAA Four Diamond recipient: the popular Napa Rose restaurant.

According to the Auto Club, AAA’s Diamond rating program is the only hotel and restaurant review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives. As part of AAA’s national network, the Auto Club’s own staff reviews establishments without prior notification using objective and detailed rating procedures.

“North America’s AAA Diamond Rating System is a long-time trusted systematic method of rating lodgings and restaurants,” said the Auto Club’s Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco. “Southern California’s hotels and restaurants that earn the AAA Four Diamond award maintain a very high standard of service in their hotels and restaurants in order to continue pleasing their guests.”

Earlier this summer, the Disneyland Hotel marked a milestone in the property’s major “re-imagination” project with the opening of a new courtyard, restaurant, bar, pool and water play area.

“This exciting renovation extends the immersion and magic of our park experience to this classic hotel,” said Bruno. “We’ve woven important pieces of Disneyland park history into the Disneyland Hotel, particularly with the reopening of the pool and courtyard area. The Disneyland Hotel now features some one-of-a-kind enhancements as a result of the property-wide program.”

The hotel’s three guest room towers have been renamed for some of Disneyland park’s distinctive lands: the Adventure Tower, Frontier Tower and Fantasy Tower. At the entrance of each tower, large marquees will feature classic artwork of Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland identifying each building.

The hotel’s beautifully remodeled guest rooms now feature exquisite Disney touches woven into the décor, including a stunning new headboard with an artistically carved representation of Disneyland park’s famous Sleeping Beauty Castle. The background on the headboards uses fiber optics to create a magical skyline with fireworks – bringing the immersive park experience into the room.

The Disneyland Hotel also features a unique collection of suites including the Mickey Mouse Penthouse, and the Pirates of the Caribbean and Fairly Tale suites. The newest additions include the Adventureland Suite, which offers guests a two-bedroom hideaway complete with a grotto in the master bathroom that simulates — through light and sound effects — a rain forest and African savanna. The Big Thunder Suite hosts up to six pioneers and immerses them in luxurious rustic accommodations inspired by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland park.

The new results at the Disneyland Hotel are a part of a larger expansion project underway throughout the Disneyland Resort. Disney California Adventure park is undergoing a multiyear expansion project that includes new experiences, attractions and nighttime spectaculars, culminating in 2012 with the opening of Cars Land. Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa also underwent an expansion in 2009 that added 203 hotel rooms and 50 two-bedroom villas that are part of the Disney Vacation Club, marking the club’s West Coast debut.