jonig448
Google
My sister has been battling cancer for the better part of this year. This was our first chance to get away and relax since her diagnosis. I've been interested in visiting Hot Springs National Park for a long time and when I learned that this boutique hotel is actually in one of the historic bath houses on Bathhouse Row, I was sold, particularly when I learned that the spring water is still pumped directly into soaking tubs in the guest rooms. ||I knew almost immediately that I had made a huge mistake. When we pulled into the incredibly small pull-off designated as the "Unloading" area, it was a very tight fit. It is not directly in front of the hotel. A man appeared and starting telling me in a patronizing tone how I had pulled off the road wrong and how to do it correctly. I'm about to tell him to get bent, but then I realized in horror that this was a hotel employee come to "greet" us. He never introduced himself or welcomed us, I just had to kind of figure that out from context clues. It wasn't long before we learned that this person was actually the owner of the hotel and, unfortunately, that initial bad impression came to characterize our whole stay. Almost every staff member we interacted with treated us like we were stupid, misbehaving children. The one exception was the actual valet who was nothing but nice and extremely efficient. You know, the way someone in the service industry is supposed to be. There is a "room tour" where they show you things like how to use door key. When I requested more spring drinking water for the room, I get a flat look, "Did you bring the old container down?", we were specifically shown where the entrance to the breakfast area was during the room tour, but when we went there the next morning, the employee we approached was like, "Well, you're SUPPOSED to check in at the front desk, but I guess I can help you." The first morning my sister didn't feel well and in dealing with that, we misunderstood how the "free" breakfast worked. Well, when we got openly shamed for not leaving a tip the next day, I figured it out real damn fast. That's just gross behavior. I live in a resort area and no one here would ever, even if they felt that way. Not if they wanted to keep their job. They treated us like trash, but they're the ones who could use some manners. Honestly, every time we came and went, it felt like we were doing something wrong. I can't think of one thing we did that would have made them treat us this way. At first I thought it was because we were two women traveling alone in the South (again, I live in the South, so i know how it can be, unfortunately), but now I see other reviews stating a similar experience, so they're just like that, I guess.||And, you know, it's all really a shame. The historic Hale Bathhouse IS a unique place to stay and the soaking tub in the room with the spring water WAS amazing. The room was a bit spartan for the price, but the beds were very comfortable. It was pretty quiet, despite the city being loud that weekend. The nature view was lovely. The food was good. But, I would never recommend anyone stay here because I wouldn't want them to be made to feel small like we were. Stay at a regular hotel and save your money to enjoy a bath at the excellent Buckstaff Bathhouse instead. ||I've never been so relieved to check out of a place and I'm pretty sure they were glad to see the back of us as well based on how we were treated. I usually don't bother to leave reviews of hotels because big hotels aren't going to change, but this place is small and it would be so easy to do better. I know they won't and will just write me off as exactly as trashy as they clearly thought I was, but maybe it will save someone else from the same disappointing experience.