Reunion Resort Villas, on rambling community’s east side, sports luxury and convenience
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Arkansas – For more than 55 years, folks have flocked to Arkansas’ Hot Springs Village for its four-seasons attractions that includes gleaming lakes, wooded tranquility, the only five-star tennis association in the state, and — most notably for our purposes — nine splendid golf courses, a handful of which are ranked among the best in the Natural State.
While almost 17,000 people now live in Hot Springs Village, the community is also a keen vacation and getaway destination. Almost all of the lodging accommodations in this — the largest gated community in the nation — are in stay-and-play homes and cabins, many of which have been in place for decades and are located on the west side of the rambling village limits.
Since it’s more than 19 miles from Hot Springs Village’s west gate to its east entrance, the distance between where guests have been staying is quite a haul from five of the property’s golf courses — including some of the community’s top-ranked tracks.
All that changed in 2025 with the opening of the Reunion Resort Villas, a collection of eight one-bedroom studio suites and three four-bedroom deluxe villas on property close to Diamante Golf Course, the village’s only private course, and near the community’s east gate.
The Reunion Resort Villas are a lodging option that’s been needed for decades, and it’s being welcomed with open arms by both those that live in the village and the travelers who now have accommodations truly worthy of Hot Springs Village’s reputation as a peerless, five-star destination.
During a recent trip to Hot Springs Village, we were lucky enough to stay at one of Reunion Resort Villas’ sumptuous four-bedroom villas and were wowed by its stellar level of comfort and everything-has-been-thought-of attention to detail.
A stay at The Reunion Resort Villas provides guests access to all nine courses. Part of the package is the luxury golf cart that allowed a true ease of moving around this section of the village.
Reunion Resort Villas’ location literally backs onto the end of the driving range of the Isabella Golf Course. The overall friendliness of the staff at the courses and the people who live in Hot Springs Village combine to produce all the makings of an unforgettable golf trip.
Golf rules the roost here in Central Arkansas
While there is plenty to do outside the golf courses at Hot Springs Village, golf rules the roost. Hot Springs Village’s nine unique golf courses are situated amid 26,000-plus acres of stunning scenery and natural beauty, thoughtfully designed to blend seamlessly with the surroundings. Each track creates a golfing adventure that stirs the senses and creates myriad challenges — all in a serene and isolated setting where golf is always front and center.
Each of the courses were designed by the Maryland/Virginia firm of Ault, Clark & Associates and opened over a 32-year stretch. The oldest course, DeSoto, debuted in 1972, and the newest, Granada, first accepted play in 2004.
The courses each have their own flair; some are more central to the community’s lakes and ponds while others wind through remote forests and over hills, but all give a great sampling of the demanding terrain the designers had to work with. Five of the nine courses are set in East Village on the east side of Lake Balboa.
We played two of the courses on this trip — the aforementioned and sublime Diamante Golf Course; and Isabella Golf Course, which has 27 holes named after the three ships captained by Christopher Columbus on the journey in which he landed, in 1492, in Hispaniola in what is now called the Dominican Republic.
Diamante GC is a big-shouldered rollicking course, with plenty of mounding and water amongst its serpentine routing. Many consider the highlight of the course to be the three-hole stretch called “Los Tres Diablos,” which consists of consecutive par 4s that are carded as 465 yards or more.
The 314-yard par 4 17th hole also gets plenty of attention here with water along the right side and then fronting the putting surface while the 491-yard second hole can be a back-breaking two-shotter that can set the stage (either good or bad) for the round as a whole.
Diamante opened in 1995 and was considered the top track in Arkansas by Golf Digest from 1997 to 2002. Its unique design plays like five Hot Springs Village courses in one.
Isabella GC is every bit the challenge of its more exclusive and nearby sister, with an increased degree of difficulty through the three nine-hole courses.
Nina plays 3,486 yards and its three toughest holes are the par-4s at Nos. 7, 9 and 3. The 454-yard third moves hard right-to-left and downhill before ending at a shallow putting surface; the 431-yard seventh skirts a pond and winds leftward to a button-hook green; and the 452-yard ninth is narrowed at the landing area and in front of the green by huge bunkers.
Pinta, carded at 3,575 yards, turns the distance up a notch but also brings more water into play, especially on the 334-yard, risk-reward sixth, which can be reached if the player is precise and long. The side ends at a 461-yard par-4 bunkered left of the landing area and with an elevated green guarded along the right by a pond.
Just when you things couldn’t be tougher, Ault/Clark came up with Santa Maria, which plays at an even-longer than carded 3,630 yards from the tips — and that’s including the 158-yard, par-3 fourth. Santa Maria also features the 580-yard par-5 fifth with its 43-yard deep green, and ends at the amazing 487-yard, par-4 ninth, which has a kidney-shaped green just 20 yards deep.
Reunion Resort Villas make a great destination even better
The Reunion Resort Villas were designed for couples, families, golf groups, and corporate retreats, and offer a perfect blend of comfort, elegance, and Southern hospitality. The villa in which we stayed was replete with four separate ensuite bedrooms with plush king-sized beds and walk-in showers big enough for two. The bedrooms each had their own climate control option, which is a splendid touch.
The open floorplan’s common spaces in these villas are anything but common. We had a large, fully appointed kitchen that sat next to the dining room and featured an inside-out bar area that opened to the covered outdoor living area. The living room features a fireplace and a huge mounted flat screen television with plenty of chairs and a sectional couch.
The story of the Reunion Resort Villas started taking shape during the first few months of 2020, amid the global pandemic’s social distancing restrictions. The Enderlin and Tedder families, owners of the new villas and neighbors and relatively new residents of Hot Springs Village, recognized the need in the community to have a lodging option east of Lake Balboa.
They envisioned a set of villas where guests could get around by golf carts between the East Village’s courses, restaurants, and other amenities before returning to the Reunion.
“As luck would have it, it was discovered that the perfect 10 acres right up the road were owned by Diamante Golf Course,” said Brandon Tedder, one of the Reunion Resort Villas’ owner and a manager of the project. “We approached the HSV Property Owners Association, and they really welcomed the idea.”
The villas are located just down the road from Isabella Golf Course and less than a mile from Granada Golf Course site while centrally located to several courses. Design and construction moved quickly and the project broke ground in February 2025 and the management team quickly came together to get the Reunion open in mid-October.
The villas’ grand opening weekend was nearly a sellout and the villas have been constantly busy ever since.
From their inviting living spaces to your private terrace overlooking pristine fairways, homes at The Reunion Resort Villas check off every box for the discerning golf traveler.
Town of Hot Springs as a huge part of the draw
Hot Springs Village’s east gate is about a 40-minute drive west of the Little Rock airport and about as far away from the historic city of Hot Springs, the famous Golden Age home of bathhouses, restaurants and shops, and Oaklawn Park, the self-titled home of winter horse racing in the South.
The turn of the 20th century bathhouses were once the primary attraction for this region, and — at the height of their popularity from just after World War I until the 1950s — welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. One of the structures on bathhouse row has been restored to its historical countenance while another is still offering the exact services that originally drew people here.
Oaklawn Park is a resort in itself, offering a 24/7 bright and beautiful casino, a hotel, an award-winning spa, multiple dining options, and an event center. If you are looking to get away without giving away luxury, this is the place to be.