Understanding how Hotels are Rated in Las Vegas
Back in the “good old days” both the hotels and casinos of Las Vegas were largely unregulated and just about anything went. However, this is not true today and has not been true for a long time. Today, both hotels and casinos are closely regulated by the authorities and routinely monitored by various ratings companies. If you take the time to know and understand how the two ratings systems – the Diamond System and the Star System – work in Las Vegas, you should have a good idea of what you are getting into long in advance of checking into your hotel.
The Diamond Rating System
The Diamond Rating System was developed by and is administered by the American Automobile Association (“Triple A” or the AAA) which routinely visits and rates hotels all across the United States. In the Diamond Rating System, the absolute highest rating possible is five diamonds and this means that the hotel, the rooms, and the service are on par with the very best available anywhere in the world. These are places that are truly fit for royalty and the wealthiest in society. Las Vegas only has five hotels which reach the five diamond standard and guest can expect to pay for this level service and comfort. Most luxury hotels in Las Vegas only rank as four diamonds or less.
The bottom rating in the Diamond System is one diamond, which basically means the hotel offers a clean and safe room but without many amenities and few frills. A one diamond room is essentially what you would find in most basic budget hotels and motels, though there are minimum standards that must be met to achieve this rating. If a hotel does not live up to these minimum standards, Triple A simply will not rate the hotel. Some hotels prefer not to advertise their star rating; especially it is lower than they would prefer to advertise. In this case, the hotel is allowed to simple post up notice that it is “AAA Approved”, which is a fully legitimate alternative to public posting their diamond rating.