Basin Park Hotel Web Site Impressed Reviewers

Eureka Springs

www.basinpark.com

Logging onto the Basin Park Hotel’s Web site, we could almost feel the stir of ceiling fans and taste the cool beverages that we’ve enjoyed so many times at the Balcony Bar before.

The trip to www.basinpark.com was almost better than the real thing, since we didn’t have to try to park in downtown Eureka Springs. But then again, we didn’t get to dine at DeVito’s or Rogue’s Manor at Sweet Spring. So our virtual visit was just enough to get us psyched about taking another road trip.

The site opens with a flash animation introduction that goes a little fast. As best as we could tell, it was a map of the downtown area. It includes a nice-looking antique sketch of the Basin Park, even if it zooms past like a Harley Davidson down historic Spring Street.

Our biggest complaint is that some of the Hotel’s rates, and definitely its “Win 2 Free Nights” contest, are out of date. That tells us the site is not updated regularly and that we may be missing out on some of the Basin Park’s happenings. The biggest e-sin, however, is that the site does not include e-commerce capabilities.

Given that a virtual front desk is less expensive to staff and maintain than a real one, we’re not sure why the hotel isn’t letting people register with their credit cards over the Internet.

We could tell from the history section that July 1, 2005, will be the Basin Park’s 100th anniversary, but there’s apparently no marketing effort yet under way for this event. Even though it’s still a few years off, there’s probably no cheaper way to promote what we expect to be a raucous celebration than with some flashy Web site ads.

We enjoyed browsing the hotel’s menu and catering pricing online, but fear that information is out of date, too.

The site was originally designed by Aristotle in Little Rock, but Digital Creative Services of Eureka Springs took over in 1999. DCS did a redesign last year, and the firm says the site now averages 13,200 page views per month and 200 new visitors per day.

A design specialist said she expected a little more in the way of aesthetics. The Basin Park Hotel is so fancy, she said, that she just envisioned something more beautiful. She did find the historical section very interesting and thought there were good links to other Eureka Springs sites.

A technician took a peek and said the site is well constructed. The site loads quickly whether via DSL lines or dial-up modems, and the static menu allows for easy navigation.

We were impressed that Basin Park has even thought about activities for kids. We just wish the site were updated more often so that we could keep better track of this unique destination.