City Life Info

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Video Rating: 5 / 5

by **Mary**

When travelers think of spa cities, they don’t often think of Hot Springs, Ar., though they should, fr a variety of reasons.

Nestled in the beautiful Ouachata Mountains, Hot Springs was the very first American tourist city.
Not that that, in itself would entice visitors. There is much more to it.

Hot Springs allegedly sits right in the middle of an “energy vortex” which produces the energy crystals over which the mineral waters from a dead volcano run; the become ionized with energy, that, is supposedly healing.

Before writing energy vortexes off as mere hokey poky, please understand that there is some science behind them, and that physicists learn about them in their PHD programs. A lot happens in energy vortex communities. There are not that many in the world. Another one is Findhorn, Scotland. There are others, but these are the two to my knowledge. Fruits, vegetables, and flowers grow larger, brighter and more abundant than in non-vortex communities.

The world’s second largest yellow diamond was found in Hot Springs last year.

People use energy leverage to “go places” that may or may not happen in other places. Again, before writing it all off as junk-science, keep in mind that President Clinton grew up in Hot Springs, though born in Hope, Ar., spent most of his childhood in Hot Springs. He had virtually nothing and went on to become president. Sam Walton did not grow up here, but near enough to be within the vortex. He was not born with a trust fund, and look at what has manifested in little Bentonville, not far away, Wal-mart headquarters.

In addition, it is rare that a small town offers the cosmopolitan culture of much larger cities but Hot Springs does. From Latin American to Japanese to Thai to Indian, it’s all in Hot Springs.

According to more than one arts magazine, Hot Springs is also the fastest growing small arts community in the U.S. Galleries are everywhere and the town even has a “gallery walk” one Friday of each month.

The town has a very rich history. Al Capone started his mobster empire here, not Chicago or Las Vegas like so many others. For years, he ran the town. He even had an illegal casino here.

The turn-of-the-century grand old Arlington Hotel (www.arlingtonhotel.com) still stands in the center of town in all its glory. This gem easily rivals any 5 star hotel of larger cities. The grand ballroom is still active and weekend dancing to a very professional and flexible trio can play everything from big band to 80′s pop to classic rock. Dancing is great fun on the much larger than average dance-floor. Room service is peerless as is the Arlington restaurant. Every morsel of food is truly gourmet. Starbucks Coffee is served both in the restaurant and in every room, an endless supply. If you run out, you simply call for more. That in itself is quite wonderful to any Starbuck’s fan.

This was not my first stay at The Arlington. The last time was about six months ago, and I had the same wonderful experience. That time, my guest and I took advantage of one of their special packages which included a massage and jacuzzi mineral bath. Whatever worries one has going in, is truly dissolved when walking away from the baths.

This time, we decided to go to one of the individual bath houses, The Buckstaff, a block or two away from the Arlington just to try something different. It is the only one of the bath houses on bath house row that remains open.

It was wonderful, very similar to Arlington’s services; all in all I would call them equally nice and relaxing. The prices are about the same; about $ 100 for bath and message. Messages at both places were about 20 minutes and the entire procedure takes about 90-minutes. It would be ashame to visit Hot Springs, and not experience a massage and mineral bath. Then, make up your mind if there is some healing in the air.

Hot Springs is also the home of the world famous Oaklawn race track. Though we did not watch the races, there is now a casino there and we did manage to play a few slots and blackjack. Unless you like everything computerized and automated, the casino might not excite you, but it is fun nevertheless. And of course the horse races are very exciting.

We also spent a few hours at a small nearby neighborhood pub called “The Big Chill”. It is one of the few live band dancing clubs in the city, and having visited them all, I would call it tops. The music was great, drinks made perfectly, and big enough and with enough ventilation not to be too smoky.

Finally, on our last stop was at a Latin American restaurant across the street from the Arlington known as Rolondo’s. We started outside on the back patio with drinks, listened to a great folk/rock Dylanesque duo, but arrived a bit late and only got to hear several songs (but done very well). After a few minutes, the weather turned a bit cool so we ask the waitress to transfer us to the inside restaurant which she promptly did.

The food was wonderful, and not that similar to Mexican as I had expected. The owner is from Ecuador and every dish is obviously homemade from scratch. Whatever herbs and seasonings he uses are just right, a subtle hint of various common herbs, but the mix was masterful enough to not be able to guess any one of them. I would highly recommend it for both the food, ambiance and music.

Please do yourself and body a favor and visit Hot Springs, Ar. If you happen to stay at the Arlington or visit the Buckstaff Bath House or Rolando’s, please be sure to let them know “Rick London the travel editor recommended them).