Dustin O.
Yelp
We had planned this night to be a half way stop between St. Louis and Houston to break up the drive, and booked 1 night. Planned changed, and we looked to extend our stay to 3 days. I called the hotel, and they said if I wanted to make the change, it would basically triple my current rate for the first night, and be equally as expensive for the next 2 nights. I declined that option, and booked a hotel on Lake Hamilton for those extra 2 nights. That was a blessing in disguise, because more than 1 night in this hotel, and I would have lost my mind.
We arrived at the Valet Station, where we were not assisted with our baggage, or even brought a luggage cart. We arrived about 4:30 PM, and had a dinner reservation at Avenue at 5:45 PM that night. That was purposeful, since we've been driving all day, and wanted an easy, yet nice dinner option. We checked in virtually, got up to our room, and noticed we did not have the pack and play that we requested on our reservation (and I also called to confirm it's availability before we arrived). I went down to the hotel clerk to ask about it, and to get hand soap for our room since there wasn't any. He was clueless, unapologetic, and overall unhelpful. He said if the P&P wasn't in the room already, they likely didn't have one available. I pushed back pretty hard, and demanded they figure it out, since otherwise, we'd have nowhere for our child to sleep safely. I went back upstairs to get ready for dinner, then came downstairs at our reservation time, and noticed the restaurant appeared to be closed. There was no signs up, no communication from the hotel or the restaurant of the closure, just... NOTHING. I then asked the "super helpful" clerk once more, and he said oh yeah, it's closed, our staff is sick. I again, questioned why I was not informed since I had a reservation, and asked why they did not offer any assistance in obtaining a table elsewhere nearby. They did not have any answer for these questions, but just stood there dumbfounded. We then tried to walk to several nearby places, only to find the towns WiFi was down and most places POS systems were down and aren't seating any guests. Called every pizza place in town, and no one is accepting any carry out or delivery orders... it was a mess. 2+ hours later we finally got seated at the Brewery across the street. That's 2 hours past a 2 year old's dinner time... let me tell you how much fun that was... I was at my breaking point, and knew if the P&P wasn't in the room once I returned, I'd probably rage quit the hotel. Luckily for everyone involved, it was there, so we promptly went to bed after a frustrating day.
Everything else in the room was marginal, the bed wasn't comfortable, the pillows were flat as a pancake, the lighting in the bathroom was as dim as the front desk clerk... just a mess.
I am glad I did get a pretty affordable rate on this hotel, and did enjoy the location.
The check out process was equally as lackluster as far as assistance with baggage.
Additionally even though we were told the restaurant would also be closed for breakfast, it was indeed open when we left, but after the experience we had, and knowing the staff was sick, I had ZERO interest in trying it, even though the menu wa s the most promising breakfast/brunch in town.
I went to another Hilton hotel on Lake Hamilton for the remaining 2 nights, and that wasn't very pleasant either. I don't have high hopes for any Hilton stays in the future.
Also, as a whole, I'd avoid Hot Springs in general, it was the least interesting/pleasant vacation destination I have been to. The sole highlight was drinkable spring water.