Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

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On our most recent visit to Nashville, we had the amazing good fortune to be able to stay at the incredible Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The resort is located just outside of downtown Nashville and right next to The Grande Ole Opry itself, and Tennessee’s largest shopping Mall Opry Mills.

As you enter through the lobby of the Cascades Portico, be sure to take your time and slowly approach the first of several atriums. As you walk out the room opens up above you to a glass ceiling enclosed tropical oasis filled with live trees, plants, flowers, and many water features. Here you will find the Cascades American Cafe on your right and The Falls Bar on your left. Remember that your jaw has dropped open and you look silly standing there frozen, so close your mouth, and keep moving forward up the ramp toward the first escalator.

Straight ahead you will find access to guest rooms as well as the next Atrium, “The Garden Conservatory”. With an upper elevated walkway that will take you from one end to the other and several lower walking paths, you can stroll through here and really take in the beauty of this place. There are several restaurants located here (in case you get lost and need sustenance..don’t laugh the place is huge, you will get lost at least once), as well as a gorgeous gazebo that is lit up at night.

If you slip through one of the hallways you can quickly jump over to the next area “Delta”. Now this my friends is the center hub of it all. With restaurants, wine bars, shopping, and even a riverboat tour, you will find what you need here. This area is also located next to additional gift shops that also act as a convenience store of sorts with alcohol, snacks, and necessities if you have forgotten anything. As you walk through this enormous area, be sure to keep looking around. Mingled in with the live plants are pretty light up led flowers and other features, that give the area an almost Disney feel, but more on the magical side than the Magic Kingdom side. Mind… Blown.

In the Delta, you can get a great burger, or sit and relax as you sip a glass of wine, have a family meal, or a romantic dinner. There are plenty of areas to sit and escape to for a little quiet time, but be sure to catch the Delta Fountain that dances and entertains to music at different set intervals. It is truly mesmerizing.

Now after you have done all of your exploring of the hotel, make sure you do it all again at night. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it is, and the pictures we took do not do it justice. You truly feel as if you are walking through an island oasis far from home.

Now I did mention earlier that this place was huge, and for the first two days, we did not go back to our room the same way twice. We really don’t know how we got so twisted around and once we figured the place out, it was super easy. Brian and I both have a fairly good internal compass, but this place sent it spinning. However, that said, I did download the Wayfinding app to my phone and it helped us out a time or two, though it was a little glitchy and could do for some upgrades for sure. Another thing to remember is what letter your room starts with, as room numbers repeat on a floor, but it depends on the wing you are in. So for instance, if you are D (for Delta) D3324 it is not the same as C3324, which would be on the other side of the hotel, same floor but in cascade. It seems simple, but when you first arrive it’s very easy to get twisted around. Also, another little hidden tidbit, the wings are color coded. So again, we were in Delta and the colors in the hallway carpets and the walls were Red. In Cascade they are Green, and in common joining areas, they are a mix.

The resort also boasts a brand new indoor/outdoor water park called SoundWaves, for guests only. You must register and pay additional for the water park, which we did not, but from what we could see, it was amazing and top notch like the rest of the resort.

The Resort is built on 27 acres, with over 9 acres of atrium space and over 2,800 guest rooms. They also have a huge convention center that can host multiple events at a time as well as meeting spaces etc. Could you imagine getting married here, without the worry of it raining on your special day? The guest rooms are also very comfortable with plenty of space to spread out and ample closets and furniture. Many of the rooms even overlook the atriums and have balconies or patios. For a resort this large you would think the noise level would be annoying, but I can say that they did an excellent job soundproofing.

Though we were there for 4 days, we really could have stayed a week just to take in all the resort had to offer, we missed a lot. However, a stay for a week is typically outside of our budget and we were only lucky enough to enjoy it this time as we were there for a work convention. That said, no matter what your budget is, even if you stay for one night or two, this is a stop that is well worth the visit and you will not be disappointed.