Mineral Wells native Carol Elder is dedicated to keeping the town’s “crazy” legends and lore alive for future generations. She and her husband Scott own the Crazy Water Famous Mineral Water company. Recently. Elder had led a group of 88 investors to renovate the historic Crazy Water Hotel into a social and wellness hub that complements the town’s reputation as The Wellness Capital of Texas.

Opening in October 2021, it includes 54 guest suites, apartments, event space, retail, a salon, a brewery and a rooftop bar that hosts live music. Also in the space is the Crazy Water Bathhouse & Spa and the Crazy Coffee & Water Bar, both operated by Elder.

Mineral Wells’ fame as the place “where America drinks its way to health” dates back more than a century to when settlers drilled a well and discovered a “magical” water rich in minerals, believed to cure many ailments. Word traveled about the healing water, and by the 1900s, people flocked to the area.

Bathhouses, spas and drinking pavilions opened throughout the town, but many of those establishments folded during World War II, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation of health claims on products. But the Crazy Water Famous Mineral Water has given the town a reputation as a wellness hub that it still embraces today.

The Crazy Water Hotel building opened in 1927 and operated as a hotel through the 1940s. The building also led other lives as a retirement hotel and a hospital. It closed in 2008 and remained vacant for a decade until Elder led a group of local investors to restore the building. The group worked closely with the town’s historical commission to make accurate renovations while meeting modern consumer needs.

Some hidden gems were found during the renovation process, Elder says, such as original Batchelder tile on the bottom floor. There are five floors of hotel rooms, a rooftop ballroom and gardens, the Rockin Hair Body & Soul spa and salon, Sensology natural and organic boutique, Toytopia, The Perfect Pair shoe store, The Uptown Man menswear boutique, Christmas Magic and Rickhouse Brewing.

Elder’s Crazy Water Bathhouse & Spa offers mineral baths with Crazy Water Famous Mineral Water. “Your skin is your largest organ, so soaking in a tub of mineral water allows the body to draw in those beneficial minerals and electrolytes. It also draws out toxins from the body while alleviating inflammation to soothe aches and pains,” Elder explains. Drinking mineral water, as well as using it in a health and beauty regimen, can be a simple way to add a natural wellness component to one’s lifestyle, she notes. “Mineral water contains the trace minerals and electrolytes that the body needs. Getting them through water an easy way to do that.”

At the Crazy Coffee & Water Bar, coffee, coffee drinks, tea and smoothies are made with Crazy Water Famous Mineral Water. Pure ingredients are used rather than artificially flavored syrups. The popular pumpkin latte contains real pumpkin puree, cloves and ginger. Elder notes that scratch-made flavorings contain less sugar. They make their own horchata by soaking rice in Crazy Water Famous Mineral Water and then extracting the rice milk, which they then mix with real cinnamon.

Elder sponsors the Crazy Wellness Retreat, an immersion experience for people to learn from experts about nutrition and holistic health. The next retreat is planned for January 12 to 14, 2024.

On October 14, Mineral Wells will welcome approximately 10,000 people for the annual Crazy Water Festival (CrazyWaterFestival.com). The community event features a 5K-run, live music, artists and street murals. Rickhouse Brewing will serve up plenty of Crazy Beer made with, of course, Crazy Water.

“Mineral Wells undergoing a huge revitalization effort. Downtown businesses are reopening. The hotel is the heartbeat of Mineral Wells, and people here are proud to see these spaces revitalized and welcome visitors,” Elder says.

Crazy Water Hotel is located at 401 N. Oak Ave., in Mineral Wells. For more information, call 940-325-4605 or visit TheCrazyWaterHotel.com. For more information about Crazy Water Famous Mineral Water and upcoming retreats, visit DrinkCrazyWater.com.