"We were looking for a place to stay within walking distance of the historic district of Hot Springs. The only two options available, outside of one within a mile away, was this hotel and the Hilton across the street.

I chose this hotel for the experience of enjoying the hot thermal bath waters and not having to go to a bath house. Plus, this was located in a historic bath house, which made the experience even better. At the time there were two rooms available, the Superior and the Ozark. After flip-flopping between the two, I finally settled on the Superior liking the brick wall look.

The difference between the two hotels, the Hilton and Hotel Hale was about $80, including the price of valet parking at each location. One benefit of Hotel Hale was the morning we checked out, across the street at the Hilton, the valet line was long and stacked up.

Plus, at Hotel Hale, breakfast was included. It was probably one of the best hotel breakfasts we have enjoyed in a while, outside of a delightful stay in Green River, UT.

With all these benefits, it only makes sense that Hotel Hale would be far superior. Wrong. This is a luxury hotel and at no point did I feel as though it came across as a luxury. The hotel was no different than staying at the Hilton across the street, and if anything, we were treated quite a bit better elsewhere along our trip. Our hotel stays in OKC we were greeted daily by staff and never felt like an inconvenience.

Now I'm not sure if it is based on the amount of money you pay for a room or if we had that tired traveling look, but we had an extra special teaching experience by the owner to make sure we understood how everything worked. It started with us the elevator, teaching us that there were only two floors so to make sure to press the number 2 button, to cautioning us from taking the second set of staircases because we may end up in the basement and have to have someone retrieve you.

Then the icing on the cake was the education of the door. Now at home we have a key in which we use to unlock the door, but this key and door must have been extra special, because the innkeeper had to make an extra special show of how to swing your one arm behind your back to open the door, before using your other hand to use the key to unlock the door. He showed us not once, but twice to make sure we understood how to do it.

It isn't very often that we are then given a tour of our booked room, to make sure that everything is understood from how to work the TV remote, to how to run water in the tub, showing how to use the plunger up and down, then the litany of costs incurred if we dared to break any of these rules. However, the one thing he didn't teach us was how to turn off the lights next to the bed (there were switches that hung on the cord behind the table).

Once he was gone, I will have to admit, the delight in staying at this beautiful inn deflated a bit. We felt a bit like errant teenagers having lost the ability to adult for the day, and making sure we were on our best behavior. I've never experience this before in any "luxury" hotel or bed and breakfast. It seems like if these are issues, perhaps instead of belittling your guests, change the items that create the issue.

It's been over a week since our stay and I've come to the conclusion while it was nice to stay in a historic bath house, it wasn't worth the extra cost. Stay across the street at the Hilton and enjoy a stay where people are less condescending."

SP Smith

"We had a wonderful time at Hot Springs National Park largely thanks to Hotel Hale. The location was phenomenal, rooms were modernized whilst retaining their historical charm and the owners/staff were welcoming.

The happy hour at Eden restaurant was delicious and the breakfast was wonderful! A great perk was getting access to the hot spring water for drinking and soaking in the tub.

We highly recommend staying here and can’t wait to visit again!"

Dhuha Maki

"We saw Hotel Hale described as “A hotel with a bed and breakfast vibe” and we couldn’t agree more. With less than ten rooms and an attentive front desk, we felt like guests and not customers. By the end of our three night stay, we became quite familiar with most of the staff (shoutout to Stephanie who is such a sweetie pie, and Pat who clearly pours his whole heart into his work). It’s the perfect balance of personalized service and luxurious privacy.

We stayed in the Hale for two nights and the Fordyce for one, and my husband and I can’t agree on which room we liked better, because they were both phenomenal. The beds are probably the comfiest we’ve ever had at any hotel ever. And of course, the bathtubs are incredible and lived up to the hype. It was so nice to soak in the spring water in the privacy of our own room in such a historic property. Absolute heaven!

We had the best trip to Hot Springs because of Hotel Hale and all of the wonderful staff. It’s a special place and we couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else. Highly recommend."

Kate Garza