A number of Jim Thorpe area businesses have been recognized by TripAdvisor for their excellence in hospitality and great traveler reviews.

"We are very proud of our JTTA members who consistently set the bar for quality of service in Jim Thorpe," said Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency President Randall Sellers."Their extra effort is what brings customers back for return visits and encourages them to tell their family and friends to visit our area. Return customers and positive word-of-mouth are extremely important to tourism, which drives our entire local economy."Among the businesses recognized this year were The Inn at Jim Thorpe, the Times House Bed & Breakfast and the Hampton Inn in Lehighton, which were chosen for excellence in accommodations."We are thrilled to receive the Certificate of Excellence for the second year," said Diane Prokop, owner of the Times House bed-and-breakfast on Race Street. "We work really hard to make sure that our guests' stay is special. There are a number of bed-and-breakfasts, guesthouses and inns that they could choose. It means everything to us that we were chosen again.""We are grateful for the recognition," said David Drury, innkeeper at the Inn at Jim Thorpe. "It is a testament to our great staff that take care of our guests from out of town."Lori Belletiere, general manager of the Hampton Inn in Lehighton, said, "We received the Hall of Fame Award, which is awarded to hotels who have consistently excellent reviews for five years."Three restaurants were recognized for excellent reviews: Moya on Race Street, Tony Stella's Encore and Wheel, both located on Broadway."As a chef/owner, and the guy who cooks every meal at my restaurant, there can be no greater honor than to receive this award three years in a row," said Tom Gorman of Wheel. "Our motto is market fresh, availability and creativity. People love my food and that makes me very happy."Stephanie Verme and husband Heriberto Yunda own Moya and have been named for the third year."I am so happy to hear that we have been recognized again," Verme said. "We really appreciate that people like what we do."Quite a few of the local attractions also received Certificates of Excellence: The Jim Thorpe Memorial, the Asa Packer Mansion, Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary, the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, Mauch Chunk Opera House, the No. 9 Coal Mine & Museum, Penn's Peak and Pocono Whitewater."We are so grateful for the wonderful tourists and visitors that keep us going, and to Lehigh Anthracite, the property owner, for supporting us," No. 9 Coal Mine & Museum President Dave Kuchta said. "We have a small staff of five people and they work hard, but we couldn't stay open if it weren't for our volunteers."The No. 9 Coal Mine is celebrating 160 years this year.Mari Gruber, who is better known in this area as "The Butterfly Lady," is thrilled for the Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary, located on Route 903 in Penn Forest Township."At the butterfly sanctuary kids of all ages can connect to nature in an intimate, fun and educational way. The highly skilled and personable staff works hard to ensure every visitor has a joyful experience with the indoor flight room, 15 species of exotic frogs and the axolotl (a fully aquatic salamander) there is something for everybody," Gruber said.Penn's Peak, which is located on Maury Road in Penn Forest Township, also received a mention.Nick Kovaleski, marketing manager for Penn's Peak said, "We strive to provide Carbon County and surrounding areas with quality entertainment ranging from our national touring acts to our luncheon shows and even as a banquet and wedding venue. We hope that everyone will come out to our mountaintop concert venue and restaurant to share this award and see firsthand what we have to offer.""TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional hospitality businesses that have received consistent praise and recognition by travelers on the site," said Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for Business."By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive increasing hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition."