(Titter titter). I'm sorry, I know I'm an idiot, but I can't help but laugh at the quintessentially-Southern name of this hotel/resort chain.
I have to admit that the Gaylord experience was astounding (is that the sound of YOU tittering, now?!). There was not just one enclosed atrium, but three (Cascades, Conservatory, and Delta areas, which were apparently built section by section over the years), and they were larger and more detailed than my imagination would have ever conjured up for a hotel. It takes literally 10-15 minutes to walk from where our room was near the convention center part of hotel to the main lobby. And that's only if you manage not to stop and look at something that catches your eye.
For example, here are some baubles near one of the restaurants in the Delta area, which has the manmade river (including an island and a riverboat tour...though I think the tour is unnecessarily expensive at $9 per person...we opted not to take it).
And I spotted Nessie's American cousin, Glessie, in the far reaches of the Delta "river."
Our room was in the Magnolia section, which is the one outdoor section, with the pool—though we were off the beaten path, we still had a nice view, with trees, etc—and more importantly is next to the convention center area. But my favorite area was definitely the Conservatory. There was an overhead walkway that would breeze you across it, but if you took the other fork in the path you would hit walkways that go up and down and around, finding nooks and crannies with benches to just sit and relax. On Sunday we went down there in the evening and found a bench near the mini-waterfall and just sat and listened to the soothing sound of the water. It wasn't too busy with explorers, so there were stretches when
it was like our own private park.
Of course with
any little slice of heaven on earth, there is the bit that sends you on the road to hell: imagine the energy expenditure to heat/cool and de-humidify these huge sunlit spaces 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, not to mention the 2800+ private rooms. Add to that the shuttles (these are not special-ed sized things I'm talking about...huge airconditioned buses with well padded seats, more like tour buses) that run all day: to the Opry Mills mall, the sister-hotel Radisson across the street, and to the downtown area; there are also shuttles to the General Jackson Showboat and to Opryland itself, but they run based on showtimes rather than all day.
Btw, except f
or downtown, all these places are short walks from the hotel on clearly marked and well-groomed paths. We walked from the Radisson area back to the hotel, and were delighted to discover that it went past their three Tennessee Walking Horses. Though I get the feeling that walking is somewhat unusual in Tennessee as a general rule. We went for dinner to a Thai place Kevin had seen from one of the shuttles that was a little outside the Opryland area, and at one point the sidewalk just ended—it hit a gas station, and on the other side there just wasn't any more sidewalk. We had to cross the street anyway, so it wasn't that big a deal, except that c
rossing the street could potentially be a little hazardous (traffic signals out in the Music Valley area are few and far between); fortunately the car traffic is pretty minimal.
As an aside, the Thai place shared a building with the office of a go-kart place. Probably the go-karts were left over from when the mall was an outdoor theme park. I'm hoping Kevin will include some of the other area oddities he explored (while I was working) in his blog (like Cooter's Museum
...yes, that's the Cooter from The Dukes of Hazard!).
I have to admit that the Gaylord experience was astounding (is that the sound of YOU tittering, now?!). There was not just one enclosed atrium, but three (Cascades, Conservatory, and Delta areas, which were apparently built section by section over the years), and they were larger and more detailed than my imagination would have ever conjured up for a hotel. It takes literally 10-15 minutes to walk from where our room was near the convention center part of hotel to the main lobby. And that's only if you manage not to stop and look at something that catches your eye.
For example, here are some baubles near one of the restaurants in the Delta area, which has the manmade river (including an island and a riverboat tour...though I think the tour is unnecessarily expensive at $9 per person...we opted not to take it).
And I spotted Nessie's American cousin, Glessie, in the far reaches of the Delta "river."
Our room was in the Magnolia section, which is the one outdoor section, with the pool—though we were off the beaten path, we still had a nice view, with trees, etc—and more importantly is next to the convention center area. But my favorite area was definitely the Conservatory. There was an overhead walkway that would breeze you across it, but if you took the other fork in the path you would hit walkways that go up and down and around, finding nooks and crannies with benches to just sit and relax. On Sunday we went down there in the evening and found a bench near the mini-waterfall and just sat and listened to the soothing sound of the water. It wasn't too busy with explorers, so there were stretches when
it was like our own private park.Of course with
any little slice of heaven on earth, there is the bit that sends you on the road to hell: imagine the energy expenditure to heat/cool and de-humidify these huge sunlit spaces 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, not to mention the 2800+ private rooms. Add to that the shuttles (these are not special-ed sized things I'm talking about...huge airconditioned buses with well padded seats, more like tour buses) that run all day: to the Opry Mills mall, the sister-hotel Radisson across the street, and to the downtown area; there are also shuttles to the General Jackson Showboat and to Opryland itself, but they run based on showtimes rather than all day.Btw, except f
or downtown, all these places are short walks from the hotel on clearly marked and well-groomed paths. We walked from the Radisson area back to the hotel, and were delighted to discover that it went past their three Tennessee Walking Horses. Though I get the feeling that walking is somewhat unusual in Tennessee as a general rule. We went for dinner to a Thai place Kevin had seen from one of the shuttles that was a little outside the Opryland area, and at one point the sidewalk just ended—it hit a gas station, and on the other side there just wasn't any more sidewalk. We had to cross the street anyway, so it wasn't that big a deal, except that c
rossing the street could potentially be a little hazardous (traffic signals out in the Music Valley area are few and far between); fortunately the car traffic is pretty minimal.As an aside, the Thai place shared a building with the office of a go-kart place. Probably the go-karts were left over from when the mall was an outdoor theme park. I'm hoping Kevin will include some of the other area oddities he explored (while I was working) in his blog (like Cooter's Museum
...yes, that's the Cooter from The Dukes of Hazard!).
1 comment:
About those big, fancy shuttle buses: most of them have maybe 3 or 4 people--tops, 10--per trip!But I will say the drivers are professional, knowledgable, and entertaining as they present their Nashvilliana. One of them said he knows Tom T. Hall, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. Yep!
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