3 Best Hotels in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

A pair of upscale private rentals, on the trolley line one minute from downtown Eureka Springs, are showplaces of fine art, accessories, and interior design. Both are owned by Arkansas Show House designer Shirley Cantrell. The Abernathy is a generously sized one-bedroom jewel featuring a full kitchen, private deck, fireplace, and Jacuzzi tub for two nicely positioned underneath a skylight. The companion property, The Studio, which opened in 2013, is an equally enticing but smaller version. Shirley's packages also include complimentary fresh fruit, baked goods, juice, coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

Named one of America's "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, this 1886 hotel, on 15 acres of grounds along the spine of the Ozark Mountains, is a Eureka Springs landmark. Originally built as a resort escape for Victorian gentility, it later became a bogus cancer hospital in an area known for healing waters. Since its multimillion-dollar refurbishment and reopening in 1997, the Crescent has added a conservatory, an expansive spa, a pizza bar, and a steak house restaurant complete with wine cellar. The newest addition to lodging options includes a collection of lodge-style cottages. Guests can learn about the hotel's past on morning history tours and nightly ghost tours.

Couples for whom romance is high on the list can savor the seclusion of a luxury love nest two dozen feet above ground in a canopy of hardwood trees. These are not the tree houses your dad slapped together when you were a kid, but skillfully crafted elevated cottages furnished with fine antiques and high-quality linens, each with a private wraparound deck, vaulted ceilings, picture windows, stone fireplace, kitchenette, three-piece bathroom, and heart-shaped Jacuzzi tub surrounded by glass. Complimentary snacks and homemade pumpkin bread are special treats. Cottages are for adults only, but families may inquire about renting the owners' ground-level two-bedroom, one-bath cottage, nearby.