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Hotels

Hotels provide accommodation, usually in private rooms, ranging from simple beds in a small room, to luxury suites with round-the-clock staff, priced accordingly.

Hotels have some level of service for guests; at least a lobby desk. In addition to accommodation, some hotels act as venues for conferences and private events (e.g. wedding reception, company anniversaries) even if the guests or invitees have no plans of sleeping there.

Booking a room
In most cases, hotel rooms are booked, or reserved, in advance, so that a room will be held by the hotel awaiting the arrival of a specific guest. Rooms at hotels can also be rented by simply walking in and enquiring at the front desk, but this may be met with a decline as the hotel may be fully booked for the night.

Rooms can be booked directly with the hotels, or via intermediaries such as travel websites (aggregators) and travel agents. Airlines, railways, ferry operators and other travel-related services providers often act as intermediaries as well, providing their passengers and clients the option to book a hotel room in addition to their regular services.

Room rates
If you stay at a hotel of decent rating, the bill will usually be a significant share of your travel budget. In general, room rates reflect the wealth of the hotel's location. Hotel rooms in low-income countries and less affluent neighbourhoods might be cheaper than a similarly-rated hotel in a cosmopolitan business district.

The price paid for staying at the hotel is generally determined by the room rate, i.e. the rate paid for staying each night spent in the room. The base room rate usually does not include anything but accommodation. Other services, as well as meals, usually incur extra charges. Use of some of the room's and hotel's facilities might also not be free for staying guests. It is good to make sure what is included in the rate and what may cost extra before booking, or at least before using specific services.

Hotels usually have a standard rate quoted at the front desk and displayed prominently in the hotel and in the rooms, which is often called the rack rate. The rack rate is usually the highest rate the hotel would charge for the room, as it is often required by legal restrictions. There are usually many rates one can pay for a given night that are lower than the rack rate, and the value of the rate depends on a number of factors. Knowing how hotels set their offered rates can help you book your desired room cheaper.

Some of the factors that can influence the value of the rate:
 * 1) Advance bookings – special, lower rates are often available when booking in advance. Hotels are very interested in having as many rooms as possible booked early to manage their occupancy better. The best rates are usually offered when booking 21 days or more in advance, but even booking a few days in advance would often get you a better rate than the rack rate you would get when walking into the hotel on the day of your stay – when they know you will probably take the room regardless.
 * 2) Cancellability – most bookings can be cancelled until the night of the stay, so the hotel risks keeping the room for you and then you cancelling it at the last minute. If you choose a rate that does not allow that, it would usually be lower, but you risk losing money if your plans need to change.
 * 3) Advance payment – you will usually pay for your hotel stay when checking out, but some attractive rates require you to pay in advance.
 * 4) Booking channel – you can sometimes get a better rate booking through a booking consolidator website. Conversely, hotels sometimes offer special rates only when booked via their own websites.
 * 5) Seasonality – most destinations usually have a high season for tourism, when staying there is deemed more desirable, so the rates will be higher then. It is usually dependent on weather conditions (most destinations will see more tourists coming in warmer months, except for skiing destinations, when months with good snow cover will attract most tourists). Business hotels may, on the other hand, be cheaper on holidays and weekends.
 * 6) Special events – There are also some happenings during the year, such as holidays, feasts or special events (e.g. prominent football matches, concerts, festivals) that may affect demand and rates. For business destinations, trade fairs often rack up the rates considerably. If you do not intend to participate in those events, make sure you check the calendar of planned events at your destination and avoid them to avoid the increased rates.

Checking in and out

On arriving at the hotel, guests should check in, which means giving the front desk the details of the guests staying in a given room, referring to the booking, confirming rates and conditions, being assigned a room and receiving the key to the room. Checking out is done once a guest's stay is completed. The front desk staff presents the charges incurred and guests settle the bill. The key to the room is returned to the front desk at that time.

Hotels usually have fixed check-in and check-out times, given as the earliest hour one can check in at and the latest at which one can check out. Those are usually not the same time – hotels leave a few hours between check-in and check-out times to allow for housekeeping to clean and prepare any rooms that might be vacated at the last possible moment (thus, a day's stay at a hotel is usually shorter than 24 hours even if using all available time). Otherwise, check-in and check-out times are limited by the availability of front desk staff – not all hotels have front desks working 24 hours a day. In small hotels the front desk may not be regularly staffed, and there may be a bell to ring to summon attention or a sign directing you to the bar.

If you expect to arrive late in the evening (maybe after 8 PM), it may be advisable to let the hotel know your expected arrival time to reassure them you are coming and find out whether you have to make any special arrangements upon arrival. If the hotel has not taken any payment for your reservation, they may ask for you to guarantee your stay with a credit card, due to a late check-in; otherwise, they may be tempted to resell the room if you don't arrive by early evening.

The latest check-out time varies between hotels, but is generally sometime around noon, while check-in is usually possible at times from 2 PM onwards. Earlier check-ins and later check-outs at hotels are usually treated as extra services incurring extra charges. They can sometimes be offered free of charge as perks to some guests and included in some rates or special packages. That said, sometimes hotels will let guests check in early or check out late on inquiry at the front desk with no additional conditions and charges if rooms are available.

Please note that failure to check out at appropriate check-out times on the day your stay ends will often be understood as occupying the room for yet another night and therefore incur a full regular nightly rate. Late check-outs should be agreed upon with the front desk staff beforehand.

Most hotels offer a room where you can keep your luggage between check-out and your departure from the city. Do not leave valuables there, as somebody could take the wrong suitcase.

In some hotels, the check-in and check-out can be performed via automated kiosks in the hotel's lobby. This may be provided as a measure of economy (instead of employing staff hotels focusing on low costs offer automated services) or convenience (automated check-in and check-out may be quicker and more comfortable for some travellers in some situations). Furthermore, the adoption of smartphone apps to aid with self-service check-in and digital keys to the room are emerging.

Room types
Within a single hotel property, many different rooms may be available. Even in properties with uniform rooms, it is good to make sure what type of room is available to book one precisely fitting one's needs. Rooms may vary according to number and types of beds, size, facilities and amenities as well as décor and design.

 * Single rooms are for single travellers. In many hotels, a single room is actually the same as a double room.
 * Double rooms are for two travellers sleeping in the same bed.
 * Twin rooms have two separate single beds.
 * Triple rooms have either three separate beds, or a double bed plus a single bed.
 * Quads rooms are designed for 4 people or more.
 * Suites are complete apartments with multiple rooms, generally intended for longer stays.
 * Honeymoon suites or bridal suites are novelty rooms with oversize beds or whirlpool baths. Marketed to couples, these are often larger than standard rooms but are not multiple-room suites. See also wedding and honeymoon travel.
 * Efficiencies are rooms with kitchen or cooking facilities, permitting travellers to avoid costs of dining in restaurants.

Bathrooms
Most modern hotel rooms will include private bathrooms (meaning they can only be accessed from the rooms and are intended to be used by the guests staying in the rooms only), which will be fitted with a sink, toilet and shower or bathtub (or both). This type of arrangement, called ensuite, has become commonplace in properties across all standards, although some hotels even in developed countries continue to offer rooms with shared bathrooms. Such bathrooms are usually located in common hallways and are intended for use by all occupants of the rooms in a given floor. Often a hotel room that is not ensuite will still include a sink with running water or even also a toilet. Although not common, a few hotels in older buildings have some rooms with private bathrooms that are not ensuite; instead, your key will give only you access to a bathroom down the corridor.

Some hotels also offer bathrooms especially fitted to cater for the needs of guests with disabilities. This includes special handlebars and supports, a folded seat in a shower stall and other fitments to enable comfortable use by a person with limited mobility, e.g. the elderly or infirm or those using a wheelchair. Guests requiring such facilities should make sure a property provides them and communicate this need at the time of booking.

Types of beds
The following terms are based on the North American standard for mattress sizes, which have been adopted by the hospitality industry worldwide due to the dominance of American hotel chains:
 * A king bed (72–76 inches/183–193 cm wide) is nearly square; it provides more than ample room for two people, maybe three if they're small or very friendly
 * A queen bed (60 inches/154 cm wide) provides enough room for two adults to sleep comfortably
 * A full-size bed or double bed (54 inches/137 cm wide) is like a small queen; two people will find it slightly cramped, while a single person will find it quite roomy
 * A single bed or twin bed (38 inches/96.5 cm) is half the width of a king, only really suitable for one person.

Specific dimensions of beds and mattresses can vary between countries (up to 20 cm, which is quite significant); in addition, the terminology used to denote them can be either wildly different or confusingly similar. The lengths (from head to toe) are usually 74 to 80 inches (188 to 203 cm) but it can also vary between countries as well.

Connecting rooms
Some hotels also have connecting rooms, which are separate units that can be connected with a door between them. Those can be useful for groups or families wanting to stay together with access to each other's room, but not sharing one. When not in use as such, they are often rented out as regular rooms with the connecting doors locked. A downside of staying in a connecting room is that noises from the other connecting room are sometimes more audible.

Suites
Suites are sets of separate chambers rented by a hotel as a common accommodation unit. A suite would usually include one or more bedrooms and some other rooms, such as a living room or sitting room, sometimes with a sofa that converts into a bed. Dining, office and kitchen facilities are also added in many suites. Suites generally offer more space and furniture than a standard hotel room.

A suite is usually provided as either a luxurious type of accommodation: one that enables more people (e.g. a family) to stay in a single unit, or one that provides for a more convenient extended stay. Often, these are marketed to businesspeople and convention delegates with the second room serving as a small office or meeting space.

Floors and views
In hotel buildings comprising several stories, rooms on upper floors are often deemed more attractive as they provide a better view, more privacy (less chance of anybody being able to glimpse into the room through the window from outside) and are farther away from any ground level noises. This especially applies to hotels in metropolitan areas, located at busy areas with heavy traffic, often in tall towers surrounded by other buildings. A reverse pattern applies to two-story motels, where ground-floor tenants may park at the room and unload baggage directly instead of dragging luggage up a flight of stairs.

It is also possible that some rooms in a hotel have better or worse views than others; one side of an oceanfront lodge may face a beach while the other rooms face a road or highway. A landmark, skyline, landscape or striking vista may be visible from only part of the hotel; some rooms may also have less access to daylight, facing an internal courtyard or a wall of another building.

Rooms deemed better with regard to views or lighting may be offered at increased rates and require a specific booking.

Executive rooms, lounges and floors
Some upscale hotels offer special executive or club rooms or suites with additional amenities. Often (but not always) the room price on premium executive floors includes access to an executive or club lounge. The lounges include comfortable seating space and leisure amenities such as international TV, press and concierge service. It is common for a lounge to provide snacks and beverages at certain times or even throughout the day. Sometimes breakfast for guests on these floors is served at the lounge, while other guests have breakfast elsewhere in the hotel.

Lounges are often placed on higher floors of hotel buildings to provide better views. For convenience, the premium rooms are often put on a separate floor or floors (named executive floors or similarly) with direct unrestricted access to the lounge; access to those floors is restricted to guests staying in those rooms. Naming of such facilities, availability, amenities and mode of operation vary.

Smoking / non-smoking
Hotels usually designate rooms as "smoking" and "non-smoking" (referring to tobacco/cigarette/cigar smoking) to enable non-smoking guests to enjoy rooms not tainted with the particular odours and other side effects of smoking. If either the absence of smoking residuals or the ability to smoke in the room is important to you, it is best to make sure your room is smoking or non-smoking while booking. If you believe you might have been assigned the incorrect type of room, contact the front desk of your hotel and ask to be moved to an appropriate category.

Many modern hotels, however, do not condone smoking at all within the hotel property, not only because of higher demand for strictly non-smoking rooms, but also because of modern smoke detectors that can be activated by somebody smoking. Thus, smoking in your room is not advisable unless you expressly confirm with hotel staff that this is possible and will not trigger a smoke alarm. Laws in many countries also strictly forbid smoking anywhere within the hotel building anyway.

Meal plans
Hotels may additionally offer meal service included in the price. Common terms include: A few hotels deliver the food to the hotel room, mostly with additional fee or obligatory tip.
 * Continental breakfast. A limited morning selection of pastries, muffins, cereals, coffee or juice, usually offered by economy, limited service hotels where there is no restaurant or kitchen on-site to serve a hot meal. Budget chains often include this in the room price.
 * Bed and breakfast (B&B). The morning meal is included. This may range considerably from a simple roll and coffee to an extensive buffet. The term may also refer to smaller establishments which are an alternative to hotels.
 * Half board (aka half pension, demi-pension, modified American plan). A hotel rate that includes breakfast and one additional meal, typically dinner.
 * Full board (aka full pension, full American plan). A hotel rate in which three meals a day are included in the price.
 * All-inclusive. All meals and most drinks are included. The list of "free" drinks is usually limited to non-alcoholic and sometimes inexpensive alcoholic beverages. Branded and premium alcoholic drinks are often not provided or are available at extra cost.

Hotel types
There are various types of hotel to suit different travellers' needs or budget, or different companies' priorities. Star ratings may help; sometimes they are governed by tourism officials or a hotel association, so they are somewhat objective. In other cases they are pretty much arbitrary and meaningless.

That said, some concepts and formats have been quite uniformly adopted by the industry and can be found almost anywhere in the globe in the same form. Some of the popular and peculiar types of hotels are discussed below.

Full-service hotels
A "full-service hotel" is an American term referring to a hotel providing extensive service to guests and generally being staffed around the clock. Many of the services provided incur extra charges over the room rate, but it is their availability that is referred to as "full-service". A full-service hotel will usually include a front desk and room service available 24 hours a day, an on-site restaurant with upscale cuisine and service, and some leisure facilities dependent on country and area standards (most often a fitness room and a swimming pool). Full-service hotels are usually relatively expensive, and their basic room rates rarely include anything but accommodation itself, with every additional service incurring comparably steep charges. On the other hand, rooms in full-service hotels will usually feature many amenities not found in rooms in cheaper hotels. A business hotel is a loosely defined term; it tends to be a full-service (typically 4-star) hotel at a business district, an airport, a convention center or some other place likely to attract business travellers.

Full-service hotels will usually be rated as four- or five-star, or have a comparably high local rating. This category includes a broad range of facilities, from business-oriented international chain hotels to ultra-luxury boutique hotels. Some of the most popular international brands of full-service hotels include:
 * Marriott
 * Hilton
 * Sheraton
 * Sofitel
 * Shangri-La
 * Radisson
 * Hyatt

Limited- and select-service hotels
Hotels referred to as "limited-service" or "select-service" will feature only some of the services and facilities provided by full-service hotels. These American terms are not formally defined and used quite liberally, covering a broad range of facilities. In general, as the names suggest, these hotels will not offer some of the services and facilities full-service hotels provide (for example limited or no room service, or even no restaurant on premises), and the rooms in such hotels are simpler and have fewer amenities.

Popular limited or select service hotel brands include:
 * ibis Hotels
 * Holiday Inn Express
 * Ramada

Economy or budget hotels
Properties referred to as budget or economy hotels are geared towards providing accommodation at the lowest possible price. This is achieved by limiting the facilities and services available to guests and making hotel rooms smaller and simpler to fit more of them into a property at a lower cost. Many new economy hotels are purpose-built properties optimized with regard to investment and operating costs. There are also older hotels which position themselves as economy hotels as their standards have fallen behind traveller expectations as the property aged.

Some popular brands of economy hotels include:
 * ibis budget, formerly known as "Etap hotels", which are a very simplified version of the regular ibis hotels
 * Premiere Classe, an equivalent brand from another French hotel company
 * easyHotels, started by the same entrepreneur that started the low-cost easyJet airline, which charge extra for every service, amenity or perk beyond basic accommodation

As the construction of new motels has largely ended, former motel brands like Motel 6 and Super 8 are migrating to the economy, limited service hotel sector.

Motels

 * Further information: Motels

Motels, motor hotels, motor inns or motor lodges are an inexpensive form of limited-service hotel which allow motorists direct access to their rooms from a car park. Most were built before economy, limited-service hotel chains became commonplace in the early 1980s. Simple single-story or two-story buildings with few shared amenities and no room service, these occasionally have an on-site restaurant or an outdoor pool. Rooms are typically at a 1 or 2-star level and are self-contained with a private lavatory, washbasin and shower/bath "en suite". A few "efficiency" units include a small kitchen in-room at extra cost.

In Portugal, Spain, Italy and much of South and Central America, the term refers to an establishment which caters primarily to adultery. In German-speaking countries, the roadhouse motel (rasthaus) is an ordinary economy, limited-service hotel.

Inns
In its original meaning, an inn was an establishment providing lodging, food and drink to clients travelling by road. Before the widespread deployment of passenger rail, coaching inns served as periodic rest stops (often in a string of small villages built at 10-12 mile intervals) which accommodated for limitations imposed by horse-drawn travel.

In the motorcar era, marketers have diluted the meaning of terms such as "inn" and "lodge". Any establishment which offers any of the functions of the original stagecoach inns, from a motel with no dining room, to a pub or tavern with no lodging, to a full-service hotel with a restaurant and bar is likely to proclaim itself an "inn".

Airport hotels
Airport hotels are in suburban locations suited mostly towards guests arriving or departing from the airport, transit passengers with a significant layover between connecting flights and airline crews. Airport hotels may be connected to an airport terminal or located off-site with shuttle service between the hotel and the airport. Airport hotel strips are constructed in suburbs, often with limited and complicated access to anything but the airport itself, and are prone to aircraft noise (although most newly built airport hotels are sufficiently soundproofed). Airport hotels rarely provide especially desirable room views; serving a utilitarian function, they rarely enjoy the same level of investment in design and facilities as their city centre or resort counterparts. Hotel designers are also restricted in the height of buildings constructed in close proximity to runways and flight paths. Still, airport hotels can be considered for conferences and other events within the airport area.

Transit hotels
Transit hotels, a specialised form of airport hotel, are located inside the terminal in airside positions where travellers may enter from arriving international flights without passing through the host country's immigration controls. A transit hotel is intended as short-stay accommodation (sometimes as little as five or six hours) for air travellers who are in transit and plan to board another international flight out without leaving the host airport.

Due to their short-stay market, amenities are variable but often limited. Most or all provide the basics — a bed, desk, toilet, shower and Internet access. A few may be tiny capsule hotels; others offer premium facilities like gyms and spas.

Extended-stay hotels / Aparthotels
Those hotels are designed to cater for the needs of travellers staying over an extended period of time, anything from four nights to weeks or even months. As such, they straddle the divide between hotels and apartments for rent. The differences are generally that an aparthotel or extended-stay property:
 * 1) has been designed solely for the purpose, or converted to suit such purpose, while many rentable apartments are simply parts of regular residential buildings
 * 2) contains only rentable rooms, there are no fixed tenants and usually no other uses of the buildings apart from rentable rooms, suites and apartments and common services for the guests
 * 3) provide a certain level of shared services, depending on the exact standard of the property, which usually includes a front desk/reception, housekeeping and some measure of on-site gastronomy

The differences between an extended-stay and regular hotel property usually include:
 * 1) there is a broader selection of larger rooms and suites than in regular hotels which focus on smaller, single-bedroom units
 * 2) rooms and suites usually include a kitchenette / food preparation area for travellers to cater for themselves (regardless of whether other gastronomy options are provided on site)

Such hotels are generally geared towards two groups of travellers. One includes business travellers who are away on business for extended periods of time but do not completely relocate from their permanent residence. Those properties are frequently found within or around cities that are business centres, and are often located next to central business districts, business parks or places a business traveller might want to be close to, as well as being well-connected to transportation infrastructure (road/highway network, airports, railway stations). The other is geared toward leisure travellers wanting to spend a vacation in one place and cater for themselves partially or totally. They are most often found in leisure destinations and may contain fewer business-oriented facilities, while being more oriented towards the needs of travelling families.

Examples of extended-stay hotel chains and brands are:
 * Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites from Marriott
 * Staybridge Suites from InterContinental Hotels Group
 * Homewood Suites by Hilton and Home2 Suites by Hilton
 * Adagio and Suite Novotel from Accor
 * Hyatt House (formerly known as Summerfield Suites)

Boutique hotels

A "boutique hotel" originally signified a unique property, often a small upscale independent, which was not designed to fit a predetermined format or modern hotel chain's branding. The qualities associated with the category were a certain degree of luxury as well as small size; the "boutique" property was a specialised operator which served a relatively small number of voyagers but served them well.

As this term became popular, with generally positive connotations which can enhance the status of a varying array of properties, it has been applied liberally by the hospitality industry. While "boutique" originally inferred a luxury property in a small size, a traveller may find a hotel lacks either to some extent or completely. The status as an independent alternative to chain hotels is also being diluted both by existing property operators joining an association or chain, and by hotel operating companies acquiring or creating boutique hotels themselves.

Brands created by large hospitality companies specifically to extend their portfolios into boutique hotels include:
 * The Luxury Collection by Marriott
 * Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts by Hilton
 * MGallery by Accor

Unlike established upscale chain brands which share some boutique hotel-like characteristics, the boutique-specific brands usually do not take precedence over the original name of the property. The chain name is featured in some communications, but in a secondary order.

Grand old hotels

In many cities, there is one famous old hotel, usually going back to the Victorian era, that was historically the place to stay. Often, these hotels served cross-country rail travellers in an era long before the "jet set" and reliable commercial aviation. Some became landmarks in their own right.

Of course, the newer luxury hotels may have better facilities, but the old place has cachet.

Scattered Hotels
The idea of scattered hotels got its start in the early 1980s in Italy. The goal was to revive tourism in an earthquake-damaged corner of northeastern Italy in the 1970s. A "Diffuso hotel" consist of different accommodations in different buildings scattered throughout the village. For those who do not love staying at a hotel, an Albergo Diffuso is a balance between a hotel and a house.

Capsule hotels
A capsule hotel is a type of hotel developed in Japan that provides guest accommodation in modular plastic or fiberglass blocks (called "capsules") of roughly 2 m (6 ft 7 in) by 1 m (3 ft 3 in) by 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in). A capsule is basically only suitable for laying or sleeping in it, although some also include a television, an electronic console, and wireless internet connection for guests to relax or entertain themselves before going to sleep.

Capsule hotels consist of multiple capsule units places side by side and stacked upon each other to maximize space utilization. Communal facilities are usually very limited and include shared washrooms and luggage lockers (as there is basically no room for luggage in a capsule), but sometimes also restaurants or vending machines. Capsule hotels are intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels. They are rarely found outside of Japan, though a few hostels in other countries have adopted similar pod-style bunks.

Resort hotels
A resort hotel is a site with accommodation, dining, shopping and recreation, separate from the local community, in some cases in a gated community. A resort can be integrated with a main attraction, such as a ski lift system, golf course, casinos or a theme park.

While resort hotels give fewer opportunities to explore the land, they are useful for conferences and family getaways, and decrease the crime risk. In some places, such as Cancun, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc; resorts are the destination in themselves where guests spend their entire vacation/holiday without leaving to explore the land or to visit nearby attractions outside the resort grounds.

Hotel services
Hotels usually provide a range of services that distinguish them from other accommodation options. The array of services rendered usually plays a crucial role in determining the hotel's star rating, and also influences the prices, while being itself influenced by the group of travellers the hotel intends to cater for.

The hotel services may include:
 * Front desk / reception, taking care of checking guests in and out, billing them and collecting charges, as well as taking care of various guest requests and enquiries. This facility is found in almost all but some modern self-service facilities, where guests check themselves in and out using automated check-in kiosks
 * Housekeeping, taking care of cleaning the guest rooms (as well as common spaces), as well as changing bedsheets, pillow cases and towels, restocking amenities and minibar contents and such. This is pretty much a standard in any kind of hotel property, but the scope and frequency of housekeeping may vary widely. In case you'd rather be left alone, many hotels provide a "do not disturb" door hanger that you can hang on the outside of the door.
 * Bathroom amenities, including towels, toiletries (soap, shower gel, shampoo, body/hand lotion), bathrobes, slippers; non-bathroom amenities include pens, stationery, sewing kits and shoe-polishing. Toothbrushes and toothpaste are standard in some countries but not others. Most basic and inexpensive hotels would only provide the very basic of those (if any), while luxury hotels usually pride themselves with a wide selection of complimentary cosmetics bearing an upscale brand and all other amenities from the list. Items that can be used up or will be thrown away and replaced if you start using them (like pens, soap, and shower caps) are fine to take with you even if you don't use them up.
 * Useful appliances such as hairdryers, irons and ironing boards, refrigerators, and microwave ovens. Depending on the hotel's standard, they are to be found in every room, can be borrowed from the reception being shared among the guests, are available in common service rooms or are not available at all
 * In-room entertainment options such as TV or pay-per-view movies. It was usual in the earlier decades to provide a radio in the room; this function may now be integrated into the TV or alarm clock.
 * Internet connectivity by WiFi, available in the room, specific common areas only or throughout the property. This is becoming standard in most hotels; whether the service is free or paid may vary. It is not uncommon for high-end hotels to charge substantial fees for Internet connectivity or local 'phone service which a more modest property would have included with a room at no extra charge.
 * Gastronomy / meal service, discussed above. In economy limited service properties with no restaurant, the room price sometimes includes a "continental breakfast" which consists of simple pastries, muffins, cereals, coffee or juice.
 * Room service, which is usually understood as the ability to have a member of staff come to the guest's room at any time, or at specifically limited times, and provide them with an item or service. This is most widely used to order food or drink items to be brought to the room.
 * Minibar, which is basically a selection of snacks and beverages to be found in the room, which can be consumed by the guests and usually incurs additional charges for every item consumed. Minibar items are often very small in size compared to the same products usually available for sale outside of hotels, and even more often are very expensive compared to usual retail prices. In other hotels they may have a store next to the lobby to sell the snacks, bottled water, toiletries and other personal items instead such as 'The Market' in the Marriott Courtyard.
 * Laundry, which can be charged per piece or per kg. In more expensive hotel laundry services can be part of their concierge service in which clothes can be picked up and washed, dried and pressed at a per piece charge while in more budget accommodations laundry can be self served using coin operated washers and dryers. Others may have an attendant in the laundry room charging per kg to wash, dry and fold the clothes.
 * Tea- and coffee-making facilities, which usually boil down to an electric kettle and a set of cups, and is usually provided free and, in Western countries, found standard even in relatively inexpensive hotels. It is common for the hotels to provide single-portion servings of instant coffee, bagged tea, milk or creamer and sugar (nowadays often also artificial sweeteners). More upscale hotels would replace or append this with more sophisticated espresso machines using pre-packaged coffee servings, such as Nespresso or Keurig. In North America, drip or pod coffeemakers are more common in hotel rooms than electric kettles.
 * Turndown service is offered by some more upscale properties, consisting in members of staff converting the room from day to night use
 * Wellness, fitness and spa facilities, which often include a fitness room and a swimming pool, less often a sauna, massage/therapy rooms (with staff and services rendered, obviously) and beautician/hairdresser salons.
 * Business centres, where business travellers may access equipment and services such as computers, printers, fax and copying machines for free or for a cost. In some hotels, fax (at a fixed price per-page) and currency exchange is available at the front desk.
 * Concierge, a specific member of staff performing requests such as event and ticket bookings
 * Shuttle Transportation, in vans, mini-buses (seating 24 or less) or even a car to transport guests to and from nearby attractions, airport terminals, train stations, car rental office, bus stations, or to anywhere of a guest's request after completing a stay. Some hotels pick up and drop off at regular intervals while others are on demand. Usually such services are limited in availability and limited to a short distance from the hotel (usually 5mi/8km radius). Not a full taxi service.
 * Wake-up calls: if your room has a phone, as many hotel rooms do, you can request a phone call from reception at a particular time in the morning to wake you up. Wake up calls are often provided as an automatic service which you programme the phone to provide.

Hotels may also charge a mandatory fee in addition to the standard room and board charge to provide access to additional facilities. This is typically called a Resort Fee and can include access to things such as exercise facilities, pools, and high-speed internet access.

In some hotels (particularly downtown in medium/large cities) additional fees apply for parking. Airport hotels will sometimes provide shuttlebus services from the hotel to the air terminal at regular intervals.

Star ratings
In many countries of the world hotels feature a rating, reflecting their supposed standard. This rating is most frequently expressed in stars, with one star meaning the lowest standard, and five stars meaning the highest standard. In some countries, other systems are employed, such as letters or particular names. See our article on rating systems for details.

In some countries the hotel rating is unregulated, with any hotel giving themselves stars according to their perceived target audience, using criteria they see fit. In other countries the rating is done by a state authority or industry organization, being reasonably reliable. However, to allow objective rating, the stars are usually given based on "hard" criteria, such as whether the hotel has a given facility or service available; the ratings will tell whether the hotel has a swimming pool or room service, but not whether the rooms are comfortable, service swift or the personnel friendly. Independent organisations may be more willing to use subjective criteria, with the issue of whether they are truly independent of the hotels.

There may be more than one classification in use, e.g. when an external organization, such as an automobile club, uses their own rating. A hotel may choose to publish ratings according to the most favourable system, in the extreme case simply giving themselves a star rating at will, e.g. some hotels in Dubai refer to themselves as six- or seven-stars. There are also some global ratings, e.g. some hotel organizations like Leading Hotels of the World perform inspections at member and aspiring member properties against their own standards. Finally, package tour companies often give properties their own star or star-like ratings (e.g. by awarding them one to five "suns") in their catalogues.

Brands, management and ownership
A "hotel chain" is usually meant to represent a collection of hotels under the same brand, management or ownership. Similar expressions exist in other languages (e.g. "Hotelkette" in Germany, which is a direct analogue), while in some languages the reference to network is used. A hotel chain would usually use a specific brand which becomes a part of the name of every hotel in the chain, and has all the hotels follow a number of standards. Do note, however, that the amount of uniformity and standardization within hotel chains can vary, and a hotel chain may include very different properties of different standards under a common brand.

While not obvious to travellers it is worth noting that the hotel's brand does not imply its management or ownership. A hotel may be owned by a separate entity and operated by another, unrelated directly to the company providing the brand name by means of franchise agreement. Often hotel chains contain a mix of properties owned and operated by the "mother company", only managed by it and ones that are completely franchised out. For example, most Hilton hotels around the world are not owned, or even operated, by Hilton Worldwide.

Therefore, three types of businesses evolved in conjunction with operating hotels:
 * Hotel chain operators, which often act as master franchisees providing brand concepts, names, standards and often management guidance to individual hotel operators. They may provide local management to all, some or none of the hotels within their chains; often the chain merely sets standards and inspections while hotel management companies handle daily operations for individual hotel properties. The chain provides marketing, advertising and a central reservation system.
 * Hotel management companies, which operate the hotel by employing the staff and using infrastructure to provide hotel services, collecting revenues and splitting them between themselves, the hotel chain operator / franchisor and the owner of the property
 * Real estate holding companies, which own the hotel properties. This is often split between developers, who basically create hotels, building them from scratch or refurbishing existing buildings with the help and guidance of hotel chain operators and hotel management companies, and investment companies, who buy already operating hotel properties from developers. In some cases, the same franchisees may own multiple hotels with different brand affiliations for each.

Sometimes a large hospitality company would have separate entities performing each of those roles, which may or may not cooperate on specific properties depending on circumstances and needs. Travellers are almost always only presented with the name of the hotel chain operator and/or the specific brand and it may not be obvious who actually operates and owns the hotel. This may or may not be relevant, as in some chains owned and operated properties might be held to different standards from franchised properties.

Many hotel chain operators choose to operate multiple hotel chains and brands to cater to a wider range of travellers by including properties in multiple price ranges; for instance, a property which does not meet the standards to be a Days Inn can be marketed by the same chain as a Knights Inn. A chain normally associated with full-service hotels can launch an "express" or "econo" marque under different branding to enter the economy limited service price range, where a hotel only has the most basic motel-like amenities, without undermining its core brand. This form of market segmentation often also serves as a means for franchisors to circumvent restrictions where a franchisee is contractually guaranteed a minimum distance between hotels or motels of the same franchised brand.

Hotel Loyalty Programs
Hotel Loyalty Programs are loyalty programmes operated by hotel chains, that are in many ways similar to frequent flyer programmes. The purpose of Hotel loyalty programs is to ensure that a hotel company retains its clients as frequent guests by offering benefits for staying as a guest or booking conference rooms and facilities at their hotels. The basic idea is every eligible hotel night or every dollar you spend at hotel brands participating in the corporate hotel loyalty program earns points, which can be exchanged for rewards like hotel rooms, room upgrades and airline miles. Hotel co-branded credit cards are a common strategy for earning hotel loyalty points and benefits when not staying at hotels.

An additional incentive for a hotel frequent guest is premium membership. Each corporate hotel loyalty program has its own criteria for elite membership. Hotel loyalty program elite membership is generally earned by a frequent guest when certain thresholds are met for the number of hotel stays, hotel nights, or money spent. A hotel stay is defined as consecutive nights at the same hotel under the same name, regardless of the number of different reservations.

Elite membership in a hotel loyalty program is generally based on activity within a calendar year. Sleep at the loyalty program member hotels for sufficient nights or stays, or spend enough money and you'll get a silver/gold/platinum/diamond hotel program membership card entitling you to various perks, such as hotel points bonuses, lounge access, free upgrades, guaranteed rooms, etc. High level elite membership in the major hotel chain loyalty programs, generally with the benefit of complimentary room upgrades, takes between 25 and 75 hotel nights in a 12-month period.

Some hotel chains, particularly in the luxury segment, operate programs that do not award points, but offer frequent guest recognition with added value benefits such as complimentary room upgrades, restaurant and spa discounts, and additional amenities in recognition of the loyal guest.

International chains
International hotel chains are a popular choice with business travellers, as they generally offer standardized predictability. The downside for leisure travel is that they are rarely very exciting or exotic, and there can still be considerable variation within the brand.

The following lists major international hotel chains only, i.e. those with significant presence (~500 hotels or more) on all or almost all inhabited continents. Local chains can be found in individual country articles. Some of their brands are: There are also other hotel chains, focusing on top-level luxury hotels only, that have a limited number of properties but remain world-known names for their high standards, global reach and landmark properties. Some of those are:
 * Accor is a French company operating thousands of hotels throughout the world, but with relatively limited presence in North America. Accor runs the Le Club Accorhotels loyalty scheme, offering the possibility to exchange points for miles with most frequent flyer programmes. A similar programme is operated for business travellers.
 * Sofitel luxury hotels
 * MGallery brand used for upscale boutique hotels
 * Pullman upscale, full-service hotels emphasizing modern design
 * Novotel mid-range hotels with a high level of standardization. Suite Novotels are ones offering extended-stay features
 * Mercure mid-range hotels with more variation between properties
 * Accor Vacation Club timeshares
 * Adagio extended-stay properties, with the Adagio Access budget-oriented sub-brand
 * ibis hotels, the very popular range of inexpensive hotels offering reasonable standard, now encompassing three sub-brands:
 * the "red pillow" standard ibis hotels, which are basically properties purpose-built to ibis standards, which are the same throughout the world
 * the "green pillow" ibis Styles, which are most often conversions from other brands and thus offer much less standardization, but in turn always feature free WiFi and breakfast included in the room rate. The brand was previously called all seasons
 * the "blue pillow" ibis budget hotels, which are very basic properties with minimum comforts and facilities, aimed at budget travellers. This brand includes rebranded former Etap Hotels
 * Best Western International is the world's largest hotel brand with more than 4,200 hotels in 80 countries. "The Best Western Motels" were founded in 1946 as a referral chain, a co-operative owned by individual member hotels which each display their own local name alongside the chain's branding. The chain itself does not own any hotel properties. They place little emphasis on standardization across properties, although certain corporate standards have to be kept by all Best Western hotels. In the new millennium, they introduced Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier designation for properties offering higher standards than regular Best Westerns. Their Best Western Rewards loyalty programme has partnerships with various airlines and travel service providers in different countries.
 * Radisson Hotel Group, a combo of U.S.-based Carlson and Sweden-based Rezidor, is now owned by a Chinese conglomerate. Their brands include:
 * Quorvus Collection
 * Radisson upscale hotels. The brand had an offshoot, formerly called Radisson SAS and co-operated with SAS Scandinavian Airlines, now branded Radisson BLU.
 * Park Plaza full-service hotels - actually operated under a marketing agreement by a separate European company which also runs art'otels
 * Park Inn by Radisson mid-range standardized hotels
 * Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, limited-service properties mostly found in North America and IndiaITB2016 Choice Hotels Travelarz.jpg travel fair; their brand logos are displayed on the wall]]
 * Choice Hotels International is a company started in the USA, with a strong presence there and in Canada and Nordic Countries in Europe, but much less prominent everywhere else. Their loyalty programme, Choice privileges, has point exchange partnerships with almost all airlines operating in the United States, but very few elsewhere. Some of their brands are:
 * Ascend upscale hotels in North America and Scandinavia
 * Clarion full-service hotels
 * Cambria, full-service hotels
 * Clarian Point and Quality Inn mid-range hotels
 * Comfort limited-service hotels
 * Sleep Inn, Rodeway Inn and Econo Lodge economy hotels and motels
 * Woodspring Suites, Mainstay Suites and Suburban extended-stay properties
 * Hilton Worldwide is perhaps the most known American hotel company focusing on upscale properties. Over time, they have built a selection of brands:
 * Waldorf-Astoria luxury boutique, usually historic, hotels, including many grand old hotels
 * Conrad luxury hotels, named after the company's founder, Conrad Hilton
 * LXR, Tapestry Collection, and Curio Collection luxury hotels in unique settings with unique names
 * Hilton, and Signia upscale hotels
 * Embassy Suites full-service all-suite hotels known for free full breakfasts and evening socials - historically in grand atriums.
 * Doubletree full-service hotels
 * Canopy modern full service hotels with modern technology
 * Hilton Garden Inn mid-range hotels
 * Hampton by Hilton / Hampton Inn and Tru limited-service hotels
 * Homewood Suites and Home2 extended-stay brands
 * Hilton Grand Vacations brand of timeshare properties
 * Their Hilton Honors loyalty scheme has partnerships with most airlines and travel service providers worldwide.
 * Hyatt Hotels focuses on the upper end of the market and is highly concentrated in North America, but expanding globally. It is relatively the smallest of the American-based global hospitality groups by number of properties. The company brands include:
 * Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency upscale full-service hotels
 * Andaz boutique hotels
 * Hyatt Place a limited-service brand
 * Hyatt House extended-stay brand, formerly called Summerfield Suites
 * Hyatt Residence Club brand of timeshare properties
 * Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty programme
 * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), based in the United Kingdom, lays claim to being the largest hotel group by number of rooms. Their brands include:
 * InterContinental luxury hotels
 * Indigo boutique hotels
 * Crowne Plaza full-service hotels
 * Holiday Inn mid-range hotels
 * Holiday Inn Express limited-service brand, offering free breakfast and WiFi worldwide
 * Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites extended-stay brands
 * IHG Rewards Club loyalty program, which offers free WiFi at IHG properties to all members
 * Groupe du Louvre is a French company which operates various chains of hotels of various standards, with a loose association between them and a focus on Europe with only a token North American presence with singular Golden Tulip and Concorde hotels. The group members are:
 * Golden Tulip Hospitality Group, operating hotels on six continents under three brands:
 * Tulip Inn, offering limited-service accommodation at a three-star standard
 * Golden Tulip, which is a notch higher and aspires to four stars
 * Royal Tulip, a new concept of full-service, five-star hotels
 * There is a common loyalty programme run for all Tulip-branded hotels, called Flavours, which rewards frequent travellers and enables them to earn miles for their stays with selected SkyTeam and oneworld airlines.
 * In addition to that, they operate three French hotel brands directly controlled by Louvre Hotels:
 * Premiere Classe brand of budget, "one star" properties, competing primarily with Accors' ibis budget, located mainly in France, with a few hotels in other European countries
 * Campanile, a brand of modest two or three-star hotels located mostly on the outskirts of cities and catering to motorized travellers. They can be found in most Western European countries and in Poland.
 * Kyriad is a chain of hotels equivalent to Golden Tulip in France. Some properties of higher standard are designated Kyriad Prestige
 * The Concorde Hotels & Resorts chain of luxury hotels is "affiliated" with Louvre Hotels and manages a small number of boutique hotels.
 * While there is no loyalty programme for guests of Premiere Classe, Campanile, Kyriad and Concorde hotels, they can all earn miles for their stays with the FlyingBlue frequent flyer programme of AirFrance-KLM.
 * Marriott International is an American-based hospitality group focusing on luxury and upscale segments with their numerous brands:
 * The Ritz-Carlton top-level luxury hotels brand
 * The Luxury Collection of boutique and landmark luxury hotels
 * Bulgari Hotels & Resorts luxury design hotels branded by the designer label
 * JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance and St. Regis luxury hotels
 * EDITION and Autograph Collection boutique hotels
 * W hotels, a brand of trendy, modern design-themed upscale full-service hotels
 * Westin, Sheraton, and Le Meridien upscale full-service hotels
 * Gaylord Hotels in the USA, which, unlike the name may suggest, does not specifically cater to LGBT travellers but is rather a brand of very large convention centres and theme resorts acquired by Marriott
 * AC hotels by Marriott chain in Mediterranean Europe
 * Courtyard by Marriott brand of mid-range hotels
 * Four Points by Sheraton, a limited-service offshoot of the Sheraton brand
 * SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn & Suites limited-service brands, primarily found in North America
 * aloft, a brand similarly emphasizing modern design and trendiness, but in the limited-service market
 * Marriott Executive Apartments, TownPlace Suites, Residence Inn extended-stay brands
 * element extended stay hotels with an environmental theme and eco-friendly features
 * Marriott Vacation Club International, Grand Residences Club and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brands of timeshare properties
 * Marriott Bonvoy Rewards loyalty programme
 * Wyndham Hotel Group based in the USA, has amassed a huge portfolio of brands through its many acquisitions under its past guise of Cendant Corporation:
 * Wyndham full-service hotels, including sub brands Grand Wyndham and Wyndham Garden
 * Wingate by Wyndham mid-range limited-service hotels
 * Hawthorne Suites extended-stay hotels
 * TRYP by Wyndham, urban hotels in several European and South American cities operated under a franchise agreement with Sol Melia Hotels of Spain
 * Ramada Worldwide brand with sub-brands like Ramada encore, Ramada Limited or Ramada Plaza
 * Dream Hotels, Night Hotels and Planet Hollywood brands of themed / designer properties
 * A plethora of inexpensive hotel and motel brands with presence mostly in North America, including the iconic Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Super 8, Knights Inn, Baymont Inn and Suites, Microtel Inn and Suites and Travelodge (in North America only, Travelodge in the UK is an unrelated company)
 * Several brands of resorts and holiday villages offering holiday rental properties under the umbrella of Wyndham Vacation Rentals
 * Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare brand, with several sub-brands
 * RCI and The Registry Collection, offering "vacation exchange" services to timeshare owners
 * Wyndham Rewards loyalty scheme
 * Fairmont Raffles Hotels International is a group operating three hotel brands: Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel
 * Four Seasons with a hundred hotels around the world.
 * Mandarin Oriental is a brand originating in Hong Kong.

title: Hotels


text:
Hot springs

 * For destinations named "Hot Springs", see the Hot Springs disambiguation page.

Hot springs are natural features resulting when ground water is heated (sometimes far beyond the level of human endurance) by geothermal forces and brought to the surface, typically becoming diluted with cool surface water on the way. Many are in attractive locations and are scenic (e.g. the geysers of Yellowstone National Park, Kamchatka and New Zealand) or celebrated (e.g. the original town of Spa), hence are attractions or even destinations in their own right. For the hot-spring aficionado, the greatest pleasure comes not from just looking at the spring, but from getting into the water for its therapeutic powers, not to mention just because it feels good – really good. This article will help travelers get the most out of their hot-spring experiences world-wide.

"Developed" versus "wild" hot springs
The term "hot spring" means different things to different people, and it's a good idea to know just what manner of hot spring you're bound for at a destination, because it may be something quite different from what you're expecting. In English the term is used more or less interchangeably for "wild" springs, where the water emerges directly from the ground into a natural catchment that can be used for bathing, and "developed" springs, which exploit the spring through construction of man-made artifacts such as pools and bath houses. "Wild" springs and "developed" springs can differ so much, and in so many ways, that the visitor expecting one and getting the other may not enjoy the experience very much. Some examples:
 * Wild springs are often (although not always) on public land or otherwise accessible to the public without charge, while developed springs are almost invariably intended by the developer to make a profit, and hence will charge (and be in a legal position to demand) an admission fee.
 * You can't count on creature comforts at a wild spring; you may have to sit on a rock at water's edge to doff your clothing, and pre-entry showers are pretty well out of the question, let alone amenities like poolside drinks that a developed spring may offer. On the other hand, wild springs are generally open-air and take you "back to nature" in ways that a developed spring may not.
 * At a wild spring, water temperature is purely on an as-is basis; the pool where you bathe will be at a temperature that's regulated solely by the relative proportions of water from the spring and meteoric (surface) water that the terrain imposes. As a consequence, water at wild springs can be uncomfortably, or even dangerously, hot.  Commercial operators of developed springs will generally ensure that the water temperature is appropriate (sometimes offering several choices of temperature in different pools) through dilution of the spring's effluent with water from the commercial supply or other sources.  This distinction is particularly important; the bather used to "tame" water from a commercial spring who wades directly into a seething-hot wild spring can receive a scalding, and even fatal, surprise.
 * Hot-spring water is usually fairly safe from the standpoint of carrying disease-causing organisms, but some is not (see below under "Stay healthy"), and the surface water that cools a scalding spring to usable temperatures will be prone to the same bugs and pathogens as any other surface water. Operators of developed springs may (or may not) take steps to disinfect the water, but at a wild spring, you're obviously on your own.

A "developed" hot spring is not necessarily a commercial hot spring, i.e., one that has been developed for profit-making purposes. The distinction can be important in countries and regions where the political/economic system allows for both for-profit and public-interest/non-profit/governmental development; regulations for doing the developing will often differ between the two cases, as will the resulting amenities, access, etc. For example, as a general rule, springs in the United States that have been developed by government will have fewer amenities, but also lower admission fees, than for-profit developments. In Japan, many hot springs in rural locations are maintained by the local government and are open to the public for free, and even expensive spa resort towns usually have at least one public bath open to all for a token fee.

Spas
There is a difference between a hot spring and a spa. The latter term denotes either a pleasantly warm tub of water (not necessarily originating in a hot spring) suitable for bathing for medicinal and recreational purposes, or the resorts – sometimes incredibly elaborate, luxurious, and expensive – where such tubs can be found, which incorporate massage, body wraps, and so on. Not every spa is based on a hot spring (many, perhaps most, simply heat meteoric water to the desired temperature); not every developed hot spring has spa-like amenities.

Non-English terms
Step one in locating a hot spring is knowing exactly how to say – or read – "hot spring" in the language of the country you're visiting. Some translations into other languages:
 * Chinese: 温泉 (wēnquán)
 * French: Bain thermal or bain chaud
 * German: Heiße Quelle, Thermalquelle
 * Icelandic: Hver
 * Indonesian: Mata air panas or sumber air panas
 * Italian: Sorgente termale
 * Japanese: Onsen (温泉). Japanese has a number of linguistic nuances associated with hot springs; see the public baths in Japan article for more.
 * Korean Oncheon (온천)
 * Portuguese: águas termais, caldas
 * Slavic languages: frequently Banya (Баня, Бања)
 * Spanish: Aguas calientes or Ojo caliente or Aguas termales
 * Turkish: Kaplıca

Access
Access to "commercial" hot springs is a simple matter: you do what the proprietor asks (likely involving the exchange of money, and possibly requiring reservations), then you use the spring. The situation is less clear-cut with "wild" springs. If a wild spring is located on private property, chances are good that the land owner will have the legal right to control access to the spring, including charging for entry if he/she wishes. If the land owner chooses to assert this right, honor it and do not trespass. Natural features the world over are being placed off limits as a result of trespassers abusing access that land owners had previously afforded visitors, with limitations. Please help fight this trend by respecting private property where applicable.

Springs on public land pose the most complex access issues. In the United States, a general but by no means universal rule of thumb (always inquire locally) is: If you have experience that allows you to give comparable guidance on other countries, by all means add it here.
 * Hot springs in national parks and monuments are off limits, or at least carefully controlled, unless specifically indicated otherwise.
 * Hot springs in national forests, including wilderness areas (except those in a national park/monument), generally are available for free use unless indicated otherwise.
 * Hot springs on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management are usually available for free use.
 * Springs on state (as opposed to federal) property follow the same general pattern, but are perhaps somewhat more likely to have controlled access of one form or another, as the state is likely to exert somewhat closer control on its parks and forests.

What to take

 * Most commercial springs will expect you to shower (usually with provided soap) before entering the water, theoretically to avoid contaminants that can clog filtration systems. If you're going to a wild spring, however, leave the soap at home. It isn't needed in the crystal-clear waters and simply acts as a pollutant.
 * A pair of flip-flops ("beachwalkers," "thongs," etc.) is handy for both commercial springs (where they'll often be provided) and in the wilds, owing to slick surfaces and uneven footing.
 * Some commercial springs supply their own towels; if in doubt, have one available, and ask the proprietor if you'll need it. At wild springs, you're on your own, obviously.  Note that if you use your own towel, whether at a commercial spring or a wild one, you'll be well advised to rinse it out soon after use, as the mineral content and, frequently, acidity of spring water can be damaging to the towel.
 * Be skittish about cameras, for several reasons. Spring water can be damaging to a camera, not just if a non-waterproof camera is immersed (surprise), but also if water is allowed to dry on the lens, as mineral deposits that are extremely difficult to remove may result.  Local mores may be such that other occupants of the spring take offense at being photographed; the fact that you're in a "tourist" or "informal" environment provides no defense.  At a clothing optional location, photographing anyone nude without their consent is almost always considered rude, and can be illegal in many jurisdictions; this is particularly true of children.

Clothing-optional springs
At both commercial and wild springs, customs (and laws) vary substantially as to whether you're required to wear a bathing suit. Most commercial establishments will post their own rules, which may be "swimsuit required", "swimsuit prohibited", "clothing optional", or "required until sundown, then nudity OK" (this is commonly seen in commercial hot-spring operations in the United States). Normal practice at wild springs is much more a local, ad-hoc matter. As a general but by no means universal rule, in the United States, you should plan on wearing a swimsuit at springs in sight of a road unless the spring is specifically posted as accepting naturism; in the backcountry, you're on your own. It's wise to err on the side of conservatism, however, as some areas prohibit nude hot spring bathing and enforce the prohibition with fines. In most of Europe there are no laws regarding nude bathing, so it's up to you to decide. Local etiquette varies from spring to spring and country to country.

Anyone offended by nude bathing should scout locations ahead of time if the customs or practices at the spring aren't clear. Conversely, if you arrive at a spring and find a group with children, and everyone is wearing a bathing suit, you should either wait for them to leave or ask politely before disrobing.

In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, bathers are generally required to be nude in commercial hot spring resorts, though they are usually segregated by sex.

If you do wear a swimsuit, it's a good idea to rinse it out shortly after use. The water in many hot springs is acidic to some extent and if allowed to dry in your suit it may damage the fabric.

Namibia

 * Ai-Ais, developed

South Africa

 * Montagu, Avalon Springs, developed

Bhutan
Most hot springs (locally called tsachu) in Bhutan have avoided overdevelopment and generally a trek is required reach them. Popular ones are in Gasa. Duer in Bumthang and Koma in Punakha.

China
Many places in Southern China — at least Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan — have hot springs. The Huaqing Pool near Xi'an is a hot spring complex with a history dating all the way back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 256 BC), and is famous for being the site of the romance of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty with his favourite concubine Yang Guifei, and as the site of the 1936 Xi'an incident in which Chiang Kai-shek was arrested by two warlords in order to force him to form a united front with the Communists to fight the Japanese invaders.

Indonesia

Indonesia is a highly volcanic archipelago and consequently has hot springs (air panas) all over the place, but many of them are not developed and off the tourist trail. Bali is a popular hot spring destination, but many of them are considered holy and have been developed into temples, where the locals come to bathe (fully clothed) but foreigners may not be welcome. A few, however, have been developed and are open to all, such as Air Banjar near Lovina, where stone mouth carvings allow hot water to pass between pools which are set among a lush garden. Many developed hot spring resorts can be found in Western Java, with some of the most well-known in Ciater and Garut.

Japan
Japan is very active geothermally and onsen hot springs dot the length of the entire country. The Japanese love their baths — so much so that there is an article devoted to the topic and a visit to a Japanese hot spring is a highlight of any trip.

The Official Top 3 most famous hot spring resorts are Atami (Kanto), Beppu (Kyushu), and Shirahama (Kansai). Dogo Onsen makes a solid claim to be the oldest and Hokkaido's Noboribetsu claims to be the largest, while secluded hot-spring hideaways can be found in places including Iya Valley (Shikoku), Yagen Valley (Tohoku) and Oku-Hida (Chubu). Japan's major cities also have hot spring areas within striking distance, with Hakone and the many hot springs of Gunma being popular getaways for Tokyoites and Kobe inhabitants nipping across the hill to Arima Onsen. Last but not least, at the northeasternmost tip of Hokkaido is Shiretoko National Park and its remarkable Kamuiwakkayu-no-taki, a hot spring waterfall thought by the Ainu to be inhabited by the gods themselves.

A particularly curious sight for tourists can be found in Yamanouchi, Nagano prefecture, where you can see monkeys bathing in the hot springs in the winter at Jigokudani Monkey Park.

Malaysia
Sungkai, Perak; Pedas, Negeri Sembilan; Selayang, Selangor;

Nepal
There isn't much of a 'hot spring' tradition in Nepal, but the residents of the aptly named Tatopani (tato = hot, pani = water) quickly realized that trekkers on the Jomson and Annapurna Circuit trails would pay for a hot soak. When soaking or swimming in Nepal it's best to have a swimsuit and sarong for modesty.

On the way to Rasuwa Fort, a Tibetan border point north-west of the Langtang valley, there is a small, beautiful hot spring. It's completely natural without any commercial development. The Nepali word for hot spring is tato pani, which means hot water.

Philippines
The town of Los Banos is named for its hot baths.

Singapore
Singapore is home to two natural hot springs, one located in the northeastern island of Pulau Tekong, and the other located in northern suburb of Sembawang. While the Pulau Tekong hot spring is located in a military base and off limits to the general public, the area surrounding the Sembawang hot spring has been developed into a public park where you can soak your feet and use the hot water to cook eggs.

South Korea
Koreans also love their oncheon hot springs and Busan's Hurshimchung spa is a creditable contender in the heavily competed contest for the largest spa complex in the world.

Taiwan
Being located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, hot springs (Chinese: wen-chuan) can be found all over Taiwan. Hot spring bathing was introduced to Taiwan by the Japanese during the colonial era, and remains firmly entrenched in Taiwanese culture to this day. Popular places for bathing near the capital Taipei are Beitou, Wulai and the Yangmingshan National Park. At Guanziling near Chiayi, you can even sample hot mud springs.

Vietnam
My An Onsen Spa on the outskirts of Hue.

Austria
The states of Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Salzburg are crossed by a tectonic fault, resulting in a large number of hot springs in the area. Most springs are commercially exploited. Towns with the prefix "Bad" in the name, such as Bad Gastein normally have hot spring facilities, which are usually accompanied by pools, saunas, rehabilitation centers and hotels of high standards. Wild springs do exist, but are more difficult to find.

Czech Republic
The West Bohemian Spa Triangle is known for its abundance of hot springs. The town of Karlovy Vary is known for its abundance of beautiful Belle Epoque architecture, there are numerous hot springs around town whose waters you can sample, as well as two spas where you can bathe in the hot spring waters.

Germany
The spa town of Baden-Baden is known for its Roman baths. While the Roman baths are now in ruins, there are also modern spas in the town where you can spoke in the area's spring waters.

Greece
There are many hot springs, traditional baths, spa and wild hot spring in Greece. Among them is one at Thermopyles behind the gas station on the way to the Thermopyles Battle Monument. It's free (unattended, hence with some trash around), used by the locals, and the water is 42°C.

On a day trip from Athens, you can visit Vouliagmeni Lake and Health Spa, a lightly-developed warm spring. Even in the cool of winter, the water remains warm enough to swim.

Iceland
Iceland sits on the fault between the North American and European plates, which are slowly moving apart, and is home to the original "Geysir"; so it should come as no surprise that it has geothermally heated water aplenty. Public heated swimming pools and attendant "hot pots" are commonplace throughout the country. The Blue Lagoon near Reykjavík, with its vivid, translucent blue, 100°F/40°C waters (cooled from their original temperature after being pumped from a mile underground and powering an electrical plant) is a popular destination. Another famous geothermal bath, albeit more remotely located, is the Nature Baths at Mývatn.

Italy
Look for scattered hot springs in the volcanic southern part of the country. The island of Pantelleria has well-known thermal baths, and Ischia is famous for the springs there, some of them "subaqueous" (submerged in the sea). The island of Vulcano features a "mud bath" in which the springs manifest in a goopy mud reputed to have therapeutic properties, as well as more subaqueous springs along the adjacent beach where mud-bath users can wash off the mud.

Romania
Băile Herculane – Inside the town and up the Cerna river a number of open pools with hot spring water can be accessed without charge. Locals of all generations mix with Romanian and international tourists.

Oradea – The region around the city has a number of commercial spas that appear to be developed from hot springs.

Serbia
The world's hottest healing teromomineral water is at the hot water spring in Vranjska Banja (110°C). There's also a special hospital for rehabilitation there.

Spain
You can find working Moorish Baths, usually from natural hot spring sources, throughout southwestern Spain, including Granada. Some of these include deep soaking pools or the more traditional steam room style.

There are some breathtaking uncommercialised natural hot springs near Valencia where you can swim all year round. Access is not easy because the hot springs are located in a mountainous and rural area, but you'll find tour operators in Valencia that will take you there for a reasonable price.

United Kingdom
The famous Thermae Springs Roman baths at Bath (England) have been used by humans since Roman times, and probably long before, but fell into disrepair. They are inaccessible to bathers, although still open for viewing. The Thermae Bath Spa now uses the waters from the springs for its spa complex (from £40 for 2 hours Dec 2023).

Turkey
Thanks to the highly active tectonic plates it straddles, Turkey is rich in hot springs, which are often clustered in certain parts of the country.

South of Istanbul across the Sea of Marmara, the most popular areas with hot springs include Çekirge, a suburb of Bursa, where baths supplied by the local springs were first developed by the Romans and have remained a travel destination ever since, and Termal near Yalova in a beautifully landscaped and lush valley setting that was developed in the early 20th century in the fashion of then-hugely popular Carlsbad of Bohemia.

In the southwest of the country, Pamukkale, the "cotton castle", is much better known than its counterparts elsewhere in Turkey. These natural travertine hot springs provide stunning natural beauty and wonderful warm water to soak yourself in. The bright white calcite deposits make it easy for visitors to walk along the cascading water (though officials are constantly moving boundaries and walking areas to preserve the area). Most of the pools are just large enough set your feet into and only a few of the larger pools go past your knees. Five minutes further up the white waterfalls of Pamukkale, you'll find the hot springs of Hierapolis, where you can soak among sunken Roman columns (for a 20 Euro fee) submerged in an ancient pool.

A series of hot springs extends across the landscape in the east of the country, where they are usually known as çermik, derived from the Armenian word for hot springs, chermug. Of particular note is the Balıklı Kaplıca ("hot spring of the fish") southeast of Sivas, where a local fish species bred in the pools is claimed to cure (or rather, alleviate the symptoms of) psoriasis.

Canada
Hot springs in Canada cluster in geological settings similar to those of the United States (below). Banff National Park and Jasper National Park have well-known springs that are readily accessible to the visitor, and there are a number of hot-spring sites in British Columbia including those that are managed, such at Radium Hot Springs and Fairmont, and natural, such as at Tofino, Liard River Hot Springs and Fairmont.

El Salvador
El Salvador lies in an area of high geothermal activity with a large number of active volcanoes and numerous hot springs. The town of Ahuachapan is particularly well known for its thermal spas and for a park where you can walk through an area of fumaroles, geysers and hot mineral springs.

Mexico
Mexico is a volcanic and seismically-active country, and there are likely to be hot springs all over the landscape despite its aridity. A few commercially-developed springs are near Puebla, but their status following the re-activation of nearby Popocatepetl volcano is unknown; if you have information on springs in this area, please update this. Most the hotsprings of Mexico are in the Central interior states of Guanajato, Durango, and Chihuahua. The most accessible for tourists are those in the Copper Canyon area. Baja California has a number of hot pools and hot springs; San Carlos, near Ensenada, Guadelupe Canyon west of Mexicali, and the seaside springs at Puertecitos are well-known.

United States of America
Most hot springs in the continental United States are located west of the Rocky Mountains, but there are a few in other, sometimes unexpected places. Quite a large fraction of the springs are in wild areas and entirely undeveloped, sometimes reachable only by a testing hike. Commercial springs vary wildly in degree of development; a few have been turned into posh, expensive resorts, but more are at the "rustic" end of the scale.

Alaska
Alaska is intensely volcanic, and wild springs abound; however, most are seriously inaccessible. Developed hot springs exist near Fairbanks. There are also some derelict developed hot springs near Fairbanks which can make for an interesting hike, but beware of the legality.

Arizona
Commercial hot springs are found at the unincorporated "town" of Tonopah, about 50 miles west of Phoenix.

Arkansas
Hot Springs (Arkansas) | Hot Springs National Park

California
Public hot springs are located along the east side of the Eastern Sierra, many near route 395, in Bridgeport (Travertine, Buckeye), Mammoth (Hot Creek), and others. Deep Creek is located in Apple Valley, near the town of Victorville.

The town of Calistoga at the northern end of Napa Valley was founded as a geothermal hot springs destination in the early 1860s and is still recognized as Northern California's leading hot springs resort town. Today there are thirteen hot springs resorts, hotels and day spas using hot springs mineral water in their spa treatments. Calistoga Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, 1133 Washington St. Calistoga +1 707-942-6333 / +1 866-306-5588. The town's famous symbol of active hot springs is the Old Faithful Geyser of California, one of only 3 in the world which erupt on a regular basis. 1299 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga. +1 707-942-6463

Harbin Hot Springs 18424 Harbin Springs Rd. +1 707-987-2477 / +1-800-622-2477 in Middletown has private hot springs, spa, and retreat center.

Wilbur Hot Springs 3375 Wilbur Springs Rd Williams, in Williams is famous for its healing waters, historic hotel, its 100% solar powered energy, and world renowned nature preserve A healing experience with waters unlike anywhere in the world.

Colorado
Although not as volcanically or seismically active as its neighbors, Colorado has a number of hot springs. Major commercial springs are at Glenwood Springs (an enormous outdoor pool/spa complex) and Steamboat Springs, while smaller commercial operations are at Alamosa and in the Salida vicinity. A wild spring familiar to thousands of "peak baggers" who climb the state's highest mountains is Conundrum Hot Spring, near Aspen and not far below the summit of 14,000-foot Castle Peak. The weekend crowds at Conundrum can be substantial considering the length of the hike required to reach it; if you're bound for Conundrum, go during the week (and be vigilant for signs of altitude sickness, as the spring itself is over 11,000' in altitude).

Idaho
Idaho alone has over 130 hot springs soaking opportunities - that's a lot to choose from! They are listed here.

Montana
Montana has deep thermal underground rivers under a large percentage of its large expanse. The largest swimming pools are at Fairmont Hot Springs outside of Butte. Quinn's Hot Springs outside of Paradise, Montana, is unique in that the water flows from tub to tub and cool, so that each pool is a different temperature. Bozeman Hot Springs is very popular.

Norris Hot Springs, west of Bozeman offers organic food and live acoustic music poolside. One hot spring outside of Lolo is without any facilities and people decide their own dress code. Old fashion Saco Hot Springs is popular with hunters. Hot Springs, Montana, has a couple different pools and claims that the water has healing properties. Chico Hot Springs Resort and Day Spa is south of Livingston (Montana) near Yellowstone National Park and features many activities from horse back riding to dog sledding in the winter.

Nevada
Nevada has a surprising number of hot springs considering its arid climate and lack of obvious volcanic/seismic activity. In fact, the slumbering earth is an anomaly in the geological history of the state, and there's plenty of geothermal energy available to drive the springs. Commercial springs cluster mainly around the Carson City/Reno/Lake Tahoe area, some of them quite extensively (and expensively) developed. The state, much of which is federally owned, also has a number of "semi-wild" springs—sites on federal land that are at the end of a dirt road, haven't been developed beyond maybe an impoundment and a bench or two, and are freely available, yet are not as difficult to reach as wild springs in other areas that require a significant hike to reach.

New Mexico
New Mexico is volcanic country, and both wild and commercial hot springs can be found in the state. The North Central region has commercial hot springs at Ojo Caliente, a small town in the Española area, and at Jemez Springs in the Jemez Mountains. The area also has several undeveloped springs north of Jemez Springs along NM Highway 4, and there are a few wild springs in the foothills of the mountains near Taos. The Southwest region of the state also includes both developed and wild springs. The town of Truth or Consequences used to be called "Hot Springs" because of its several springs with resorts. "T or C," as it's known locally, has undergone rebirth following some years of atrophy, with about ten commercial establishments offering soaks and spa services. Undeveloped springs are found in the wild country near Silver City, and Faywood Hot Springs, between Silver City and Deming, has undergone a major transformation and is now a premier destination area. They feature private and public pools, clothing optional and clothing required, with camp sites, RV spaces and a few cabins. (Undeveloped springs in this region have been implicated in at least one fatal case of PAME; see "Stay healthy" below, and be careful.)

North Carolina
Hot Springs Resort and Spa in the mountains of North Carolina. Reserve the jacuzzi-style tub of your choice, each individually enclosed and private.

Oregon
Breitenbush private hot springs and retreat center about two hours southwest of Portland (Oregon).

Cougar Hot Springs (undeveloped) is located an hour east of Eugene, Oregon, near Cougar Reservoir.

The Bagby Hotsprings are located in the Mt. Hood National Park. These facilities are free and natural, but you must hike about a mile to get to them.

South Dakota
The Badlands and Black Hills region contains a few springs, including a developed one at the imaginatively-named town of Hot Springs.

Texas
Texas is not as active geologically as most of the American West, but Big Bend National Park includes the ruins of Hot Springs Village, with what one might describe as a "feral" spring – one that was commercially developed at one time but has been abandoned and is returning to a natural state. Hikers can take advantage of an impoundment that survives from the time of the village; water temperature around 105 °F.

Washington
Washington State has hot springs located on the northern portion of the Olympic Peninsula as well as across the Cascade Mountains. Check the book, "Hot Springs & Hot Pools of the Northwest"

Wyoming

The presence of hot springs in Wyoming should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Yellowstone National Park and its amazing assortment of over half the world's geothermal features, with more than 10,000 examples, but the sites there are better suited to photography than to immersion. The springs within Yellowstone are generally off limits to bathing, and the prohibitions are vigorously enforced, at least in the main tourist areas. They are also dangerously – lethally – hot in many cases. People (and countless animals, including pets) have died from falling into some of the features at Upper Geyser Basin just minutes from Old Faithful and the visitor center. Yellowstone is not a place to tempt fate in a hot spring; don't enter the springs themselves, period. However, swimming is allowed (but not encouraged) at the Firehole Cascades swimming area, a section of the Firehole River that is warmed by hot springs. Boiling River near the north entrance at Gardiner (Montana) is located at the end of a well-marked 1-mile trail. Hot water from Mammoth Hot Springs (pictured) mixes with the cold water of the Gardner River to make a perfect soaking area but be careful of the seasonably swift river current.

Commercial springs exist at Cody, Thermopolis and a few other places. The Thermopolis spring is notable as one of the world's largest, and also because a 19th-century treaty (!) dictates that one fourth of the spring's output remain free and available for public use rather than being captured by for-profit enterprises; the park preserving it therefore offers the rare treat of a "developed" spring (multiple bathing areas, changing room, etc.) that doesn't cost anything to use it. Wild springs most suitable for bathing are reached by trails along the Rockefeller Parkway connecting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, among other locations.

Costa Rica
This highly volcanic yet visitor-friendly country has several hot springs, with a concentration at the small town of Fortuna due to the proximity of the active Arenal volcano. Tabacon near Fortuna is a well developed spring/spa, with several options for visits. Another area where Hot Springs and Volcanic Mud Springs are usual to see in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park area. Rincon de la Vieja National Park is full of volcanic activity.

Nicaragua
Nicaragua has a large number of volcanoes, particularly on the Pacific side of the country. The two best ares to find concentrations of termales (hot springs) is in the northern part of the country within a couple dozen kilometers of the Honduras border, or close to the capital of Managua. The closest hot springs to the capital are Termales de Tipitapa, about 10 kilometers north of Managua's August Sandino International Airport, just off the main highway near the shores of Lake Managua. Another area with hot springs is the town of Teustepe, about 60-90 minutes northeast of Managua.

Australia

Australia is geologically quite old and stable, so there's not a whole lot of hot spring action around, but you can still find a few spots for a dip.

Northern Territory
There are many hot springs not far south of Darwin, the most famous being Mataranka. You can swim where the hot water meets the cold Katherine River during the dry season.

Queensland and New South Wales
The Great Artesian Basin covers almost a fifth of Australia, with a large cluster of hot springs around the NSW/Queensland border near Moree. They're all quite remote though, with Moree being a solid 8/5 hour drive from Sydney and Brisbane respectively.

In Far North Queensland, Innot Hot Springs on the Atherton Tablelands has hot water coming through the ground into a creek. The creek can flood in the wet season.

In the Snowy Mountains, there are geothermally heated free swimming pools at the Yarrangobilly Caves near Tumut.

Victoria
The Peninsula Hot Springs in Rye are an hour's drive south of Melbourne. The hot water is artificially pumped out of the ground to feed a selection of Japanese-styled bathing pools.

New Zealand
Most of the volcanic regions, and some non-volcanic regions, have hot springs. Some are in their natural state, and many have been developed into quite elaborate systems of pools. There are entire swimming complexes built around the spring water.

Rotorua and Taupo in the central North Island have developed complexes, and some natural swimming spots. Parakai, near Helensville, and Waiwera in the Auckland Region have developed complexes. Morere in northern Hawke's Bay has smaller facilities. At Hot Water Beach, near Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula, there are hot springs on the beach and you can dig your own hot pool in the sand.

Hanmer Springs has the best developed complex in the South Island. There are pleasant commercial springs in the Japanese style at Maruia Springs on the western side of the Lewis Pass 15 km east of Springs Junction on SH7 in the South Island. Bring a netting bag with a drawstring for your neck since the sandflies are hungry here. You can also dig your own natural hot pool in the North bank of the Lewis River's sands and gravels (just east of the pass itself) if you bring your own spade.

Brazil
Caldas Novas has the country's largest springs (so large it's called the Hot River in Portuguese) and many hotels.

Chile

 * Villarrica
 * Pucon: Huife, Quimey-Co, Los Pozones, Palguín, San Sebastián de Río Blanco
 * Curarrehue: Menetúe, San Luis
 * Panguipulli:Geométricas, Vergara, Rincon, Coñaripe, Pellaifa, Liquiñe
 * Curacautín

Peru
Aguas Calientes – not merely the generic name for hot springs in Spanish, but the jumping-off point for travelers bound for Machu Picchu; it does offer hot springs.

Uruguay
Salto and Paysandú, in the northern interior of Uruguay, are popular destinations for hot springs.

Venezuela
Venezuela has some hot springs across the country.

Stay safe

 * Know the maximum temperature of the hot spring you're planning to enter. Most commercially-developed springs are diluted with cool water so that their temperatures are similar to those of residential "hot tubs," i.e., a maximum of about 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).  "Wild" springs, however, can have effluent temperatures far greater than this, indeed, far greater than what is safe.  Temperatures as high as about 160 F (70 C) are common in hot springs, and some reach the boiling point; immersion in water this hot can prove fatal very quickly.  A little dilution with surface water will go a long way, but be conservative unless you know the spring well.
 * Many wild springs are gathering places for wildlife. Know what kind of animals might frequent the area of the spring, and be prepared for a greater than average likelihood of wildlife encounters.
 * Thriller movies notwithstanding, very few of the world's hot springs are acidic enough to pose an immediate safety hazard, although many are acidic to some extent. The few exceptions tend to have very obvious connections to active volcanism, e.g. the crater lake at the active Poas volcano in Costa Rica (which in any event is not open to bathing).

Stay healthy

 * Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM or PAME) is an extremely rare but life-threatening infection caused by protozoa that inhabit some hot springs. The disease is caught by infected water being inhaled through the nose, as the pathogenic amebae migrate up the sinuses and surrounding tissue to the brain.  If a brain infection results, the consequences are extremely serious, with death nearly certain.  Don't allow the water up your nose – avoiding being submerged or standing under a hot spring waterfall such that the water pressure goes up your nose.  Avoid inhaling spray when possible. Also observe these precautions if there is any doubt as to whether waters in a commercial spa have been sterilized. You can't be infected via the skin, etc.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Hot springs


text:
Hot Springs

There's more than one place called Hot Springs and we also have a travel topic on natural springs of water that are warm:

Canada

 * Hot Springs (British Columbia) - a town in British Columbia

United States of America

 * Hot Springs (Arkansas) - a city in Arkansas
 * Hot Springs National Park - one of the United States national parks in Arkansas
 * Hot Springs (Montana) - a town in Montana
 * Hot Springs (North Carolina) - a town in North Carolina
 * Hot Springs (South Dakota) - a town in North Dakota
 * Hot Springs (Virginia) - a town in Virginia
 * Truth or Consequences (formerly known as Hot Springs) - a town in New Mexico

title: Hot Springs


text:
Hot Springs (Arkansas)

Hot Springs is a city in the Central region of Arkansas and home to Hot Springs National Park, a United States national park. It is also the childhood home of former President Bill Clinton.

Understand
Hot Springs National Park was the U.S.'s first federally protected reservation, having been created by Congress in 1832 as Hot Springs Reservation. It was made a national park and renamed in 1921. It was originally created to protect the region's 47 natural flowing thermal springs. Today the park protects eight historic bathhouses, and is the nation's smallest national park by area. The park visitor center is housed in the former luxurious Fordyce Bathhouse, and the entire "Bathhouse Row" area is a National Historic Landmark District that contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America.

By plane

 * Hot Springs Memorial Field
 * Little Rock National Airport (with shuttle service and rental cars.)

By car

 * From Interstate 30 take the Hot Springs US 70 West exit south of Benton, the Hot Springs US 270 West exit at Malvern, or the Hot Springs Ark. 7 North exit near Arkadelphia.
 * If traveling south on Ark. 7, come through downtown Hot Springs where the visitor center is located.
 * If traveling south on US 71 from Fort Smith, or north on US 71 from Texarkana, take the US 270 East exit and take 270B through town.
 * Coming from Oklahoma on US 70 go all the way into Hot Springs. When you get into the city you will see signs for the National Park.
 * The Visitor Center is downtown on Highway 7 North or Central Avenue.

By bus

 * Greyhound Bus Lines, 1001 Central Ave, Suite D, Hot Springs,.

By train

 * Amtrak's Texas Eagle route serves Little Rock, Arkansas, with shuttle services to Hot Springs.

Get around
The public transport system isn't recommended. It's best to have a car or a friend in the city who doesn't mind driving you around. If you are downtown, it is possible to walk to many sites.

Hot Springs National Park
For 200 years, the natural hot springs surrounding present-day Hot Springs National Park have been used to treat illnesses and to relax. Today, Hot Springs National Park surrounds the north end of the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Visitors from around the world flocked to Hot Springs National Park’s historic Bathhouse Row in the 1800s and early 1900s to bathe in the thermal waters, thought to have healing powers; rich and poor alike bathed in its healing waters and relaxed in its bathhouses. With the advent of modern medicine, many bathhouses were closed, but the buildings were preserved and many are open for tours. Today hot and cool mineral water flows from the local springs and many people stop on Bathhouse Row and at the Happy Hollow Spring to fill water jugs at the public fountains. There are no park entrance fees charged.

Do

Events
Hot Springs is home to several festivals throughout the year.

 * Hot Springs Blues/Jazz Fest - Labor Day Weekend.
 * Hot Springs Blues/Jazz Fest - Labor Day Weekend.
 * Hot Springs Blues/Jazz Fest - Labor Day Weekend.
 * Hot Springs Blues/Jazz Fest - Labor Day Weekend.

Eat
Hot Springs has many restaurants inside Victorian buildings in the Historic Downtown District, featuring food and friendly service. Historic downtown is not the only popular eating spot in town. Dine by the lake, on a riverboat, near the horse track or mall, on a main thoroughfare, on a mountain lane. Hot Springs restaurants offer a wide variety of excellent dining choices and cuisines - from cafes to gourmet cabarets.

Camping
Campgrounds with more amenities can be found in commercial, State Park, Corps of Engineers, and Forest Service campgrounds in the surrounding area.

Stay safe
Caution is advised when handling the thermal spring waters, as their temperatures may reach. Also, persons with heart or respiratory conditions should have written consent from a physician before bathing.

Go next

 * Broken Bow
 * Hope

title: Hot Springs (Arkansas)


text:
Hot Springs (South Dakota)

Hot Springs is a town in western South Dakota, of interest to the traveler as a jumping-off point for nearby Wind Cave National Park.

title: Hot Springs (South Dakota)