One of downtown Durham’s newest boutique hotels, the 21c Museum Hotel, has joined the ranks of some of the most exclusive hospitality establishments in the world. It was honored last week as one of the newest additions to AAA’s Four Diamond rating list.

AAA Carolinas held a banquet at the Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill honoring the 26 hotels and restaurants in central and eastern North Carolina that made the list in 2017. Another 19 hotels and restaurants in Charlotte and the western part of the state were honored earlier in the month.

The 21c Museum Hotel opened in 2015 inside the 15-story Art Deco building on Corcoran Street that used to be an office building for a bank.

AAA will host a separate event in February honoring the five hotels and restaurants in North Carolina rated with the even more coveted Five Diamond rating award. The Five Diamond list for 2017 includes all repeat winners:

• The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary;
• The Fearrington House Inn in Pittsboro;
• The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte;
• The Herons restaurant at The Umstead; and
• The Fearrington House Restaurant at the Fearrington House Inn.
• The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary, along with its adjoining Herons restaurant, are also rated among Forbes Travel Guide’s top five-star rating along with the Fearrington House Restaurant in Pittsboro.

The AAA Four Diamond rating list for hotels in 2017 includes:

• Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel in Raleigh;
• The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill;
• The Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill;
• The King’s Daughters Inn in Durham;
• Arrowhead Inn Bed & Breakfast in Durham;
• Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham;
• 21c Museum Hotel in Durham;
• The Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst; and
• Holly Inn in Pinehurst.