Description: Sunbay Resort has location, location, location. And that makes up for some of its peculiarities. Its location on a small arm of Lake Hamilton provided a lovely view and great sunsets. On Hwy 7 Central Avenue connects it to the scenic highway drive and the National Park and most of Hot Springs’ major shopping, eating and tourist areas. Its location was surprisingly quiet for being on a major highway.
Our unit had two bedrooms and two baths and was located on the fourth floor of the main building. Other units were in low-rise buildings flanking the bay. The unit is advertised as sleeps 8 because there is a Murphy bed and a sofa bed in the living room. That would be pretty tight quarters. One bedroom is large and has a view of the lake. The other bedroom is small and very dark. What we found irritating about the unit was the extremely narrow kitchen that also served as the primary entrance to the unit. It was difficult for two people to be in the kitchen at the same time. We also prefer walk-in showers, but both bathrooms had tub shower combinations. The master bath had a big whirlpool tub. These are very difficult for short-legged people or handicapped to use safely. All the furniture was comfortable and in good condition. Other pluses include a private balcony, free newspapers, and three TV sets.
The lobby was large with a comfortable seating area and a free wireless computer service. There is a surf and turf restaurant associated with the resort that was only open in the evenings. Outside are docks where you can tie up your boat and the staff can help you secure a rental. The entrance to the resort we used during most of our stay was next to a lovely water garden. It had waterfalls, mirror pools, koi, ducks, sculptures and benches where you could set and enjoy the beauty. This was one of the best features of the resort.
Perhaps the resorts best feature was its courteous and thoughtful staff. Our questions and requests were treated as priority. I talked to another guest who told me how accommodating the staff were. Her husband had fallen ill and had to be hospitalized. When her timeshare week was up, the manager moved her to an unoccupied unit and extended her stay for only the cost of the weekly maid service.
The resorts worst feature was the guest laundry. I was very disappointed that the 2-bedroom unit didn’t have a washer/dryer. There wasn’t even a guest laundry on our floor. When I did find the place it had two washers and two dryers and no place to sit. The dryers were "unsophisticated"… either hot or fluff, so I felt I had to stay and monitor my loads. On the plus side was the view. This laundry had a wall-to-wall window looking out at the bay. From there I watched one spectacular sunset.
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