Umi, others snag AAA's Four Diamond rating

Umi Pacific Grille this year won its first Four Diamond rating from AAA, making it the first Grand Strand restaurant to snag the recognition and one of four area businesses this year to make the cut, the auto club announced today.

The Cypress Inn in Conway, the Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes and the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes also received the rating from AAA, which reviews more than 58,000 restaurants and hotels in North America annually, AAA said.

Umi Pacific Grille in Myrtle Beach was founded in 2006 by the Divine Dining Group, a local restaurant group.

Critics who anonymously stay or dine at hotels and restaurants gave four diamonds to 3.4 percent of the field, or more than 1,800 businesses. In South Carolina, 37 businesses received the top rating this year.

AAA started using a rating system in 1977, and increased the complexity of the ratings and added the diamond system over the years. Restaurants in the Carolinas were first eligible and rated for the Four Diamond system in 1990, AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Carol Gifford said.

As far as AAA Carolinas can tell, Umi is the first restaurant here to receive the Four Diamond rating, she said.

"It's great news for Myrtle Beach, hitting the Four Diamond list," Gifford said.