Grand Velas Riviera Maya's Cocina De Autor Becomes First All-Inclusive Restaurant to Receive AAA Five Diamond Award

Grand Velas Riviera Maya's signature restaurant, Cocina De Autor was awarded American Automobile Association's (AAA) Five Diamond award for restaurants, making it the first restaurant of an all-inclusive resort to ever receive the distinction. Cocina De Autor, serving gourmet Spanish and Basque cuisine since 2008, is also the first restaurant in the Riviera Maya to earn Five Diamonds in such a short time after opening. Cocina De Autor Chefs Bruno Oteiza and Mike Alonso are disciples of the famed Chef Arzak of Northern Spain.

The luxury resort's signature restaurants, Piaf and Frida, each received a AAA Four Diamond Award. This is the first Five Diamond Award for a Grand Velas Riviera Maya specialty restaurant, the first Four Diamond Award for Piaf and the second consecutive Four Diamond Award for Frida, having earned its first Four Diamond Award in 2012. The "Beyond All-Inclusive, Beyond All Compare" Grand Velas Riviera Maya Resort recently received its third consecutive AAA Five Diamond Award for hospitality.

According to AAA, The Five Diamond Award is reserved for restaurants that feature "highly acclaimed chefs and artistic and imaginative menu selections using the finest ingredients". Less than .25 percent of the 60,000 AAA-approved and Diamond rated properties and restaurants receive a Five Diamond distinction, while less than three percent receive a Four Diamond Award.

"We are honored our restaurants have received a total of 13 AAA Five Diamond Awards this year. We thank our dedicated Chefs and staff for offering guests a distinctive fine-dining experience marked by high quality ingredients, creative presentation and attentive service," said Fernando Garcia Rossette, Managing Director of the exclusive resort located five minutes from Playa del Carmen in the Mexican Caribbean coast.

Executive Chef at Cocina De Autor, Xaviér Perez Stone, was named Best Chef in Mexico in 2012, while the restaurant has also been recognized by Food and Wine Magazine as one of the "100 Best New Food and Drink Experiences". Chef Michel Mustiere of the resort's prestigious French restaurant, Piaf, is a Maître Cuisinier de France, one of only 300 in the world. Frida restaurant, headed by Chef Ricardo De la Vega, has won numerous awards for its "new" Mexican cuisine and novel features, including a roving margarita trolley and new Mescal Menu.

For more information or reservations, please call 1-888-407-4869 or visit http://rivieramaya.grandvelas.com.

About Grand Velas Riviera Maya:

Featured in Forbes' roundup of the 10 Coolest All-Inclusive Resorts, the AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya, an all-suites and spa resort located five minutes from Playa del Carmen, is the latest and most sophisticated iteration of the ultra-luxury, all-inclusive resort experience. This Leading Hotels of the World designated resort is the preeminent one of its class boasting 491 suites, each more than 1,000 square-feet, in three separate ambiances-- premium ocean-front Grand Class Suites with terrace plunge pools for families with children 12 and up, family-friendly ocean-view Ambassador Suites and Zen Grand Suites embraced by the flora and fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula's jungle. The resort presents a gastronomic tour of the Yucatan, Europe and Asia offering seven restaurants with world-class chefs from France, Spain and Mexico; dedicated butler service for each guest, and the region's largest spa sanctuary at over 89,000 square-feet specializing in signature treatments inspired by ancient cultures from around the world. The spa was named "Best Spa" in the world by Virtuoso and also earned a SpaFinder Readers' Choice Award. The resort was designed by lauded Mexican architecture firm Elias and Elias and features the sleek and modish interiors that fuse the serenity of the Caribbean with the vibrancy of Yucatan cultures.