Frida at Grand Velas Riviera Maya Earns AAA Four Diamond Award

Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Mexico (April 23, 2012) –Frida Restaurant at Grand Velas Riviera Maya, two time recipient of the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Five Diamond Award for lodging, earns the AAA Four Diamond Award for dining, its first time since the resort’s opening in 2008. Under the helm of Chef Ricardo de la Vega, the colorful restaurant, modeled after legendary Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, serves modern Mexican fare in an elegantindoor/outdoor setting with a bougainvillea-covered terrace overlooking the beach. A roving mixologist visits every table with a top-shelf tequila trolley, concocting a variety of seasonal margaritas, from the classic Cadillac to a more avant-garde coconut version served straight-up in a chilled flute, rimmed with toasted coconut. A sampling of the menu includes Grilled Flank Fillet with Roasted Cactus Leaves and Chipotle Chili Pepper Stuffed with cheese, Duck Tacos with Anise and Mole Poblano and Cactus Leaf Ravioli with Requeson Cheese in a creamy Guajillo Chile Pepper Sauce.

“Grand Velas Riviera Maya is setting the new 5 diamond standard throughout the industry for years to come,” said Tony Perrone, Regional Manager Travel at AAA.

“Not willing to be categorized with other all-inclusive resorts where cuisine is so often an afterthought, our restaurants are comparable to the finest free-standing restaurants in any of the world’s leading culinary capitals,” continued Patrick Louis, corporate executive chef and F&B director at Grand Velas. “Each of the fine-dining restaurants at the resort costs between $1 million and $3 million to design and build, and is staffed with talented and acclaimed chefs with experiences in some of the finest kitchens around the world.”

This Four Diamond Achievement ranks Frida as a premier dining establishment, esteemed by the AAA professional inspectors, hospitality industry and over 53 million AAA/CAA members. Fewer than three percent of the more than 27,000 restaurants approved by AAA achieve this prestigious distinction.

In addition to the AAA Four Diamond Award for dining, Frida has racked up numerous other awards, including BBVA Bancomer’s Gourmand List of the top 50 restaurants in Mexico and one of the top 20 dishes worldwide in 2011 by James Beard winner Brad Johnson. The resort was also recently featured in Forbes’ roundup of the 10 Coolest All-Inclusive Resorts.

About Grand Velas Riviera Maya:

The AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya, an all-suites and spa resort located five minutes from Playa del Carmen, is the latest and most sophisticated iteration of the ultra-luxury, all-inclusive resort experience. This Leading Hotels of the World designated resort is the preeminent one of its class boasting 491 suites, each more than 1,000 square-feet, in three separate ambiances– premium ocean-front Grand Class Suites with terrace plunge pools for families with children 12 and up, family-friendly ocean-view Ambassador Suites and Zen Grand Suites embraced by the flora and fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle. The resort presents a gastronomic tour of the Yucatan, Europe and Asia offering eight restaurants with world-class chefs from France, Spain and Mexico; dedicated butler service for each guest, and the region’s largest spa sanctuary at over 89,000 square-feet specializing in signature treatments inspired by ancient cultures from around the world. The spa was named “Best Spa” in the world by Virtuoso and also earned a SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Award. The resort was designed by lauded Mexican architecture firm Elias and Elias and features the sleek and modish interiors that fuse the serenity of the Caribbean with the vibrancy of Yucatan cultures