Five Points was built in another era ~ long before the need for accessibility standards was widely understood or recognized. That certainly doesn't mean that people of that time weren't compassionate towards the needs of those who were handicapped or disabled: My dad, Rex Houston, often carried polio-crippled servicemen (being treated with the thermal waters at the Army-Navy Hospital in Hot Springs) from their vehicle down to the fishing boats, and back again after they had enjoyed fishing on the lake. As a young boy, I remember a number of our guests who had physical limitations, including some afflicted with polio before that terrible disease was conquered, one man who would remove his artificial leg and leave it in the boat while he swam ~ quite well, I might add ~ with his family, and a blind gentleman who had a fascinating Braille watch with a pop-up face and high-strength hands that he could touch ~ state-of-the-art for the 1950s.

When we restored the original cabins (built in the 1930s and 40s), it was determined that it was impractical to make any of them fully handicapped accessible (up to ADA standards). The doors were too narrow for wheelchairs, the bathroom floor plans limited, some had steps to negotiate, etc. Although most people would have no problems, they simply weren't designed to modern ADA standards.

We resolved that when we built additional cabins, we would address this issue. And that's exactly what we did. From 2007-2012, we added six more cabins. The new cabins are labeled as A through F, to distinguish from the original cabins, which are numbered. Of those, Cabin B, which is a mid-size one-bedroom cabin styled after the original Cabins 1 & 2, is fully accessible, including a wheelchair ramp. It has two queen beds in the one bedroom, a full kitchen (as do all our cabins), a stone fireplace with gas logs in the living room, and a bathroom (accessible from either the living room or bedroom) with plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair. (NOTE: This cabin does not have a roll-in shower, but does have full grab railings around the toilet and tub/shower, and a chair that fits in the tub.)

Additionally, the downstairs of Cabin F, one of our new three-bedroom cabins, can be accessed without climbing any stairs. The downstairs level includes the living room and kitchen, two bedrooms, and one of the two baths. Parking is behind the cabin, which sits on a gently-sloping area, and there's a boardwalk down the side of the cabin, connecting to the lake-facing front porch, where the entry door is located.