Arlington Resort Hotel
Could Al Capone’s spirit be on a permanent spa vacation at this historic Hot Springs hotel?
Paranormal Claims at
Arlington Resort Hotel
- A girl in a pink dress is seen in the lobby
- Cigar smoke has been encountered in Room 443
- Door knobs in certain rooms will rattle and shake without known cause
- A woman in a white dress is seen around the upper floor stairs
- On the fourth floor, guests report the apparition of a bellman
- Lights are said to turn on and off by themselves
- The elevator is said to go to the fourth floor without reason
- A man in a black suit is spotted around the laundry area
- Sink taps in rooms will reportedly turn on and off by themselves
- Small objects are supposedly moved by unseen forces in Room 824
Spas & Spirits:
History of Arlington Hotel
The hot water springs near Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs, Arkansas, have attracted visitors since the early 1800s. Still today, numerous historic spas and bathing houses line Bathhouse Row.
And at the end of Bathhouse Row, ready to greet weary travelers, is the Arlington Hotel.
Arlington’s looming towers have overlooked spa-goers in Hot Springs for generations. The resort remains one of the most popular lodges in the city, with guests both living and dead.
Local legends tell of apparitions, haunted elevators, and even Al Capone’s cigar-smoking specter lingering through Arlington’s halls.
Timeline of Arlington Resort Hotel's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Arlington Resort Hotel through the years
1875
While Hot Springs, Arkansas, had been a tourist hotspot for much of the 1800s, the Civil War devastated the city. It wasn’t until the early 1870s that the spa town started rebuilding in earnest. In this era, the first version of the Arlington Hotel sprouted up on Central Avenue. Opened in 1875, the first hotel was a three story, wood frame building, the largest hotel in the state at the time. The expansive inn proved a quick success, and only gained popularity with time.
1893
Razed and rebuilt in 1893, the second version of the successful Arlington Hotel rose up with a sturdier, red brick frame. It also included numerous expansions and modernizations. The updated hotel promised to be a resort that would last for generations. Unfortunately, the red brick hotel would be cut down by fire in April, 1923. Over the following year and a half, construction crews brought a new, third version of the Arlington to life at the end of Bathhouse Row.
1924
The third Arlington Hotel, the tall, twin-towered structure seen today, opened with a joyous gala on December 31st, 1924. The updated resort soon became a popular lodge for Hot Springs’ wealthiest visitors, including Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, and notorious gangster Al Capone. All through the 20th century, Arlington remained an in-demand hotel, known for historic luxury with all the right modernizations. Renovations kept the resort going through the decades, adding air conditioning in 1955 and replacing hand-operated elevators in 1969.
2023
In 2023, Arlington saw the start of a full renovation. The $30 million project sought to preserve the hotel for the rest of the 21st century. Restoration continues today, working to keep Arlington successful into the future. All the while, specters of old world guests purportedly keep history alive within. Resort guests still come and go all the time, with some saying that ghosts mingle alongside them during their stays. Countless ghost stories have some people wondering if the Arlington Hotel could be Hot Springs’ most haunted place.
Is Arlington Hotel Haunted?
If you’re visiting the Arlington Hotel in search of ghosts, some stories suggest you won’t have to look beyond the lobby. Throughout the lobby, guests report the figure of a young girl in a light pink dress appearing and then disappearing before their eyes.
Around the upper floors, guests claim to see the figure of a woman in a white dress. Some reports say it is the spirit of a bride, ready for her wedding. But in both of these cases, little is known about the specters’ identities, or why they decided to haunt the Arlington Hotel.
Specters Work Shifts at This Old Hotel
Along with apparitions of guests, phantoms of former workers may linger through Arlington. The apparition of a man in a black suit is reported around the hotel’s laundry area.
Perhaps a haunting housekeeper, working shifts in spirit?
Additionally, one of the hotel’s elevators is said to be haunted by the ghost of a former bellman.
The elevator will reportedly be called to the fourth floor for no apparent reason. It often stops there on guests’ rides, only to open to an empty hall. Fourth floor guests even see the bellman’s apparition, in full uniform, walking the halls on that floor. Never straying far from the elevators.
Electrical Oddities at Arlington Resort
The ghosts of Arlington Hotel aren’t known to be shy about manifesting. But even if they don’t appear as misty figures, they still might make themselves known. A common unexplained occurrence throughout the hotel is electrical malfunctions in the lights.
Electricians check the historic hotel’s wiring often, but purportedly do not ever find anything amiss with light fixtures. Despite this, chandeliers in first floor event rooms are known for flickering, brightening, and dimming at strange times. Could this be the hotel’s phantoms, shedding light on their own ghost stories?
Entities in Room 824
While plenty of stories abound through Arlington Hotel’s public spaces, a few guest rooms are also haunted hotspots. Room 824 is well-known as a room with its own electrical oddities.
Guests in 824 often claim that the lights in the room will turn on and off by themselves. This is supposedly paired with similar activity from the bathroom, where the sink will turn on and off by itself. Other guests in 824 claim that small items and pieces of luggage will be moved around the room by unseen forces. And 824 is far from Arlington’s only ghostly guest room.
Room 443’s Infamous Phantom
Another well-known haunted room is 443, reportedly the favorite room of Al Capone during his stays at Arlington. While you’re unlikely to see Capone’s apparition these days, many guests say you might smell his spirit floating around.
Even though Arlington Hotel is smoke-free, Capone’s specter supposedly still enjoys a good cigar or two in his room. Guests in 443 will often claim to smell the tell-tale stench of fresh cigar smoke in the room, even in the middle of the night. The odd smell is said to disappear from the room just as suddenly as it appears.
Share a Room with a Spirit
Aside from Arlington Hotel’s two hotspot rooms, numerous other reports come from hotel guests. Some other guest rooms are known for the same unexplained bathroom sink activity as in 824.
Additionally, guests with adjoining rooms sometimes say the adjoining door handles will rattle and shake, as if someone is trying to get in from the other side. But, on these adjoining doors, there are no handles to shake from the other side.
Arlington Hotel:
A Relaxing Southern Haunt
Arlington Hotel today remains a popular spa resort in Hot Springs and greets thousands of guests every year. Many people come simply to relax and enjoy the hot springs and therapeutic spas, much like travelers in the early 1800s did before them. While early spa-seekers had only tents and small cabins to enjoy, modern visitors to Arlington can bathe in many more luxuries.
But where do the ghosts fit in these days?
Ghost stories don’t get much attention from hotel staff at Arlington. Many sources suggest employees may be required, or at least recommended, to shy away from sharing their ghost stories. Regardless, many guests have shared stories of their unexplained encounters at Arlington over the years.
So while you’re unlikely to find ghost tours offered at the hotel, an overnight stay might still come with a spooky experience or two. And where else in America might you enjoy a spa day with a spirit?
