Santo Domingo.– The Tortuga Bay Punta Cana Resort & Club, located in Punta Cana, close to Corales Golf Course and La Cana Golf Course, was granted the Five Diamond Award, one of the most prestigious symbols of excellence in the hospitality industry.

AAA granted 124 hotels and 55 restaurants with the award for 2010. Only 0.3 percent of AAA's 59,000 Diamond Rated lodgings and restaurants in North America have received the exclusive rating. The AAA Five Diamond Award is the highest level of the AAA Diamond Ratings System for restaurants and lodgings administered by AAA.

Fifteen hotels in the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean were newly awarded the prestigious distinction, including the first high marks for properties in both St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic.

There's a reason that the Oscar de la Renta-designed Tortuga Bay hotel has a perfect five-star rating on TripAdvisor. From picking you up from your flight right on the tarmac, as if you had arrived by private plane, to getting you tee times at one of the world's most exclusive golf courses, Tortuga can easily go beyond your greatest expectations.