For Immediate Release
February 8, 2001

The Martha Washington Inn Earns 2001 Mobil Travel Guide Four-Star Award
Abingdon, VA
The Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, Virgini, has won a Mobil Four-Star Award from the 2001 Mobil Travel Guide. The inn is one of only 485 distinguished dining and lodging establishments in North America to earn the coveted Mobil Four-Star award for 2001.

The Martha Washington Inn is nestled in the Blue Ridge Highlands of Southwest Virginia. Originally built in 1832 as a magnificent private mansion, The Martha Washington graciously displays an ambiance of understated Southern charm. This historic inn provides an elegant change of pace for guests and is conveniently located in an historic neighborhood, complete with brick walks and turn-of-the-century homes. Antique-filled guestrooms and public spaces, fine and casual dining, intimate meeting space, and spacious ballroom facilities all make The Martha Washington Inn a favorite destination for both business and leisure travelers.

“We are honored to have earned the Mobil Four-Star award. This prestigious award confirms that The Martha Washington Inn continues to provide our customers with the kind of excellence they have come to expect from us,” said Adair B. Chew, General Manager. “We are especially gratified to have received this award from 1996-2001 consecutively.”

“This year’s winners of the Mobil Four-, and particularly the Five-Star awards have demonstrated a commitment to excellence that is raising the standards for all restaurants and lodgings throughout North America,” said Kenneth P. Cohen, Vice President, Public Affairs, Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Mobil Travel Guide differentiates itself from other travel award programs through its ratings committee – an independent network of national culinary and hospitality experts, which evaluates lodgings and restaurants from the point of view of the traveler or diner.

“Our Four-Star rating is also highly notable and very well regarded,” said Cohen. “Such outstanding achievement in quality, elegance, and service is worthy of the admiration of even the most discerning travelers.”

The 2001 Mobil Travel Guide will sport a new compact design, printed in four-color splendor with glossy pages featuring pictures, driving and walking tours, and area maps. They can be found in bookstores nationwide beginning the week of January 7, 2001, and are available in ten volumes, including New England and East Canada, New York and New Jersey, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Florida, Great Lakes, Great Plains, California, Northwest, and Southwest. Travelers can also find the brightest stars in the travel industry in Mobil Travel Guide America’s Best Hotels and Restaurants: The Four- and Five-Star Winners of 2001, also available in stores beginning the week of February 25, 2001. A new website containing Mobil Travel Guide content will be launched at www.exxonmobiltravel.com in coming months.

The 2001 the Mobil Travel Guide series provides comprehensive, up-to-date information on more than 22,000 lodging and dining establishments in more than 4,000 cities and towns throughout North America. “Every hotel and restaurant listed in the Mobil Travel Guide signifies a positive recommendation, ranging from the basic to the elaborate,” said Cohen.

Mobil Travel Guide, an ExxonMobil Travel Publication, has been committed to providing quality service and products to North America’s traveling public since 1958. The guides are published by Publications International, Ltd.

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