The Atrium at the Gaylord National

I’ve raved before about how much I love the Gaylord Hotels, and I’m so thrilled that they’ve recently partnered with Dreamworks to create a more family-friendly experience at their hotels. Now, they are offering Family Fun Nights with Shrek and Friends on special nights in February and March 2011.  These nights are the perfect way for kids to really enjoy themselves in a family vacation experience!

The Family Night Nights start at $99 per person, double occupancy, and include the following:

• Accommodations at a Gaylord Hotels resort for a family of up to four
• Admission to DJ dance party with appearances by Shrek, Fiona, and Puss in Boots
• Admission to a DreamWorks movie shown on a big screen
• Puss In Boots Quest for the Magic Beans Scavenger Hunt
• Swamp Juice and Ogre Treats
• A souvenir photo for the families
• A DreamWorks craft activity
• The daily resort fee
• Self parking

The Family Fun Night with Shrek and Friends takes place on Feb. 18, 2012 at both Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN., and Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, FL., and on Feb. 25, 2012 and March 10, 2012 at Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, MD.

The Gaylord National
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD 20745

The Gaylord Opryland
2800 Opryland Drive
Nashville, TN 37214

The Gaylord Palms
6000 W Osceola Parkway
Kissimmee, FL 34746

The Gaylord Texan
1501 Gaylord Trail
Grapevine, TX 76051-1945

Photo credit: The Gaylord Hotels

A Delta Riverboat at the Gaylord Opryland

Are you planning on staying at one of the Gaylord Hotel’s gorgeous properties this winter?  If so, you may be helping to support VH1′s Save the Music Foundation.  Under the Gaylord Hotel’s Rooms for Good program, 10% of the room package rate will be donated to a designated charity (excluding taxes, fees and incidentals incurred during stay).  In January and February, the designated charity is the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to maintaining and restoring instrumental music education in schools.

If you’ve never stayed at a Gaylord Hotel, now is definitely the time.  These hotels are like a beautiful city all under one climate-controlled glass atrium ceiling – including waterfalls, restaurants, shops, clubs, conference facilities, a spa, bars, a fitness center, and much more.  In addition, the Gaylord Hotels are now partnering with Dreamworks for an even more family-friendly vacation experience.  Rates start at $179 at the Gaylord Palms, and $199 at the Gaylord Texan, the Gaylord Opryland, and the Gaylord National Hotels.

The Gaylord National
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD 20745

The Gaylord Opryland
2800 Opryland Drive
Nashville, TN 37214

The Gaylord Palms
6000 W Osceola Parkway
Kissimmee, FL 34746

The Gaylord Texan
1501 Gaylord Trail
Grapevine, TX 76051-1945

Photo credit: The Gaylord Hotels

The Exterior of The Gaylord Opryland

If you’ve never been to one of the four Gaylord Hotels located in the US, you are most definitely missing out.  These hotels go well  beyond the standard hotel room and are full entertainment, dining, and lodging destinations all under one glass roof.  This holiday season, they are offering a fabulous Christmas Memories package for guests.  I can only imagine how beautiful these hotels look all decorated for Christmas!

The Christmas Memories package is available from mid-November through early January, 2012 at all four of the Gaylord Hotels.

• Gaylord National in National Harbor, MD (metro D.C.)
• Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN (the Music City)
• Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL (Orlando area)
• Gaylord Texan on Lake Grapevine, TX (near Dallas)

The Christmas Memories package, which starts at $99 per night (depending on the hotel), includes the following:

• One night room accommodations
• Ticket to ICE! featuring DreamWorks’ Shrek the Halls (at the Gaylord Texan and Gaylord Palms) or featuring DreamWorks’ Merry Madagascar (at the Gaylord Opryland and Gaylord National)
• A souvenir photo

If you are traveling with kids, you may also consider booking the Dreamworks Experience at the Gaylord Hotels, which includes scavenger hunts, a welcome amenity, gingerbread decorating, holiday shows, and much more!

Visit the Gaylord website to learn more.

Photo credit: The Gaylord Opryland

One month ago on May 1, 2010, flash floods swamped the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville with 10 feet of water, forcing its evacuation and closure. The Opryland says it will reopen on Nov 15 after a restoration costing around $225 million.

Opryland Nashville (before & after flood)

The 2,881 rooms of the Opryland make up 10% of the total number of hotel rooms in Nashville. With 1 million visitors each year, the Gaylord Opryland contributes 25% of Nashville’s hotel tax revenue.

The hotel had over 329,900 room nights booked for convention travelers over the next six months, many of whom have  since cancelled their bookings.

Some who were willing have been transferred to the other Gaylord Hotels in Florida, Texas and Maryland, while the rest have been handed over to other hotels in Nashville and a few in other parts of Tenneessee.  

The flood-damage and the Opryland’s closure has been very hard for Nashville, but to make it even worse, Colin V. Reed, chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, said that they would be laying off 1,743 employees, effective June 12, 2010.

The resort will reopen in stages, with the Wildhorse Saloon and the General Jackson building opening on June 5, followed by the Grand Ole Opry House on Oct 1 and then the Gaylord Opryland on Nov 15.

Of the 2,881 rooms at the hotel, 117 were flooded and require complete renovation. So will the Cascades area, which was also flooded.

The total cost of the repair and restoration is around $215m to $225m, of which $172m is for the hotel alone and $17m for the Grand Ole Opry House.

Photos courtesy Gaylord Hotels

Related posts:-
Nashville Floods Force Opryland Evacuation, Closure
Opryland Gets Waterlogged