Courtesy 1905 Basin Park Hotel
Tiny town, many options
For a town so tiny, Eureka Springs is packed with possibilities for after-hours activities, team building and spouse activities.
Guests of either hotel have easy access to downtown Eureka Springs.
At the Basin Park, they simply walk out the door. At the Crescent, they take a short hotel shuttle ride to downtown.
Given the town’s reputation for local art, English is happy to arrange gallery strolls, led by a local artist, or, have artists drop in at a dinner or reception to talk about their work.
There are a number of ways groups with busy schedules can work in an activity. Guides can give tours of the Crescent, proclaimed America’s most-haunted hotel. Public tours are given each night at 8.
Cooking demonstrations by the hotel’s chef can reveal the secret to making the Crescent favorite, Chicken Boursin, or intimidating dishes such as asparagus risotto. Afterward, groups can enjoy meals that feature the dishes they learned to make.
Two rivers and two lakes within 20 minutes make canoe trips, fly-fishing or leisurely cruises aboard pontoon boats easy to plan. From November to March, migrating bald eagles are the show during eagle watch tours on Beaver Lake.
Corporate groups often start early and break for a long lunch to give attendees a few afternoon hours to explore the town, English said.
Deanna Perez Williams, education coordinator for the Migrant Education Program, brings about 50 of the program’s tutors to the hotel each December for training. The one-day meeting is also a way to thank educators for the job they do.
“I try to make it not only informative but entertaining and enjoyable. The Crescent provides the ambiance. It is decorated for Christmas from the grounds to the dining area to the Conservatory meeting room.”
Not surprisingly, the hotels are also popular with social groups. Among them is a Ferrari owners club that for several years has used the Crescent as its base as members go on daily drives along the mountain byways.
Each evening, the club has social events. This year, opening night was a gathering to admire the 52 Ferraris parked in the hotel’s lot. Friday evening was a costume party at the hotel. On Saturday, the group had a luncheon and education session at the Crescent before motoring to Bentonville, Ark., about an hour away, for a tour of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and dinner in the museum.
During the stay, the club blocked time for members and guests in the hotel’s New Moon Spa, billed as the largest in northwest Arkansas.
Personal service pays off
In some places, working with two hotels could complicate planning. It doesn’t seem to be an issue at the Crescent and Basin Park. A key is the fact that the person who books a meeting also services it.
“When you have a meeting here, I book it and I also detail it,” English said.
1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa
www.crescent-hotel.com
1905 Basin Park Hotel
www.basinpark.com
