Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa — Hotel in Hot Springs

A Truly Exceptional Stay – The Staff Made It Unforgettable!||From the moment I arrived at Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa on beautiful Lake Ouachita, I knew I was in for something special. There's no doubt that Lake Ouachita is absolutely breathtaking, but the property itself is beautiful—spotlessly clean, tastefully decorated, and incredibly comfortable, but what really made this stay unforgettable was the staff.||From the moment I turned onto Mountain Harbor Road, every single "blue" Mountain Harbor truck that would pass, conveyed a friendly and welcoming wave, and that was just the beginning! When I say that every single person I encountered was warm, professional, and genuinely eager to help a guest in need, it's not at all hyperbole!! |Claire, Kendra, Marci, River and Mekenna with the front desk team, greeted me with smiles, had check in paperwork ready for signatures and provided a seamless, expeditious and flawless check-in. I'm tellin' ya....wowed infinity!!! Being that there were 9 in my party, there are numerous and various needs and requests that took place. Not to worry, Gina and her fantastic Housekeeping staff were on it! From additional towels, soap and trash bags as well as the prep work prior to our arrival, our beautiful Harbor North Cottage was pristine and well appointed, a level of service that I would label "outstanding"! ||I must extend my gratitude to the Facilities Maintenance team, Viv, Ian, Justin, Brian and Jason for taking care of my group daily! We enjoyed the sparkling clean hot tub on our private deck nightly with wine and music! There were a couple "germ-freaks" in our party who normally would NEVER partake in the relaxation of a private hot tub. However, it was obvious that this team runs a tight ship! No funky suds or oil lines, just fresh, clean water and jets!! ||Obviously, we didn't just barricade ourselves in our cottage; There's tons of activities to please all involved. Had there been more time, several wanted to have a luxurious spa treatment at the Turtle Cove Spa right there on property, but they were overruled because of time constraints. Definitely a must do on the next trip! The winning vote was to hit the water!!!! Todd, Trevor, Owen and MJ were absolute Rock Stars!!!! Thank you for always having a beautiful pontoon boat, all gassed up with life jackets on board just awaiting our daily arrival!!! So much fun and worth the money! These are not old junky rental boats; These spotless boats have slides, blue tooth capable stereos and a re-designed ladder to make getting in the boat easy for all ages and my old overweight knees!! There were tons of dock hands always present to grab us at the dock for those Subway sandwich runs or to fuel up!!! Thank ya'll so much! ||One last mention. I would like to thank the extraordinary food and beverage team right there on property! I had mentioned prior to our arrival that this was a celebration of life get together to honor some special family members who have passed on. This food and beverage team performed as if I were at a Ritz Carlton! From the stunning charcuterie board to chocolates and a handwritten personal note. Thank you to Jenn and her amazing culinary staff for a truly special touch!!! ||If you're looking for a stay where you'll be treated like family, look no further. The Barnes family provides a deep-rooted commitment to the values that have guided their family here for 70 years. You will notice the integrity, hard work, respect, and genuine care for others while you're on property. It is obvious that these aren’t just words to them, they’re the foundation of how they operate every day. Thank you for a pleasurable experience! ...

We, a family of 11, arrived last evening after a day of travel. We went to the restaurant (the only one at the resort) in its last hour of operation. It was packed. We waited that hour to get seated and had to sit at two different tables, diagonally across from one another. Once the drinks were brought to table, no straws were left for kid’s drinks that were lidded. I had to go ask because that was it! No one came back. A while later, we ordered and several of our “choices” included a trip to the salad bar. The salad bar had lettuce but was void of anything rose, even dressing. When I asked the front desk, because there was no one else to ask, I was told I had to ask the wait staff. I threw my arms up because it had already been about 45 min since we sat down and no staff would stop to let me ask them. After about 15 more minutes, I finally found one and his reply to my request about, “Will the salad bar be restocked?” was, “what’s wrong with it?” And, “we’re busy!” FINALLY, I found someone else to ask, and about 30 minutes later, there was salad makings. There were 3 breakfast orders for children who when it came to table, didn’t have the pancakes which was the main item they wanted. “Sorry! We’re out!” was all that was said. It’s VERY late now, and too late to make changes. My baked potato which was substituted because they were out of mashed potatoes, was raw and hard. The rest of the food, except the fish, was horrible. There was frustration, hunger and crying as a result. Not one person was professional or apologetic until right before we paid the ticket and all the kids but one had left to go to cabin and the waitress brings out the Sundaes that go with kids meals, THEN she apologizes and said she gave us a discount on our ticket.

Bugs & mice in room, not enough towels or blankets.

That was last night. We’re here for 4 days. Let’s see how it goes...

We stayed in Guest Room 10, so we have no opinion about the multi-bedroom options at the "resort". The photographs of GR10 on the MH website had to have been taken years ago. The room was shabby; poorly maintained, filthy carpet (more on that later) and furnishings far past their prime. The bath is too small to be called tiny but was updated sometime since vessel sinks have become popular. However, putting newish tile in this room doesn't address the fact that it is too small for one, much less two people. There were three "free" wifi connections, however, none of them could be used to load Google, much less TripAdvisor or Facebook, even after they cheerfully reset the routers when asked; we just used our data plans on our devices. Toilet never stopped running. Water seeped thru the floor from the bathroom in GR 9, soaking the brown carpet that I only discovered when getting into bed at 11:00 PM. This room is not worth $50/night, much less the $200 (with a 2 night minimum) required on weekends.

Unless you fish, there is little to do at the resort. The pools are....there. No charm; just a side of the road style pool at a $200/night motel.

Upside: the people who work there are relentlessly nice from the desk clerks to the wait-staff. The exception was the manager who refused to come to the front desk when we were checking out. I find managers who won't talk to you the mark of a hotel that knows it's substandard.

I'd give higher marks to the restaurant--it is crowded probably because it's the only decent place to eat within miles of the "resort", but the wait for 2 wasn't more than 30 minutes for dinner on a Friday night. We would have eaten breakfast there, except the wait at 8:30 Sat. was about an hour, so we just checked out and got the heck...