Lava Hot Springs, Idaho was originally known to the Shoshone-Bannock peoples as “Poha-Ba” or “Land of Healing Waters.” Folklore says Lava was set aside as a place of peace.
A fur trapper named Dempsey settled near Lava and the area was briefly named after him.
In November of 1904, when Teddy Roosevelt was president, John Hall homesteaded most of the land that is now the township of Lava Hot Springs, after which the area was known as “Hall Town.” Once upon a time, land in America was free if you could homestead it! Eventually the town was incorporated, and the residents renamed it “Lava Hot Springs.”
BIRTH OF THE HOME HOTEL
The Home Hotel was one of the first large buildings in Lava Hot Springs. The property was acquired from John Hall in 1916 and the hotel was completed in October of 1918.
The Home Hotel was originally named after its first owner Mary Ann Ray and was called the Raya Hotel. Then in 1927, the second owners, Susan and Thomas McGinley, changed the name to the “Home Hotel”.
In the 1970s, motel units were added to the east side of the original hotel and the name of the business changed to the Home Hotel & Motel.
With our recent wave of renovation, we have changed the name again to the more simple and original: Home Hotel Lava Hot Springs.
For 100 years, the Home Hotel has provided family-operated, affordable, yet luxurious lodging with private hot springs, all within walking distance to the world famous Hot Pools.
