Mobil Corporation today announced two first-time and 39 repeat recipients of the coveted Mobil Travel Guide Five-Star Award and 405 Mobil Four-Star Award winners. The honorees represent a select group chosen from over 22,000 lodging and dining establishments included in the 1998 volumes of the Mobil Travel Guide. The highly regarded, comprehensive directory of places to stay and dine throughout North America celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. A complete description of the Mobil Four- and Five-Star recipients is contained in Mobil Travel Guide America's Best Hotels and Restaurants: The Four- and Five-Star Winners of 1998, published by Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc., available in bookstores nationwide starting today. 

"Mobil congratulates the recipients of these prestigious awards," said Lucio A. Noto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mobil Corporation. "The 1998 Mobil Four- and Five-Star Award winners have demonstrated a commitment to excellence that is raising the standards for all restaurants and lodgings throughout North America. We salute their dedication to consistently delivering the kind of quality experience that today's discerning traveler expects and demands." 

1998 Mobil Five-Star and Four-Star Winners

In 1998, 25 lodgings and 16 restaurants earned Mobil Five-Stars for demonstrating superiority in every facet of their operations, attending to every detail and offering guests a memorable, one-of-a-kind experience, every time.

Among the 41 elite establishments receiving Mobil Travel Guide's highest accolade are two first-time winners: The Point, Upper Saranac Lake, New York, a resort in the heart of pristine Adirondack Park, and The Grill Room, New Orleans, Louisiana, an elegant restaurant in the Windsor Court Hotel featuring Contemporary American
cuisine. Noteworthy also is The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida, a privately owned resort listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, which returns to Mobil Five-Star status this year. 

In the very desirable Mobil Four-Star category, approximately 15 percent of the properties have changed from 1997, with 49 establishments joining the level, 65 others leaving the category and six closing, for a 1998 total of 405 Mobil Four-Star Awards. 

40 Years of Evaluating Excellence

Since its beginning in 1958, the Mobil Travel Guide has used an objective set of criteria, unique among leading travel books, that sets national standards yet allows for regional and individual preferences. A carefully selected team of culinary and hospitality experts evaluate the establishments listed in the Guide. Restaurants and lodgings must offer a level of experience appropriate to the cost, based on the quality of such items as food, decor, comfort, amenities, service or a combination of the above. The rating criteria for each star-level are specific, but are regularly revised and updated to accurately reflect the changing tastes and expectations of travelers. 

The first edition covered five south central states, and four-stars was the highest award. Today the Mobil Travel Guide covers all of the United States and Canada in 12 volumes. Among the longest running Mobil Five-Star recipients are The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado (38 years), The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (37 years), Maisonette in Cincinnati, Ohio (34 years), The Carlyle in New York, New York (30 years) and Marriott's Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona (29 years). 

Mobil Star ratings are reviewed and updated annually. According to Mark Jacobson, program advisor for Mobil Corporation, "In reviewing properties for each year's edition, Mobil Travel Guide has consistently focused on what travelers like and expect. The standards developed by our team of culinary and hospitality experts have become benchmarks for excellence in the travel industry." 

New Publications and Schedules Meet Travelers Needs

Mobil Travel Guide will launch three new titles in 1998. New titles covering Florida and Southern California, two of the country's most popular warm-weather destinations, will be in bookstores starting January 13. The new Mobil Travel Guide On the Road with Your Pet will be published in April. The eight regional volumes of the 1998 Mobil Travel Guide will also be published in April, reflecting a new release schedule timed to provide information  during peak vacation planning and travel periods. 

Revisions Throughout

The 1998 Mobil Travel Guide series contains detailed information on approximately 22,000 restaurants, hotels, resorts, motels, lodges, guest ranches and inns. Enhancements for 1998 include increased sports team and stadium information; state and national park lists; web site addresses for states, cities and properties; climate charts and state calendar highlights. The appearance of the books has also changed with eye-catching cover design and interior design that makes them easier to use than ever before. Approximately 1,750 new restaurants and lodgings have been added to the 1998 edition, and approximately 2,000 establishments saw changes in the number of stars they earned. Unique among leading travel books, Mobil Travel Guide rates establishments on information gathered, using an objective set of criteria that set national standards yet allow for regional and individual preferences.