diff --git a/doc/api/index.rst b/doc/api/index.rst
index 448ca2c50ce..e0a5df6a097 100644
--- a/doc/api/index.rst
+++ b/doc/api/index.rst
@@ -235,7 +235,6 @@ Use :func:`pygmt.datasets.load_sample_data` instead.
 .. autosummary::
     :toctree: generated
 
-    datasets.load_hotspots
     datasets.load_mars_shape
     datasets.load_usgs_quakes
 
diff --git a/pygmt/datasets/__init__.py b/pygmt/datasets/__init__.py
index 1a395f1e160..a16257bf308 100644
--- a/pygmt/datasets/__init__.py
+++ b/pygmt/datasets/__init__.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 )
 from pygmt.datasets.samples import (
     list_sample_data,
-    load_hotspots,
     load_mars_shape,
     load_sample_data,
     load_usgs_quakes,
diff --git a/pygmt/datasets/samples.py b/pygmt/datasets/samples.py
index c657dad9083..5fd54b8c006 100644
--- a/pygmt/datasets/samples.py
+++ b/pygmt/datasets/samples.py
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ def load_sample_data(name):
 
     # Dictionary of public load functions for backwards compatibility
     load_func_old = {
-        "hotspots": load_hotspots,
         "mars_shape": load_mars_shape,
         "usgs_quakes": load_usgs_quakes,
     }
@@ -80,6 +79,7 @@ def load_sample_data(name):
         "bathymetry": _load_baja_california_bathymetry,
         "earth_relief_holes": _load_earth_relief_holes,
         "fractures": _load_fractures_compilation,
+        "hotspots": _load_hotspots,
         "japan_quakes": _load_japan_quakes,
         "maunaloa_co2": _load_maunaloa_co2,
         "notre_dame_topography": _load_notre_dame_topography,
@@ -217,43 +217,29 @@ def _load_fractures_compilation():
     return data[["length", "azimuth"]]
 
 
-def load_hotspots(**kwargs):
+def _load_hotspots():
     """
-    (Deprecated) Load a table with the locations, names, and suggested symbol
-    sizes of hotspots.
+    Load a table with the locations, names, and suggested symbol sizes of
+    hotspots as a pandas.DataFrame.
 
-    .. warning:: Deprecated since v0.6.0. This function has been replaced with
-       ``load_sample_data(name="hotspots")`` and will be removed in
-       v0.9.0.
-
-    This is the ``@hotspots.txt`` dataset used in the GMT tutorials, with data
-    from Mueller, Royer, and Lawver, 1993, Geology, vol. 21, pp. 275-278. The
-    main 5 hotspots used by Doubrovine et al. [2012] have symbol sizes twice
-    the size of all other hotspots.
-
-    The data are downloaded to a cache directory (usually ``~/.gmt/cache``) the
-    first time you invoke this function. Afterwards, it will load the data from
-    the cache. So you'll need an internet connection the first time around.
+    The data are from Mueller, Royer, and Lawver, 1993, Geology, vol. 21,
+    pp. 275-278. The main 5 hotspots used by Doubrovine et al. [2012]
+    have symbol sizes twice the size of all other hotspots.
 
     Returns
     -------
     data : pandas.DataFrame
-        The data table with columns "longitude", "latitude", "symbol_size", and
-        "placename".
+        The data table. The column names are "longitude", "latitude",
+        "symbol_size", and "place_name".
     """
 
-    if "suppress_warning" not in kwargs:
-        warnings.warn(
-            "This function has been deprecated since v0.6.0 and will be "
-            "removed in v0.9.0. Please use "
-            "load_sample_data(name='hotspots') instead.",
-            category=FutureWarning,
-            stacklevel=2,
-        )
     fname = which("@hotspots.txt", download="c")
-    columns = ["longitude", "latitude", "symbol_size", "place_name"]
-    data = pd.read_table(filepath_or_buffer=fname, sep="\t", skiprows=3, names=columns)
-    return data
+    return pd.read_csv(
+        fname,
+        sep="\t",
+        skiprows=3,
+        names=["longitude", "latitude", "symbol_size", "place_name"],
+    )
 
 
 def load_mars_shape(**kwargs):
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/test_datasets_samples.py b/pygmt/tests/test_datasets_samples.py
index 9fa5bab3728..57c5ab9f2f5 100644
--- a/pygmt/tests/test_datasets_samples.py
+++ b/pygmt/tests/test_datasets_samples.py
@@ -4,12 +4,7 @@
 import numpy.testing as npt
 import pandas as pd
 import pytest
-from pygmt.datasets import (
-    load_hotspots,
-    load_mars_shape,
-    load_sample_data,
-    load_usgs_quakes,
-)
+from pygmt.datasets import load_mars_shape, load_sample_data, load_usgs_quakes
 from pygmt.exceptions import GMTInvalidInput
 
 
@@ -103,9 +98,7 @@ def test_hotspots():
     """
     Check that the @hotspots.txt dataset loads without errors.
     """
-    with pytest.warns(expected_warning=FutureWarning) as record:
-        data = load_hotspots()
-        assert len(record) == 1
+    data = load_sample_data(name="hotspots")
     assert data.shape == (55, 4)
     assert list(data.columns) == [
         "longitude",
@@ -114,6 +107,12 @@ def test_hotspots():
         "place_name",
     ]
     assert isinstance(data, pd.DataFrame)
+    assert data["longitude"].min() == -169.6
+    assert data["longitude"].max() == 167
+    assert data["latitude"].min() == -78
+    assert data["latitude"].max() == 64
+    assert data["symbol_size"].min() == 0.25
+    assert data["symbol_size"].max() == 0.5
 
 
 def test_load_notre_dame_topography():