NEW YORK, N.Y. November 5, 2007 — Zagat Survey today released its updated 2008 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas guide. The guide, covering 1,035 hotels, resorts, spas and chains in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, features 35 important new venues as well as numerous other major changes. Based on input from 14,461 avid travelers including 900 travel agents and meeting planners, the guide features ratings and reviews based on roughly 500,000 nights worth of experience – with the typical surveyor staying at hotels 35 nights per year.

"It's no surprise that rates are rising at top hotels," said Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. "According to our research, the average room costs $362.22. However, hoteliers are spending what it takes to provide fitting amenities."

Echoing this sentiment, many hotels are hiring world-renowned chefs to provide guests with memorable meals: Gordon Ramsay debuted at The London NYC (New York City) and will open at The London – West Hollywood, the formerly known as Bel Age Hotel, in March 2008. Stephen Starr's Buddakan now has an outpost in Atlantic City's Caesars, and Laurent Tourondel has expanded his mini-empire with a BLT Market at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park. Las Vegas hotels continue to tempt top toques including pastry chef Francois Payard, who will be opening an eponymous patisserie at Caesars Palace, and Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich are launching B+B Ristorante and Enoteca San Marco in The Venetian and Carne Vino in the Venetian's sibling, Palazzo. On November 8th, the doors will open at Eric Ripert's Westend Bistro at the Ritz-Carlton Washington DC. And on an even grander scale, renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten inked a deal with Starwood Hotels to create a series of restaurants in Starwood properties around the globe, while restaurateur Steve Hanson has agreed to develop 50 hotel restaurants for Starwood Capital.

Many other hotels, in an effort to attract guests and to keep them on the grounds, are adding splashy, upscale spas. The Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, Colorado, for example, has poured $20 million into upgrading its spa facility. Other resorts adding top-of-the-line spas include The Inn at Montchanin Village (Delaware), The Cloister Hotel (Sea Island, GA), The Fairmont (San Jose, CA), The Lodge (Vail, CO), Hotel Bel-Air (Los Angeles, CA) and Harrah's (Atlantic City, NJ).

Top Ten Hotels

1. Peninsula (Chicago)
2. Four Seasons (Chicago)
3. Mandarin Oriental (Miami)
4. Peninsula (Los Angeles)
5. Four Seasons (Las Vegas)
6. Four Seasons (New York)
7. Windsor Court (New Orleans)
8. Mandarin Oriental (New York City)
9. Four Seasons (Philadelphia)
10. Four Seasons (Miami)

Top Ten Resorts

1. Four Seasons/Hualalai (Big Island, HI)
2. Four Seasons Wailea (Maui, HI)
3. Montage Resort (Orange Co. Beaches, CA)
4. Halekulani (Oahu, HI)
5. Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes (Orlando, FL)
6. Greenbrier (White Sulphur Springs, WV)
7. Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch (Beaver Creek, CO)
8. Ritz-Carlton (Naples, FL)
9. Four Seasons Resort (Jackson Hole, WY)
10. Inn at Spanish Bay (Carmel Area, CA)

Top Ten Small Hotels, Lodges & Inns

1. Twin Farms (Woodstock Area, VT)
2. Blackberry Farm (Walland, TN)
3. El Monte Sagrado (Taos, NM)
4. Inn at Palmetto Bluff (Hilton Head, SC)
5. Rancho Valencia (San Diego, CA)
6. Inn at Little Washington (Washington, VA)
7. Casa Palmero (Carmel Area, CA)
8. Point (Adirondacks, NY)
9. Post Ranch Inn (Carmel Area, CA)
10. Bel-Air (Los Angeles, CA)

Besides providing trustworthy ratings and reviews of the best places to stay, the 2008 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas guide also features a list of key newcomers, useful websites, toll-free numbers, Top Ratings and Best Buy lists, and 39 handy indexes to help you find the right place for your needs. The guide ($15.95) was edited by Donna Marino Wilkins and is available at bookstores and other retail outlets, through ZAGAT.com or by calling 888-371-5440.

About Zagat Survey, LLC
Known as the "wildly popular" "burgundy bible", Zagat Survey is the world's most trusted source for information about where to eat, drink, stay and play. With more than 300,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date", "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide ever published. Zagat content is available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: in book format, on ZAGAT.com, via the downloadable ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and on the mobile web with ZAGAT.mobi. For more information, visit ZAGAT.com