If you’re looking for a fantastic holiday getaway this year that’s full of spirit, amazing decorations, and plenty to do, think about visiting the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The massive hotel is a destination in and of itself. While Nashville is a great city to visit, you could also just go to the Opryland and make a trip out of it thanks to the many dining and entertainment options.
The Gaylord Opryland: An Overview
The Gaylord Opryland Hotel features more than 2,800 guest rooms. All of the rooms are beautifully designed and comfortable and range from single rooms to suites. The hotel is officially known as the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, and it features the new SoundWaves indoor water experience, nine acres of indoor gardens and waterfalls.
There is a spa, there are many restaurants, and if you have to attend for business, the hotel includes more than 750,000 square feet of meeting space. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is currently the largest non-casino hotel in the continental U.S.
It often receives awards and accolades, including being named the South’s best resort by “Southern Living” magazine readers.
In the early years of the hotel, it would close for two weeks around Christmas because business was slow, but that’s all changed now. The hotel added the Country Christmas events around 35 years ago, and now more than a million people visit the hotel during these six weeks each year.
The Holiday Experience
Each year the Gaylord Opryland seems to expand their holiday offerings. Some of the things you can expect this year through January 2020 include:
- There are more than three million holiday lights and decorations that cover the hotel.
- The hotel is offering packages that include tickets to “Ice.” It is one of the most popular holiday attractions at the hotel, and this year’s theme is based on the holiday movie A Christmas Story. There are interactive ice sculptures and displays and iconic movie scenes. Everything that’s part of “Ice” is hand-carved from two million pounds of ice. You can do a self-guided walking tour of the display, and it also includes four two-story tall ice slides. There is also a separate area with the Nativity scene made from ice.
- The Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Musical, will be going throughout the holiday season at the hotel, with favorite characters including Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Abominable Snow Monster, and Rudolph.
- Tubing is available on a four-lane ice tubing hill that’s 15-feet high.
- There is an ice skating rink complete with more than 8,000 square feet of real ice.
- A new holiday event is called Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Feast. During this event, you can have a meal, play games, and meet Rudolph as well as his friend Hermey.
- The Gingerbread Decorating Corner offers options to decorate your own gingerbread treats.
- There is a Delta Riverboat that runs through the atrium of the hotel year-round, but at Christmas, you can take the boat to enjoy the decorations, and the ride itself is also holiday-themed.
- If you enjoy country music, you can see singer Trace Adkins performing holiday classics during a dinner show at the hotel.
- Horse-drawn carriage rides are available along the property of the sprawling resort.
Of everything holiday-themed at the Gaylord Opryland, Ice really tends to take the cake. Every year the ice sculptures feature a different theme, and as mentioned, this year’s theme is from the A Christmas Story movie
The room is kept at around 9 degrees, so they hand you a heavy jacket to walk around in.
Room with a View
Different areas of the hotel and their rooms have different views and themes. If possible, to get the full holiday experience, try to book a room with an interior view of the atrium. If you have an atrium balcony room, it allows you to step outside and see all the action going on in the hotel, and you can also see the holiday decorations from a great seat.
Other Reasons to Visit the Opryland Hotel
Beyond the fabulous holiday decorations and activities, there are plenty of reasons to visit the Opryland hotel at any time of year.
First, it’s massive, and that lends to the feeling that it’s grand. Typically to see a hotel of that scale, you have to go to a casino, but you get a massive scale without the smoky casino at the Opryland. You can just spend time walking around and seeing the lights and water features without having to drive anywhere, and it can be a really relaxing experience.
Within the indoor resort gardens, there are more than 50,000 tropical plants, and that’s peaceful in and of itself.
The Opryland Hotel can be very self-contained, and if you don’t want to, you really don’t have to leave.
There is an abundance of onsite dining options such as Cascades American Café, Fuse Sports Bar, and casual eateries like the Conservatory Café.
If you want to try some Tennessee whiskey, you can visit Jack Daniel’s, or you can get a high-end meal at the Old Hickory Steakhouse. Ravello features Italian fare, or for Mexican food and tequila head to Solario Cantina.
Recently completed was the Soundwaves attraction too. Soundwaves is described as the first upscale indoor/outdoor water attraction. It brings together music and water, and there’s something for all ages. The indoor attractions are open year-round.
Soundwaves also includes The Bass-Ment which is an arcade with a climbing wall, and there is an adults-only area for people 18 and older with indoor pools, bars, and lounging areas.
There’s really no bad time to visit the Opryland Hotel, but it shines in particular during the holiday season with wonderful seasonally-themed events and attractions that are age-appropriate for everyone. If you’re looking for a magnificent hotel this holiday season, it might check all of your boxes, so plan accordingly.
