Gaylord Opryland Hotel

July 16, 2021

Gaylord Opryland Hotel

One of my favorite bloggers, Jennifer, recently referenced traveling to Nashville, TN. That reminded me of going to Nashville in June with Abby. I wrote a couple of posts about our trip but wrote with regard to dance nationals since that is the reason we were there. I was looking at my camera roll and noticed how many photos I had of the place that we stayed, The Gaylord Opryland Hotel which then reminded me of how unique the hotel is. Thought I would write about the Gaylord interspered with lots of pictures.

Have you ever wished to stay at a hotel with waterfalls in it? Have you wished to stay in hotel where you can take a boat ride inside the hotel? Have you wished to stay in a hotel that’s so big that there’s an app that gives you step by step navigation guidance? Have you wished to stay in a unique hotel that is bereft of gambling? If you answered, “Yes!” to any of these questions then a stay at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN is the place for you!! (Alternatively, you may have to go to the Opryland for an event (such was the case for us) in which case you will get to see waterfalls, et all not necessarily by choice but because that is where your event is 😊). The hotel and convention center are HUGE! The hotel has over 2000 rooms and the convention center spans three floors. In addition to that, there is a separate building called the Gaylord Opryland Event Center that is on the grounds of the hotel. That is where most of the dance competition (the reason we were there) took place. There is also a water park called Soundwaves on the grounds. I think it is indoors and outdoors? Visiting the water park incurs an additional fee; we didn’t pay for it nor did we ever go near it so I don’t know much about it. (There are outdoor pools and an indoor pool that all guests of the hotel can use for free.)

When we checked in to the hotel, we were given this map which I found simultaneously helpful and terrifying!! All right, “terrifying” may be hyperbole but from the map you can see that the hotel is very... big and gave me- I’m not going to say anxiety- but rather the knowledge that I was going to get lost a lot. In 2019, the first year we were here, I did get lost a lot. I resigned myself to asking employees questions constantly. “Could you please tell me where X is?” was something I got used to asking. This year, I remembered quite a bit from the last time we were here and I didn't feel nearly as lost.

The convention center spanned three levels

The waterfalls!

The Gaylord has beautiful water features in each of its three sections: Delta, Magnolia and Cascades. The following three pictures are from the same water feature that is in Cascades (I think).

But those weren’t the only waterfalls…

The Gaylord has not just waterfalls…but water features like fountains-

(picture of a fountain and an opportunity to ~~brag about~~ show how well Abby did in the solo competition- first place out of 67 in her age group)

The same fountain without the age 15-19 intermediate solo winner and her mom standing in front of it

This was one of those fountains whose water features changed. Abby and I were sitting down to lunch one day and this was our view.

This little fountain was just outside one of the market stores that sold Starbucks and basic food items like pre made sandwiches, wraps, baked goods, etc. The line every morning was long, but Starbucks, so we were there every morning contributing to the long line. Abby is hiding her face here because it was so early in the morning- I like how it looks almost like she is outside but in reality, she was inside the hotel.

These series of fountains remind me of lily pads

A river runs through it- well, around it, more like but the preposition is less important than the fact that you can take a boat ride in it! It is located in the Delta section. The boat moves real slow so it’s not a thrilling ride but still, it’s a boat ride in a hotel! Alas, we didn’t ride in it. We were going to on our last day but the line was super long and we decided not to. One reason I really wanted to go on it was because there is a guide on the boat and I wanted to hear facts about the hotel (I assume the guide would talk about hotel info/ facts- maybe not).

The building in the forefront is the Opryland Event Center. That is where the majority of the competition took place. The event center is a separate building from the hotel but it is very near one section, Delta, of the hotel. From our room, it took us just a few minutes to walk to the event center.

Not sure why I had so much parking lot in that picture but that is actually a good segue to what I wanted to talk about next which is the Opry Mills Mall. If you are driving in the parking lot away from the event center, you will eventually drive into the parking lot of the mall (the hotel and the mall are not on the same grounds but it’s almost like they share a parking lot at one point- you don’t have to go on a city street to get from the hotel to the mall). Being so close to the mall was nice for a couple of reasons. First, we parked in the mall parking lot which saved us from paying $32 a night in parking if we were in a Gaylord lot. Of course we had a longer walk to the hotel but it was worth it to save the money. Second, we liked going to the mall to take advantage of its large food court. At the Opryland hotel, the quick service options were by and large unhealthy- think pizza and burgers. The Opryland had some sit down restaurants but a few of them were steakhouses; we weren’t there for nor did we have a lot of time/ inclination for a fancy meal. By going to the food court at the mall to eat, we were able to find casual healthy options. And, we spent some time shopping, too, at the mall. The Gaylord being so close to the Opry Mills mall was a win win for us 😁.

At the Gaylord- I didn’t hate eating this pizza for lunch one day. On the day I had this, Abby had a pre made turkey sandwich from one of the market shoppes in the hotel. It was ok, if an expensive ($11), healthier eating option.

At the Opry Mills Mall, we found a place called the Green Leaf that had customizable wraps and salads. We ate here several times.

We did ALL THE WALKING when we stayed at the Gaylord. Between going to our room to the convention center (for solos) to the event center (for most of the competition) to the mall (for better dining options) and just to walk around the hotel (for seeing waterfalls and such), we walked a lot. One day I walked over 33,000 steps and almost seventeen miles. Now five of the miles and many of those steps were purposeful/ self- imposed on my part as I ran five miles on a treadmill in the gym. But the rest were from the walking that was necessitated to get from point A to point B when there was generally lots of space between points A and B.

A few miscellaneous pictures:

Whenever we walked around, we ran into dance friends. Here is Abby with Addi

This is one of the steakhouses in the hotel. It is adorable and I love the name of it.

Gone country... I liked the country music touches found throughout the hotel

The girls that Abby danced with not long ago- they are all now teachers at the studio. Abby didn’t get to hang out with them too much because they had their teacher duties but it was fun when Abby did get to spend time with them.

Spending time with Abby at the Gaylord for Abby’s last dance competition was the best possible way to bid farewell to dance. I hope to return to the Gaylord someday. Maybe at Christmas time? With Donnie? In general, looking forward to returning to Tennessee one day with hopefully a stop, if not a stay, at the Gaylord (anyone can walk/ shop/ eat in the hotel. You don’t have to be a guest at the hotel to enjoy its features. But I definitely want to stay here again).