Dame Fortune's Cottage Court

About Dame Fortune's Cottage Court

Dame Fortune's Cottage Court was built in 1951 on Park Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas, one block from Bathhouse Row and the edge of Hot Springs National Park. The motel held on through several ownership changes, was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, and then sat vacant from 2007 until Andie Roberts and her sisters found it. Roberts had retired from a career in the music industry in Nashville. She and her sisters bought the Cottage Court in 2017, renovated it, and reopened it as Dame Fortune's. The name references Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fortune. Andie is consistently named by guests who wanted to give her specific credit.

What Dame Fortune's Cottage Court Is Known For

What Dame Fortune's Cottage Court does that almost nothing else in the Southeast does is treat a 1951 motor court as a landmark worth preserving on its own terms. The mint-green tiles stayed. The neon sign stayed. The Motor court bones stayed. Andie Roberts and her sisters did not import a vintage aesthetic: they found one that had been waiting since 2007 and brought it back to working order. The National Register of Historic Places nomination had been sitting there for years before anyone made the investment. Now it has both the designation and a host who texts guests back within the hour.

Amenities

• Pets Welcome
• WiFi
• Mountain Valley Spring Water in every room (refreshed daily)
• Original 1951 neon signage
• Individually themed rooms
• Shaded outdoor seating per room
• Picnic area
• Walking distance to Bathhouse Row and Hot Springs National Park

The Room

The rooms are spread across two ranch-style buildings, with rooms in the larger structure and 3 in the smaller. Each is individually themed: motifs range from flamingos to horses, vintage Americana to mid-century graphic design. The original 1951 mint-green bathroom tiles and tubs were preserved and paired with new fixtures. Rooms have TVs, mini-fridges, and complimentary Mountain Valley Spring Water refreshed daily. Outside each room: a distressed metal lawn chair and table under a shaded roof overhang. The classic neon sign at the street, original to the property, is still working. The design is thrift-store-meets-preservation: nothing here was imported to make the rooms look retro. The rooms are retro because the bones of a 1951 motor court are still doing their job.

The Grounds

The Cottage Court sits on Park Avenue, one block from Central Avenue and Bathhouse Row, on a quiet residential stretch that has been home to motor courts since the 1930s. Two ranch-style buildings face a shared central courtyard and green space. Drive-up parking is directly in front of every room. The property is walkable to Hot Springs National Park, the Promenade trail along the hillside above Bathhouse Row, and downtown Hot Springs. A picnic area is on the grounds. The setting is genuinely urban, steps from the national park and the tourist center of the city.

The Experience

Hot Springs is the kind of city that rewards guests who show up without a fixed agenda. The thermal springs in the Buckstaff and Quapaw bathhouses on Bathhouse Row are bookable by the hour. The Promenade trail above the row offers views back over the park and the city. The Ohio Club, the oldest continuously operating bar in Arkansas, is a short walk. Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort draws visitors from across the South for horse racing and casino gaming. Andie and her sisters are available by text throughout a stay and know the city well: where to eat, what changed recently, what is worth the drive. The property is an hour from Little Rock, two and a half from Memphis, and a legitimate destination in its own right.

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