We're staying in an inn called Lookout Point. It's a really cute place right on a lake. Another very dog friendly spot. http://www.lookoutpointinn.com/
At first, we were like what the hell are we doing here and even thought about cutting our 2 night stay short but once we got out and did a little bit of exploring we realized this was a cool place to see and hang out for about 36 hours. I wanted to stop here because I read about the thermal waters that flow into the bathing houses and hotels in the downtown section. The bathing houses have private baths where you can soak and heal. They also offer sauna/steam and massage in most of the bathing packages for a very affordable price. We went to the thermal water spa at the Arlington Hotel. They didn't have any pictures of the spa on the website but the inn we're staying in recommended it so we thought we would give it a try. I understand why there are no pics of this place. It's scarey looking. Most of the "luxury" buildings in Hot Springs were built in the 1920's. Hot Springs was once a mecca for gangsters, royalty and celebrities. Gangsters like Lucky Luciano, Al Capone and Bugsy Seigel made Hot Springs the it spot back in the day. A local antique shop owner was telling us that when the gangsters were in Hot Springs, it was understood that this was a safe haven where the "families" could vacation without fear of retaliation from enemies. Obviously, once they returned to NY or Chicago...it was on. We were also told that Al Capone (who died of syphilis) used to come to Hot Springs becuase the thermal waters can supposedly cure venereal diseases. This became a very common practice among gangsters and the famous madams that resided in Hot Springs during these times. They would come, get cured and then spread the love all over again.....and then die.
Back to the bath. We arrived at the Arlington Hotel which looks like it was very luxurious back in its heyday. However, it has not been updated since cira 1940. I felt like I stepped into a time warp. I took a dingy elevator up to the third floor where I stepped into the lobby of the bathing area. I was then met my bathing attendant who escorted me to the changing area and then to the bath. The bath looked like something a serial killer would use to electrocute his victim. The place seriously looks like an insane asylum (you're probably thinking this is appropriately suited for me since I didn't run out the door when I got here). Anyway, I was told to get in the tub and a wooden plank was placed behind my head. Then a electric cord was placed in my mouth and I was told to bite hard (just kidding). My very pleasant attendant gave me two glasses of hot mineral water to drink. There was a real old school generator type thing that circulated the water. I sat in there for about 15 minutes. Once I was in the water, I was feeling pretty good. I actually enjoyed myself. The experience was very therapeutic. I also came to realize that the place was actually very clean...it just hadn't been updated since the turn of the century so I literally felt like I was reliving a moment in history. After my soak, I went into a dry sauna for a few minutes. Once I had enough, my attendant told me to lay down on a massage table. She basically formed a cocoon of hot, thermal water drenched towels around my body and an ice cold wrap for my face. It felt great and I was really starting to love this whole thing. After the wraps I was told to enter what is called a needle shower. I entered a really scary looking shower that was spurting drops of thermal water. After my shower, I was ready for my 20 minute massage which is part of the package I got ("The Works" for $60). I had no idea what to expect for the massage but it was one of the best I've had, especially considering it was only 20 min. I left feeling refreshed and definitely happy I got to experience true gangtsa paradise.
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