Beaver Lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, Akansas: A Review

The Beaver Lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, Arkansas have magnificent views of the valley and lake but if you're looking for luxury, these cottages are probably not your best bet. The proprietors prefer to keep to themselves except during check-in hours but they are available via telephone if you need help. There are rules at the Beaver Lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, AR and lots of them - so much so that they tend to take away from the relaxation of a vacation. I don't know what kind of guests they've had in the past but apparently they've ruined it for the rest of us.

One of the rules is that women cannot remove their make-up using a washcloth; instead they must use a pre-moistened wipe that is provided. Sorry but if I don't know what's in or on a product, I won't use it. Fortunately I use soap and my own eye make-up remover so I didn't break any rules. Another rule is that you should check-in between 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (although they really prefer that you check-in between 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.) This makes sense as they don't want to wait around all day for guests to arrive but sometimes traveling on small country roads leads to people getting lost or perhaps guests might want to check-in, leave their bags and go into town but nope, they can't do that.

We went to the main town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas when we first arrived as we would have been too early for check-in otherwise (coming from Mount Magazine). Of course by the time we went to town, parked, walked around and had something to eat, we couldn't check in until after 5:00 p.m. - and we were the last ones to arrive which made us feel like we broke one of their rules (e.g. arrive between 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.).

We had a great sleep number king sized bed and it faced the window overlooking the valley so the views were incredible. The TV was a tad difficult to operate with two remotes but I finally figured it out after 10 minutes. We even watched a video - yes they have a plethora of free videos from which guests can choose.

The Beaver Lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, Arkansas come with a continental breakfast but not like you'd expect. There is a tiny coffee maker in the room (no tea which was frustrating for me), and two large muffins. I have no idea where the muffins came from (e.g. the supermarket, homemade) so I didn't touch them but my husband tried one and loved it. They also included a pretzel mix - not exactly breakfast food - and two small bottles of orange juice. Needless to say, that breakfast wasn't going to work for me so we went to the local grocery store (a good 20 minutes away) to buy fruit and yogurt.

The bathroom was pretty much like the rest of the room: dated. I felt like I stepped in a time machine and went back 20 years. A seashell sink, a dated porcelain counter, and a Jacuzzi tub that did not look very inviting. There was no shower curtain or glass door. Instead you had to shower and hope the water didn't splatter onto the floor. But don't worry because part of the rules stated that it was okay if the water splashed onto the tile. We thought it was very odd. And then there was no shampoo or conditioner that was visible but we did find a partially used bottle (probably purchased by another guest) under the cabinet along with cleaning supplies. Of course we went and bought our own shampoo.

The Beaver Lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, Arkansas didn't make us feel comfortable and the dated décor was a bit much when compounded with the fact that we were literally out in the middle of nowhere and a good 20 minutes (if not more) from town - not to mention we had to drive on dark, long and windy roads to go to/from the cottages. The only good thing was that we saw some deer but had someone else been driving (e.g. someone who had been drinking and driving too fast like the locals seem to do), the deer in the middle of the road could have easily lost their lives.

We were happy to check-out of the Beaver lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and although the views were stunning, they were not enough to make us satisfied guests. Next time we'll opt for something closer to town and more modern (if such a thing exists in Eureka Springs).

To be fair we were in a suite and the one bedroom and two bedroom cottages might have been much nicer. To learn more about the Beaver Lake Cottages in Eureka Springs, Arkansas visit http://www.beaverlakecottages.com.