so we arrived here in the strange yet quaint town of hot springs arkansas. this is a rare occasion because we were sitting down here for 4 days. the even stranger part was that we only had night shows. so that left us a lot of time to explore the tiny town. the venue...located 20 miles from our hotel...in a HUGE 15 square mile gated community...is a story for another time. this blog is all about the wonderful town of hot springs and my trip to the place that put this town on the map...the bath houses!
these pictures are far from in order...so ill try and explain each one as they come
no joke...this is my hotel room door. we are staying at the legendary Arlington Resort and Spa...favorite hotel of Al Capone...and other Chicago gangsters. and yes...it does look like a closet door.
the beautiful Arlington Resort and Spa. really a nice place if you want to get the classic vacation experience...not if you are like us and are used to high speed internet, cable tv, flat screens and other more modern amenities...such as hot water that is ready to use when you want it, not 15 minutes later.
a real natural hot spring right outside the hotel...and yes...the water really is hot
the local old medical building across from our hotel
this sign just made me laugh...there are tons of there old time photograph places...designed for tourists
another shot of the Arlington
smallest storefront i saw in the whole town
look closely at the window
city square
AH my bath house! more on this later!
another old bath house...this one is no longer in use. there are only 5 functioning bath houses in hot springs
this is called the cooling room. they would wrap you in cold towels and you would lay on these metal cots to help cool your body from the hot bath water
this is the pack room...same as the cooling room...just this time they wrapped you in hot towels
the wonderful stained glass windows in the pack room
this is a needle shower. it has several jets that spray you with high powered water jets to help clean off the dead skin
controls for the needle shower
one of the traditional mineral bath tubs
a typical bathtub stall
on the left is a Sitz Bath...and the right is a steam chamber. if you haven't figured it out yet...you sit down in the Sitz Bath...its for hemorrhoids and lower back issues
another shower
steam chamers
controls for the steam chambers and showers
more steam chambers
more Sitz Baths
the beautiful statue/fountain in the center of the mens side of the bath house. Natural Hot Spring water was pumped through this fountain to help keep the room warm and humid
the stained glass ceiling above the fountain
more controls for the needle shower
another version of the needle shower
this was a special spring bath. they actually had a huge underground lake that was filled with the hot spring water. they would tunnel down into it and cover the opening with glass so visitors to the bath could see where the water was coming from. and yes...you can actually still see the water swirling around today
one of the many services offered at the bath house
the men's gym located on the 3rd floor
the famous "Maxine's" brothel...now a punk rock club
so thats it for pics. now for the story! these pictures where taken at the national bath house museum located on bath house row. it was one of the original bath houses in the city...but it was converted and restored by the government years ago with a 5 million dollar budget to help keep it preserved for people to tour a bath house. it was really beautiful.
My bath house experience happened at the wonderful historic Buck-Staff Bath House. celebrating its 100th year in business this year. it was actually the only bath house to stay open when the governor came in back in the 70's and banned gambling in Arkansas. when the gambling crowds left, the bath houses suffered greatly. the Buck-Staff has been owned by the same family since it was build and opened in 1912. also an interesting note....all the bathtubs, showers etc are all STILL ORIGINAL. no new fangled stuff here. this was the old school experience. so yep....i was in the same bathtub that men had been bathing in for the last 100 years. due note, they DO scrub them thoroughly after each person!
like i said...there are only 5 bath houses still in operation. the Buck-Staff is the most authentic of all of them. for my $64...this was my experience!
Myself, Becca and Jen decided to go to the Buck-Staff for a bath! Once inside, we pay the front desk clerk and we are handed a little card with our services checked off and a loofa mit. this was the last time we all saw each other. men were on the first floor and women on the second floor. so off i went into the dressing room. i was greeted by my locker room attendant Bobby. he was a very nice older man. i entered my little changing booth...stripped down...and then locked all my stuff into a little locker.
i let bobby know i was done locking up my stuff and he came in with a large sheet and wrapped it around me and led me into the large bathing room. mind you, bobby came in and wrapped me in the sheet because well...when was the last time you took a bath with a swim suit on. you have to be comfortable in situations like this. but i felt totally comfortable...with all the staff. they were very friendly..and for them...this was just another day at the office...and i was just another naked guy.
Bobby introduced me to my bath attendant, Walter. Walter was a very very funny man. older gentlemen. he already had the bath drawn for me and it was just about filled to the top when i got there. it was a HUGE porcelain tub...big enough for me to stretch out in without bending my legs. standing almost 6'1...a bathtub this large is hard to find...so this was a real treat. walter took my sheet, and i climbed into the large tub. the tub was located in a large bathroom style stall. about 8ft wide and about 15ft deep. so you could walk around the whole tub without issue. the tub was tall...i had to use a stool to get myself in safe. again...this is the part not for the timid. the bath tub had its super hot water flowing out of a huge faucet. it could easily fill the massive bathtub in a minute or two. at the front of the tub was a giant thermometer and a large water turbine machine for creating a whirlpool effect. it looked like a gigantic emulation blender. the water was about 120 when i got in. once i got settled in...walter got me a hot wet towel to rest my head on and a cup of hot water straight form the faucet that was topping off my hot bath! its believed that drinking and bathing in the natural hot spring mineral water has healing properties.
after some short conversation...walter made sure i was comfortable and i spent the next 20 minutes in the tub just relaxing. about half way through the bath..walter stopped in and added some more hot water to the bath...keeping the temp well above 100! always checking to make sure i was comfortable and ok. this was the life!
after the 25 minute bath...walter soon returned. after draining the tub...it was time for the scrub. boy this is the questionable part...but it will all make sense in the end. after filling about 1/3 of the tub with fresh super hot water...walter grabbed the loofa mit and i gave me a great scrub down from head to toe. i know it sound weird....but its all part of the experience of being pampered at the old bath houses. after a good scrub...i got out of the tub and walter handed me a towel...about the size of a face towel and led me off to my next station.
the Sitz Bath was next. its basically like a sink on the floor big enough for you to sit in. this bath was located on the other side of the big bathing room...in a stall about 5ft square. kinda like a bathroom stall in a modern rest room...with one exception. NO DOOR! walter had the bath all set and hot for me by the time i got over there. so he took the small towel he gave me at the bathtub, and wrapped it around my neck. then it was time to sit down in the giant sink and soak for another 15 minutes. this bath was designed to treat hemorrhoids and lower back issues. now the interesting park was that the "stalls" had no doors...and you faced right out into the main room. there were only half walls on the sides. so there i was...sitting in a giant sink...just chilling...for all the world to see.
after the 15 minutes, walter returned and walked me over to the next station....the hot packs. these were large cots that i laid on and walter wrapped me in super hot wet towels. once wrapped in the towels, i was laid on my back and wrapped up in a huge sheet. i left like a giant burrito. walter warned me that it was gonna sting a little at first...and boy did it! it was all worth it though! so relaxing! i just laid there...wrapped in hot towels...head to toe for about 25 minutes. it was amazing.
walter came back to un-wrap me...yay! "Lets get you's somes steam" he says to me and walks me over to the steam chamber. the mens steam chambers look nothing like those above. they are basically just a small stall with a small sitting area in it. a lot like the small saunas of today. it was a wet steam. the steam came directly from the hot spring located below the bath house and was piped into the steam chambers. a quick 2 minute trip inside the chamber and i was sweating like i had run a marathon.
then it was off to the last part of the process. a trip to the needle shower. walter had it firing on all cylinders when i got to it. its basically a shower...with small jets all around you. there are at least 20 small jets that fire high pressure water all over your body...and then a big faucet above your head. it was really refreshing! after a short rinse off...i was finally dried off and walter led me over to Ron...my masseuse.
the last section of my treatment was a 25 minute swedish massage. Ron was wonderful. it wasn't really a "massage"...more like a nice rub down to relax my muscles and reduce any strain. this was the kinda cheesy part of the whole experience...but i came for the bath...not the massage.
after that...it was back to see bobby and get my clothes back! all in all it was a wonderful experience. defiantly something i would do again. all the people there were amazing and so friendly. Walter had worked there his whole life! everyone there made me feel at home and it was just another day at the office for them.
there is a big difference in the mens vs the woman's end of things when it comes to traditional bath houses. bath houses were built and ran to attract men...not women. funny hu? no expense was spared when these houses were built...they were furnished with the most expensive amenities and attractions. from hot tubs, to pool tables and grand piano's. it was truly and amazing experience and i enjoyed every moment of it.
i even got a little souvenir for my trip. Bobby brought me a little going away gift after i got back from my massage. a small blue pocket comb, wall calendar and pocket calendar from the Buck Staff. yeah that may seem kinda cheap and stupid...but back in the day...thats what you would have gotten...and it just made the trip that more authentic. as a note, none of the girls got parting gifts lol!
well thats it for that!
