Skytop 
Lodge, a resort in Skytop in northern Monroe County, made its debut on the AAA list of four-diamond hotels.
The AAA on Wednesday released its annual list of five- and four-diamond rated hotels, and Skytop made the list for the first time.
It joins a handful of other local hotels in the region that have earned the prestigious designation, including The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, which has been a four-diamond hotel since 2013.
Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono has been a four-diamond hotel since 2010, and the Inn at Bowman’s Hill in New Hope has had the designation since 2007.
Theresa Podguski, spokeswoman for AAA East Central in Allentown, said the highest ranking is a five-diamond hotel, however no hotels in the region ranked in that league. She said that’s not surprising. Of 27,000 hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean that AAA reviews, only four-tenths of 1 percent make five-diamond status. That’s about 121 hotels.
In fact, only one hotel in Pennsylvania, Falling Rock-Nemacolin Woodlands Resort near Pittsburgh, made the five-diamond list. She said the four-diamond list is “still a pretty exclusive group,” with 1,671 hotels, or 6.1 percent of those reviewed, making the cut. Podguski said hotels earn the rank by “showing refined and modern style with upscale amenities guided by member priorities.” She said each review is conducted unannounced and anonymously on-site by professional reviewers.