My detox happened in the context of a 28-day rehab, although one could do just the detox, and it was not contingent on doing the whole 28-day program.
While in the detox unit (which was separate from the rehab), we were given librium, a somewhat mild benzo, which helps ease the anxiety issues that arise from your brain being accustomed to overcompensating for the continual presence of a depressant (alcohol). We were not bed-ridden, unless you were at that point, and we were given vitamins like thiamine, which alcoholics tend to be deficient in.
During the day and evenings we were kept busy with groups that included A.A. meetings that were brought in by sober members of the local community.
This was not a hospital, per se, in the usual sense of antiseptic floors and gurney beds. There was a tv room with couches where the groups were held. There was an outdoor patio where people smoked A LOT.