Overpriced. For everything.
The Facts:
HOTEL: Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center
LOCATION: 2800 Opryland Dr, Nashville, Tennessee
If you just want a one sentence review, the Gaylord is way overpriced for what it is.
I was here for a 3 day business convention and this was the hotel partner of the event.
This is a crazy beautiful facility indoors with what they claim are over 50,000 plants and trees in the three main atriums. If you’re someone who likes to walk for exercise I can tell you one lap around all of the interior spaces, upper and lower floors, is 2000 – 3500 steps depending on the route you take. I did two laps each morning and averaged 6000 steps in about 40 minutes. That’s the big positive about this hotel and property, it’s beautiful on the inside and you literally never have to leave the space if you don’t want to.
The hotel rooms are pretty standard, nothing special about them. I had room G5051 with double beds and a view of the convention center roof. Bathroom had plenty of pressure and hot water, though the tub was very old and narrow so the bottom is not really flat. The hotel functions on the TV were very good and the checkout function on the last day worked perfectly so I could just leave the hotel.
Everything about this place is overpriced. This is 20 minutes from downtown Nashville, not downtown New York.
The room was over $200/day, it’s really a $115/night room anywhere else. Valet parking is $38/day, Self Parking is $29/day. Breakfast in the Cascades cafe is $25 for buffet or $22 for an omelette. And if you want to just stop by for a visit to see the place, it’s $29 for you to park your car. I could go on but you get the idea.
Now paying these high prices would be fine if the food and services were worth it. On the food side, it’s really not worth it. They’re trying to be high end and trendy with some of the newer restaurants but the quality is not there.
I only had one good dining experience at the Cantina, the rest were certainly not worth the prices. Food service staff ranged from very attentive to could not care about you at all. I had the best service at the Cantina, worst service at the Bravo Gelato space. The friendliest staff was the horticulture staff in the mornings when I was on my walks.
My room attendant was very efficient, often having the room cleaned up by 9am. I love how they laid out my toiletries on a washcloth in the bathroom when I came back the first day.
The internet service was a highlight, fastest speed of any hotel I’ve been to recently and the resort fee allowed up to 5 devices to share one connection. That was great.
Beyond the natural beauty in the atriums however, the resort is very VERY dated. Has the feel of a retirement home instead of a nice resort. Carpets, general look and feel, it’s not even retro, just old and tired. The balconies overlooking the atriums are pretty and they look like a nice place to sit and read a book. But overall, meh.
I will note that if you are staying in the Delta Atrium and you have a room that overlooks the river / Delta Island, be aware that if there is convention in town, that entire island can be rented for private corporate events. We had an event out there for our convention with a live band that went to 10pm and people were still out there for a while afterwards. From what I could tell, the Delta is the noisiest of the atriums so if you like quieter and you want a balcony room, you might want to request the Garden rooms on the opposite side from the restaurants.
This is definitely an interesting space, especially if you’re looking for a weekend couple’s getaway where you literally do not have to leave the building. Just be aware you will be paying top dollar prices for a resort that really doesn’t justify the pricing. If you are attending a convention at Opryland, then I would recommend the hotel because it’s incredibly convenient for that.