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.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Poor
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Fair
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Poor

We were able to walk to several restaurants, though, by crossing the street in front of the resort--not for anyone who needs lots of time to cross streets.

Hot Springs National Park is located right in the city and is very touristy (like Gatlinburg, TN). It was a short car ride to get there from the resort, and one could hike or get a thermal bath right from the park.

The resort has a long dock and one could rent boats nearby and tie up part of the time. Lake Hamilton is a dammed river and is thus a long, interesting lake to explore by boat, with many expensive homes along the shore. There is also a steamboat that one can take to tour the lake if one doesn't want to handle their own boat.

Our unit was very poorly lit and hard to read in after dark. On the other hand, there were TVs in three places. Shades were very poor at blocking light, and thus, if you want to sleep late, bring blindfolds.

We were able to make several daytrips to nice parks and other attractions during our stay. They had a bunch of activities scheduled which appeared to cover many interests.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Fair
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Good