Reunion Resort Villas raise the ante for golfers in Hot Springs Village
By Ken MacLeod
Hot Springs Village just took a major leap forward in the realm of upscale travel golf accommodations with the opening of the Reunion Resort Villas.
These luxury four bedroom condos and one bedroom studios have it all for the traveling foursome and their significant others. A spacious kitchen, dining and living areas. Bathrooms with walk-in showers in each bedroom. Patios with fireplaces and grills. Huge flat screen television with comfortable seating everywhere. Giant king beds It’s a place to relax, recuperate and get ready for the next round.
Even better, they are located right in the heart of the best golf in the village, meaning you can take your cart from the garage and drive straight over to Isabella, Granada and Diamante. As those who visit the Village know, Diamante is normally the one private course off limits to travelers, but your stay at Reunion Resort comes compete with access to the fourth-ranked course in Arkansas by Golf Digest, behind only The Alotian, The Blessings and Mystic Creek. As well as its restaurant, pool, pickleball courts, bar and other facilities.
A group of businessmen and developers in Hot Springs Village came up with the idea, ran it by the Property Owner’s Association and got an enthusiastic response. Construction on the villas began in February and they opened to guests this fall. Go to www.thereunionresortvillas.com for more information or to book a stay.
Brandon Tedder, an owner and manager of the project, said discussions had gone on for several years that HSV needed a more golf specific rental area rather than having guests find private housing.
“As luck would have it, the perfect 10 acres opened right in the middle of the top golf courses. We approached the POA and they really welcomed the idea.”
Another golf writer and I stayed over recently and played all 27 holes at Isabella on a spectacular fall day and it was a good reminder of just how fun golf in the Village can be. Granada, Isabella and Diamante were all designed by Tom Clark, who now has his hand in Oklahoma golf with the design of nine holes at Shangri-La and the full 18 at The Battlefield, the excellent par-3 course at Shangri-La.
Clark has also worked on many of the other courses in the Village, of which there are nine total. The original designer of the older courses such as Cortez and DeSoto was his former partner Edmund B Ault.
All the courses at Hot Springs Village have lots of movement and elevation change but I’ve always felt they were ideally designed for both the largely retired permanent inhabitants of the Village and the golf groups coming through looking to have a good experience. Challenging yes, but not brutally hard to where you are going to shoot 7 or 8 shots above your handicap just due to unfamiliarity. It’s pretty much all there in front of you. The landing areas are fairly generous, the trouble is mostly visible and the greens putt true. What more can you ask for?
After the round we met the developers over an excellent meal at Diamante and learned they have room and plans to expand the Reunion Resort Villas should there be a demand. At this time there are three four-bedroom units and eight one-bedroom studios. We fully expect golfers will be clamoring for more.
