I’m not always a fan of conference hotels. They tend to feel dormish or sterile. And because we travel a lot, I’ve found that my family now spends more time in our hotel rooms than we used to so where we stay has become a lot more important. When I found out we would be staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort for a conference I thought it would be just like any other conference hotel. So I’m absolutely thankful that we booked an Atrium Room because it really ended up enhancing our stay.
Why an Atrium room at the Gaylord Opryland Resort?
The Gaylord Opryland Resort is a massive complex with hotel blocks encased in three glassy domes full of plants, restaurants, fountains, waterslides and even a boat that tours through it. But regular rooms are just like any other regular hotel rooms.
Atrium rooms are where these rooms become a little more magical. They have little balconies that open up into the atrium giving the room the feeling of being that much more massive and open. We were over Atrium C (and there are three plant-filled atriums at this resort hotel). The loveliest thing about this atrium is that we could hear a musician below in the lounge singing everyday and it made us really feel like we were in Nashville but a Jurassic Park version of Nashville because of all the plants.
And how about Soundwaves waterpark?
We were at the Gaylord Opryland Resort for 4 nights and we didn’t use the Soundwaves waterpark once. We had a car so we could explore a lot of the area (with two 14 year old boys we had a mission of trying all the Nashville hot chicken we could) and we also wanted to do a bunch of chocolate tours. It was also difficult to find the pricing for the waterpark and opening times so we just gave up and didn’t really miss it. We also just enjoyed wandering the resort and looking at all the plants. I think if we had younger kids the waterpark might have been more important.
We also didn’t do the boat tour
But thinking back to when we did Disneyland with our kids when they were two, coming to the Gaylord Opryland resort might be a comparable trip and if our kids were two we probably would have done the boat tour. And because the Gaylord Opryland has so many kid-focused things like this along with restaurants and other all-ages activities, this would also be a great place to do a multigenerational holiday. It feels a bit like what I imagine being on a cruise ship would be like except it’s really easy to get off anytime you want. My teenagers appreciated that they could have some independence getting snacks and wandering through the atriums. We all watched one of the fountain shows together too-it was gimmicky for sure but it was also a fun excuse to do something together.
The Grand Ole Opry is also a short walk away
I was told to do the tour at the Grand Ole Opry but we have done so many tours that sometimes we get toured out. Instead we booked a concert night there and it was just so beautiful to sit and listen to music and all the performers were really talented too. It was nice to be able to walk back and forth from the Gaylord Opryland hotel and not have to pay for parking.
And the Gaylord Opryland resort restaurants?
We ate at a few of the restaurants at the Gaylord Opryland resort and we had some really delicious food. The nice thing about eating at the restaurants is that they all feel like they are outdoors because they’re in the atriums. So even if the weather isn’t great outside, like some of the days we had during our stay, eating at the resort made it feel like we had better weather and it uplifted our mood.
Our favorite restaurant was actually Paisano’s Pizzaria & Vino, the casual pizza restaurant. We ordered a big pizza and thought we might eat it in our room but we ate it overlooking one of the indoor rivers and the pizza was tastier than we expected and felt reasonably priced for a resort hotel. The teens and I also ate at Ravello one night. We were trying to go to the Solario Cantina but that place was really lined up. We ended up really enjoying our meal at Ravello as well. We ate one breakfast from the coffee shop but then stocked our fridge at a nearby grocery store with yogurts, juices and other breakfast foods so that made the mornings easier and cheaper. I think I got three juices at the grocery store for the price of the same juice at the resort.
Because the Gaylord Opryland Resort is a Marriott hotel and we have Gold Status at Marriott hotels, our keys gave us a few discounts at some of the cafes and restaurants on the property too. We ended up getting buy one get one free Cinnabon’s but these promotions will likely change so make sure to check with the property to see if they have anything going on if you go.
Getting to the Gaylord Opryland Nashville from Seattle
We were surprised to find that Nashville is one more place that has direct flights from Seattle. We have traveled there a few times recently now and one flight even had a whole bunch of Seattle Kraken fans heading out to cheer on our team. My family has traveled with my sister’s family and my parents to Hawaii a few times but maybe one day we’ll try coming here to the Gaylord Opryland Resort for an easy group vacation idea, especially because it is part of the Marriott family group of hotels too.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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