Top Ontario dining spots include Riverbend Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Ontario is the place to be if you're looking for top quality lodgings and restaurants. At the annual Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) four diamond awards presentation in Toronto last week, 106 Ontario establishments received the prestigious rating -- that's 28 more than were awarded in each of the previous two years. According to Tatjana Sulker, spokeswoman for the CAA South Central Ontario, more properties are striving for four diamond status.

"A few new restaurants and hotels have opened up in the past year, and we've seen a number of upgrades at existing establishments," Sulker says.

In all, 55 lodgings and 51 restaurants in Ontario received the award this year. Most of the winners are in Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. By comparison, in 2004, 47 lodgings and 31 restaurants in Ontario received a four diamond rating; in 2003, 46 lodgings and 32 restaurants got the award.

Some establishments, such as Ottawa's Brookstreet Hotel, which commissioned 1,600 art works by local art students, go to great lengths to distinguish themselves. The hotel's Patrice Basille says it took him a year just to develop a unique amenity kit for his guests.

"My vision was to have the amenities -- the shampoo, body lotion -- in a tube like something I saw in France, but it took me six months to find the tube, then three months to find the machine, then three months to find a company that would accept to put the fragrance that I wanted into my tubing."

The attention to detail obviously paid off, as Brookstreet, which opened in the spring of 2003, just picked up its second consecutive four diamond award.

DIAMOND RATINGS: HOW DOES IT WORK?

Each year CAA/AAA's 65 field evaluators inspect more than 70,000 properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Inspectors arrive unannounced and rate lodgings and restaurants in key areas.

A rating -- from one diamond (good but basic) to five diamonds (outstanding) -- is then assigned and listed in the CAA/AAA's TourBooks.

Only 3% of all the lodgings and restaurants that are rated, are awarded the four diamond award each year.

DID YOU KNOW?

- Two Toronto establishments have the most consecutive wins -- the Westin Prince Hotel (host of this year's awards event) with 29, and the Old Mill Inn restaurant with 17.

- Only two Ontario establishments won the rare five diamond award: Truffles restaurant (in the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto) and Langdon Hall Dining Room & Terrace (in the Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa) in Cambridge.

- Touchstone Manor in Stratford is one of the very few B&B's to garner a four-diamond award.

Signatures @ Cordon Bleu Paris, in Ottawa.

"Only one B&B in North America has five diamonds and in Canada only one other B&B has four diamonds," says proprietor Jennifer Birmingham.

- Only 29% of the four diamond restaurants have maintained their status for 10 years or more.

In Ontario, nine restaurants have at least 10 or more consecutive wins (see CAA website for details).

- Of this year's 106 Ontario winners, eight lodgings and 15 restaurants have won for the first time

For more, visit central.on.caa.ca.

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CAA FOUR DIAMOND RECIPIENTS

FIRST TIME WINNERS:

HOTELS

- The Elora Mill Inn

- Embassy Suites Niagara Falls Fallsview

- Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort

- Riverbend Inn and Vineyard, and The Charles Inn, both in Niagara-on-the-Lake

- Touchstone Manor, Stratford

- Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel, Renaissance Toronto Hotel at SkyDome

RESTAURANTS

- The Inn at Manitou Dining Room, McKellar

- Breakwater Fine Dining, Mississauga

- Hillebrand Estate Winery Restaurant, Peller Estates Winery Restaurant, Riverbend Inn Dining Room, and The Charles Inn Dining Room, all in Niagara-on-the-Lake

- Beckta Dining & Wine, and Signatures @ Le Cordon Bleu Paris, both in Ottawa

- Azure, Bellini's, Bymark Restaurant & Bar, Luce, Opus Restaurant on Prince Arthur, Tundra, and Via Allegro Ristorante, all in Toronto