Hot springs village has some nice rentals. It's not that far to Nimrod up hwy 7 and you can also fish the HSV lakes with a day use pass since you are staying there. If you pull a boat, it should be safe behind guarded gates.

I've stayed at Dardenelle at one of the motels there. It doesn't look like much on the outside and was not fancy at all, but was clean and cheap. It may have been the Economy INN.