Again, my water wasn't very warm, Diane's was hot, as it was supposed to be. She gave me a stool to put my feet on, and covered me with my sheet. It's like a big deep sink on the floor that you sit in, your butt goes in deep and your legs hang out the front. She then re-wrapped me, and moved me a few few away to the sitz bath. There was a clock on the wall above my tub. LaToya checked on me once, then announced her return 6 minutes later. The water was not very warm at all, I'd guess 97 or 98 degrees. She scrubbed my calves and back with the loofah cloth that had been given to be upon check-in, and left it and some liquid soap with me, along with two 3 oz cups of water, in case I wanted to wash more and drink. She explained the procedure and removed my sheet and I stepped into the tub. LaToya walked me to a stall with a curtain, and inside was a large old bath tub with a huge pipe for a faucet and a large machine standing in the corner of it like a stand mixer that was pumping air into the water to create a whirlpool bath. She made me very comfortable, as I am normally very modest and was worried that I would be very self-conscious. My attendant, LaToya, has worked in the bathhouses for 8 years, and was very professional and matter of fact, but still very friendly. We strapped the key to our wrists, and when we were ready, our attendants opened the curtain and wrapped us toga-style in a sheet. We were met by an attendant, shown dressing rooms behind curtains, and removed our clothes and put our belongings into one of the 2 lockers that were in each dressing room. We checked in downstairs and paid, and were escorted up the manually operated elevator to the 2nd floor. My cousin and I went on Thanksgiving weekend as a girls "get away". The Buckstaff was historic and I appreciated that about it. We visited the Buckstaff and the Quapaw to experience the old and the new bathhouses. This was an awesome authentic experience. I would highly suggest this to any person who is trying to cheer their buddy up from a nasty divorce. I would give this 1 star for a person who likes their hair and makeup perfect and really doesn't like the concept of nudity. I would give this 5 stars for a tourist who has no issue with nudity and wants to get the true Hot Springs experience. And you truly feel like you're going back in time. They then put you in a sitz bath, wrap you in hot towels, give you a 180 degree shower, and finish with a massage. Then you sit in an old school tub for a while with a motor that bubbles up the water (this is where your bather scrubs you- don't worry, they are NOT interested in looking at you). They give you a locker and have you take off EVERYTHING and put you in a sheet with an elastic wrist band for your locker key. The result was lots of laughs - which were very much needed. The bath process certainly made her forget about that divorce, as you're funneled through the "bathing" process, and don't really have time to waller in misery - you're too concerned about making sure your body is covered in front of strangers. I brought a friend of mine who was miserable going through a divorce. With that said, it is truly a unique experience that can bring joy and lots of laughter. This can turn out to be a horrifying experience for persons who are very shy. Other people actually scrub your naked body. This is an old-school, 1920s style bathhouse.
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