The "best small town in America" has yet another feather in its cap' with the recognition of a local inn as one of the best of the best'.

The Greenville Hampton Inn recently was recognized as a top performer at the Hilton Hotels Corporation's Focused-Service Brand Conference in New Orleans.

The inn, located in the Camellia City since 1997, placed a very impressive 16th out of 1,140 Hampton Inns and Hampton Inn and Suites across the US, Latin America and Canada.

Greenville Hampton Inn Manager Rose Lecoq and her staff are justifiably proud of this achievement.

"My staff is so excited and so proud of achieving this goal.

We have a great team and community of partners that help in supporting a good environment for our guests and staff," noted Lecoq in a recent interview.

According to Lecoq, the evaluation for the ranking was done in three areas: guest feedback surveys, routine quality assurance inspections and overall quality assurance.

"This is a very, very tough goal to reach…this is the first time we have been in the Circle of Excellence', the top five percent of the Hampton brand," Lecoq explained.

The Greenville Hampton Inn was one of only 41 hotels in the entire chain chosen as a finalist for the prestigious Pride Award given each year to the top performers in the chain.

Phil Cordell, senior vice president of the Hampton Inn chain, said of the winners in a recent press release, "…these hotels are leading examples of the kind of service and thereby customer loyalty the brand aims to achieve."

Hampton Inn is part of the famed Hilton Hotels Corporation, one of the world's top hospitality companies.