The area has the largest hot springs in the commonwealth, and the resort is also known for its championship golf courses, which have hosted several national tournaments.

The modern resort dates from 1888–1892, when a group of investors headed by J. P. Morgan bought the business and started rebuilding it from the ground up.

William Howard Taft spent July and August 1908 at the Homestead, working and relaxing before the final campaign push, as did outgoing President Theodore Roosevelt, for a short period of time.

From December 1941 until June 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II, the Homestead served as a high-end internment camp for 785 Japanese diplomats and their families until they could be exchanged through neutral channels for their American counterparts.

[8][9] In 1943, during World War II, The Homestead hosted an important conference of the United Nations in which was implemented the foundation of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

In 2006, Club Resorts and its parent company ClubCorp, Inc. were acquired by a private-equity group led by KSL Capital Partners.

The Cascades is the course used when hosting national tournaments, including seven United States Golf Association championships.

Famed PGA Tour champion Sam Snead lived in or near Hot Springs all of his life, and served for decades as the Homestead's golf pro.

[16] The Homestead offers many activities to guests, including a two-acre waterpark with a lazy river and water slides, mini golf, tennis, kayaking, fly fishing, horseback riding, skeet shooting, archery, zip lining, guided hikes, and lawn games.

On March 21, 2009, two resort employees were shot and killed in the hotel kitchen;[20] the community of Hot Springs was briefly locked down under code red procedures as a security precaution.

[23] On September 2, 2012, Hackney's remains, clothing, some personal possessions, and pistol were found near the Homestead's Lower Cascades golf course.