Suggestions for things to do in Hot Springs, AR?

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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
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Wife and I are going for a getaway weekend. Any suggestions for fun things to do and places to eat? So far we've had several people recommend we eat at some cash only BBQ place and Belle Arte (sp?, Italian).

Of course I'm checking out listed attractions but checking a website is a far cry from recommendations from people who've been there.
 
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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
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norseamd said:
sit on your ass and not have the right to drink anything?
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Shit, they don't allow it restaurants even? I live in Benton County, AR and we were dry until last year but they still let restaurants serve it.
 
S

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,742
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I have always lived here in AR and been to HS many times but have never been on your side of the state. I really want to check out Eureka Springs and stay in the haunted hotel
 
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xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
ill try ask my girlfriend, that is her hometown and we are going in june to see her family. they have 3 houses on the lake. i am much looking forward to it

edit: OP, have you been to the crystal bridges museum? we have plans to go there while we are in the state but i dont know anyone else who has gone
 
BoberFett

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
N/M, was thinking Eureka Springs. Hell, if you're from Rogers you've probably been to Eureka Springs. I used to visit my grandparents in Mountain Oldfolkshome...
 
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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
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SAWYER said:
I have always lived here in AR and been to HS many times but have never been on your side of the state. I really want to check out Eureka Springs and stay in the haunted hotel
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Personally I enjoy the drive to Eureka Springs more than the city itself. The drive from this area is awesome. The drive from the other direction is pretty boring though. It's mostly antique shops and not so good restaurants. I've got a friend who takes his wife at least once a year for a couple days, so apparently my opinion isn't universal. :)

xSauronx said:
ill try ask my girlfriend, that is her hometown and we are going in june to see her family. they have 3 houses on the lake. i am much looking forward to it

edit: OP, have you been to the crystal bridges museum? we have plans to go there while we are in the state but i dont know anyone else who has gone
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Crystal Bridges is great, we're members. The museum itself is gorgeous and there's quite a lot of famous art there and they get fairly large exhibits rotating through. They're also supposed to be moving a Frank Lloyd Wright house there that they purchased. They also have kids activities quite frequently and have a small play area. The restaurant and cafe are also pretty good.
 
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xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
ZaneNBK said:
Personally I enjoy the drive to Eureka Springs more than the city itself. The drive from this area is awesome. The drive from the other direction is pretty boring though. It's mostly antique shops and not so good restaurants. I've got a friend who takes his wife at least once a year for a couple days, so apparently my opinion isn't universal. :)



Crystal Bridges is great, we're members. The museum itself is gorgeous and there's quite a lot of famous art there and they get fairly large exhibits rotating through. They're also supposed to be moving a Frank Lloyd Wright house there that they purchased. They also have kids activities quite frequently and have a small play area. The restaurant and cafe are also pretty good.
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thats good to know, were staying around there overnight. good enough for dinner or is there somewhere local thats better to put on my list?
 
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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
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xSauronx said:
thats good to know, were staying around there overnight. good enough for dinner or is there somewhere local thats better to put on my list?
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They have a decent dinner, but there are nicer places depending on what you're in the mood for.

Upscale BBQ & American - Fred's Hickory Inn (casual)
Steak - Mr. B's Steak House (fancy) or Doe's Eat Place (casual)
Sushi - Kobe Sushi & Grill, they moved it's now at the Yelp listing with only 1 review, you can see the other in Yelp still. I lived in CA for 7 years and this place is on par with the good Sushi places I ate at in LA & OC.
BBQ - Whole Hog Cafe
Upscale Steak? Place - Tusk & Trotter (casual though)
Decent local burgers - Station Cafe

There are also the standard chains of course like PF Chang's, Ruth's Chris, Longhorn Steakhouse, Mimi's, etc... etc..

Edit: The reason for the question mark after Steak for Tusk & Trotter is because their menu is... odd. We've eaten there twice and both times it was very good. Menu: http://www.yelp.com/menu/tusk-and-trotter-bentonville
 
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xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
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norseamd said:
seems like it

just found out yesterday that there are a lot of dry counties in the deep south
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silliness

finally got to talk to my gf...and reply :)

mcclards bbq is legendary there. we will be bringing back a case of their sauce and definitely eating there.
http://www.mcclards.com/

she said some blues bars are really good, its more her dads thing and she didnt know any off the top of her head by name

the botanical gardens are apparently fantastic and we will be going to that

http://www.garvangardens.org/

she said the mountains lookout is cool. i think she just mentioned the mountain but there is a tower, too. ill probably go up there with my camera.

http://www.hotsprings.org/places/hot-springs-mountain-tower/

somewhere around there is a casino and racetrack. her grandfather owned some racehorses and they had seats when he was alive. i am not really into a casino thing, but its there. considering the kentucky derby was the other day its a safe best theres no racing going on :)

http://www.oaklawn.com/

there is a family fun park of some sort if you have kids and they need a day.

she kinda wants to do one of the duck boat tours.

http://www.hotsprings.org/places/national-park-duck-tours/


thanks for the suggestions. i am sort of likely to hit up tusk and trotter...that is a special sounding place.
 
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xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
update:

tusk and trotter was really, really damn good. good beer, good cocktails, very very good food and server. really glad we went.

crystal bridges was also very nice. the weather was lousy so we didnt see much outside, but the exhibits inside were great. really glad we went.

we also went to eureka springs, its a pretty area, but most of the shops seem like generic tourist places with the same old junk you find at other tourist shops. there was, however, a couple of nice local art galleries and a hat shop. we got a couple of small prints by local artists, and i got a nice hat, and we had a very lovely drive back down to I-40 so it was totally worth doing.

OP, how was the hot springs visit?
 
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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
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xSauronx said:
update:

tusk and trotter was really, really damn good. good beer, good cocktails, very very good food and server. really glad we went.

crystal bridges was also very nice. the weather was lousy so we didnt see much outside, but the exhibits inside were great. really glad we went.

we also went to eureka springs, its a pretty area, but most of the shops seem like generic tourist places with the same old junk you find at other tourist shops. there was, however, a couple of nice local art galleries and a hat shop. we got a couple of small prints by local artists, and i got a nice hat, and we had a very lovely drive back down to I-40 so it was totally worth doing.

OP, how was the hot springs visit?
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Glad you enjoyed it. We really like living in this area, there's a lot of variety and amenities but it's not over-crowded yet.

Hot Springs was nice, but I doubt we'll return. It's basically somewhere between Eureka Springs and Branson on the tourist spectrum. We toured a bath house, visited the shops, ate at McLard's, etc... We were going to do the ducks but decided to just head back early on Sunday instead.

McLard's was a bit of a letdown for us. My wife really wanted to go because it was on some Food Network list and/or show. The tamales there were really good, but I wasn't a fan of the ribs, sauce or fries. The sauce was decent but just not a style I care for. Servings are huge.

We also ate at some German place there that was interesting. The food was decent and there was a two-man polka "band" there, which was amusing.

We stayed at Spring Street Inn and that was a very nice B&B, but crappy wifi, which is about what you'd expect really.
 
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xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
yeah, i probably wouldnt care for hot springs if we werent staying right on the lake with family and boats. pretty area but not a huge amount to do.

mcclards was pretty good, not the best bbq ive ever had but it was tasty. and they had beer, i swear...bbq here is better, to me, but none of the damn places have beer. sillyness.

im told the duck tours are about the most boring thing you can do.

the garvin botanical gardens are really nice. it will probably be a year or two before we visit there again but ill hit the gardens up for sure.
 
J

JDawg1536

Golden Member
Apr 27, 2006
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Oaklawn was fun, it's what got me into horse racing. I saw Calvin Borel race there the year he won his first Kentucky Derby in 2007.
 
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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
1,674
0
76
xSauronx said:
im told the duck tours are about the most boring thing you can do.
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Yeah, I was guessing that was the case. We'd be walking around downtown and see a duck loaded with passengers with the next tour time an hour+ out. Yeah, I'm not paying to sit on a shitty, hot, boat/car for an hour so I can then sit another 1-2 hours and listen to someone half-heartedly explain all the boring crap that happened while they drive around at 5mph.

I took the pro choice and left early instead so I could get back to my beloved computer and decent internet. :)
 
Z

ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
1,674
0
76
JDawg1536 said:
Oaklawn was fun, it's what got me into horse racing. I saw Calvin Borel race there the year he won his first Kentucky Derby in 2007.
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We were there the weekend of the Kentucky Derby and that place was swamped, so we avoided it. If we ever go back on a less busy weekend I'll check it out. I'm not a big gambler, but if they have a poker room I like to play Texas Hold 'em.
 
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