| Route 66 | Cities | Beaches |
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Our recommendation for lodging pretty well begins and ends with The Arlington, since that's a major reason we recommend you visit Hot Springs in the first place. This is one of those grand old resorts left over from the 1800s that you just need to experience. Yes, you could stay in a small motel on the outskirts of town, but then you would miss that Hot Springs ambience. So you need to spend the extra dollars (yes, it will cost more than staying out on the interstate, but the prices are no longer beyond reach of the average family, and there are specials), call ahead (yes, indeed, they do still fill up, especially on weekends) and look forward to it all day dodging trucks on the highway. There is a definite decadence to staying at the Arlington, You always expect to see an old Packard pulling up with the spare tire mounted on the running board and the top down. Think The Great Gatsby, The Sting, Jazz Age, and Roaring 20s. And what's incredible is one of those old cars occasionally pulls up to the front steps. Parking spaces along the side are reserved for horsedrawn carriages. The photo above left shows guests relaxing on the veranda before heading out on the day's adventures. Above right is the Arlington seen through trees from one of the hiking trails leading up the mountain. And here at right is seen the Lobby bar. There aren't many hotel lobbies that still have their own bar, and the few that remain sure don't have a back drop to match this one. You can take your drink out on the veranda or relax in one of the overstuffed chairs or at one of the tables in the elegant lobby. There's also a gift shop and several small shops opening off the lobby, and another dozen stores and shops in the basement. |
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Here's the official Arlington Starbuck's, opposite the bar in the lobby. If you're in a hurry or don't want a full breakfast in the Windows on the Park restaurant, you can grab a Cappucino or whatever here and sip it out on the veranda while you read the newspaper. |
| You can walk down Main Street to one of the historic bath houses for your "treatment." But Arlington engineers a century ago tapped into the hot springs under the hotel and ever since they've offered their very own spa. You can take a traditional mineral bath and add needle shower and professional massage afterward. If you've been having any trouble with lower back, feet, knees, elbows or shoulders lately, one of these treatments will leave you feeling better than you have in a long time. Even if you think you feel fine, you'll come out of one of these sessions ready to go hike a mountain. However, the hot bath, needle shower and massage will combine to leave you ready for a nap, so don't figure on squeezing in an 8 a.m. treatment and then driving all day. |  |
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The Arlington has two restaurants, the Fountain Room and Windows On The Park. This is the Fountain Room. During the week you can usually walk up and be seated, but on weekends, from Friday dinner through Sunday Brunch, you'll need reservations. These are historic and excellent restaurants, and if you're only in town overnight, you should probably just eat here. If you were here a second or third night, there are several other good restaurants in town you might want to try for variety at dinner, but it's going to be hard to beat Windows on the Park for breakfast. On weekends they have live music for dinner. |
| As might be expected of a classic hotel in a hot springs valley, the Arlington offers a spectacular pool area. It's outdoors, opening off the seventh floor to the cliff area at the edge of the national forest. There's a semicircular general purpose heated pool five feet at its deepest, and a second pool that starts at five feet and goes deeper for diving and adult use. Off to the right is a fine roofed hot tub with showers. A wooden deck extends from the hot tub all the way around in a crescent shape to the bar and snack counter, where you can sit at tables and look down on Main Street and the town. One of the better hiking trails in Hot Springs begins right at the edge of this pool complex and climbs for several miles back into the national forest. After a day of hiking or playing the horses at Oaklawn, this pool area is a great way to spend the evening. It's a lot larger than it looks in this picture. |  |
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However, if you insist on camping, you're still in luck. Lake Catherine is a real jewel of a state park and campground, guaranteed to be one of the better you've seen. It's much closer to the interstate than the town, and is very popular with veteran campers. This scene shows the tent camping area right at water's edge. If you brought canoes or kayaks you could just launch from here and spend the day paddling around this beautiful heavily forested lake. There are also very nice cabins for rent here, in the trees but looking out on the lake just like the tent sites. From the campground it's about 15 minutes into town, so you could still drive in and see everything. Garvin Gardens is on Lake Catherine, right across from the campground. There's a horseback riding concession near the entrance to the campground. A sand beach and bath house is at the campground and there's a canoe rental concession. In good weather, this is easily worth a couple of day's visit. However, you definitely need advance reservations or you'll end up with a tentsite up at the top of the hill far from the water, or with no tentsite or cabin at all. Call at least a month ahead. |
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