A Country Christmas at the Opryland Hotel
Written: Oct 19 '00 (Updated Oct 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unbelievable Place
Cons: Unbelievable to the point of being almost, but not quite, gaudy.
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| elusive_blonde's Full Review: Gaylord Opryland Hotel |
If someone had told me I would be spending a week in December 1999 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, I would have thought they had lost their mind. Me? Stay at a place called the Opryland Hotel in the country music capital of the world? Are you kidding? No way, I hate country music... well, WAAAYYY!
HOW DID I END UP HERE?
The company I work for held a convention in December 1999 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The project I was working on required my presence at the convention to demonstrate our new software's features. I got signed up for the convention a little late. So when I arrived at the hotel to check in, I found that I would have to take a suite instead of a regular hotel room! I was a trooper though and accepted my two-room suite with all the country charm I could muster! (smiles) The group I attended with were green with envy when they saw my "rooms". Anyway, on with the hotel review!
DECORATIONS ON THE OUTSIDE
The best time to see the Opryland Hotel has got to be when it's decorated for Christmas. What an incredible display of Christmas lights and decorations! I arrived at dusk---spectacular! When you first drive into the hotel drive, there are myriads of Christmas lights. Practically every tree and shrub (and they have lots of them) is covered with nets that have lights intertwined in them, there are neon soldiers from the Nutcracker Suite and a lighted gingerbread house. Then you are confronted with an incredibly tall flagpole that has streams of lights coming down from the top of it, forming a 141-foot Christmas tree. The Opryland Hotel also features one of the world's largest outdoor nativity scenes. However, you can only get to the nativity scene from within the hotel. These are just some of the Christmas decorations on the outside of the hotel.
DECORATIONS ON THE INSIDE
The inside of the hotel was like a Christmas wonderland, especially at night. Lights and other giant Christmas decorations stream down from above, red ribbons and more than 20,000 poinsettias of all hues were at every turn. There was not one, but two 20-foot poinsettia trees and also a 40-foot tall real Christmas tree in "The Delta" which sported 2,061 ornaments, 52,425 lights and 600 yards of mylar ribbon! The Opryland Hotel is a must see at Christmas Time!
CASCADE CONSERVATORY GARDEN
Calling this place a hotel is quite an understatement. One large garden section is known as the Cascade Conservatory Garden. It is filled with so much tropical vegetation and so many little meandering walks that the joke among the convention attendees was to be sure and bring your map with you, or else you might get lost for days in the garden areas! The Conservatory has two shows every evening known as the Dancing Waters. This water fountain show is choreographed with live piano music and the colorful water fountains are lit up with laser lights and other colored lights. The fountains and lights "dance" in time with the music.
THE DELTA GARDEN
The Delta Garden is 4 acres under glass. It is so large that it contains a replica of a southern plantation home, a quaint little shopping and restaurant area and even a river that runs around it all. For a price, you can take a ride on a flatboat with a tour guide. At night there is an illuminated Fountain show. It's central fountain shoots water 85 feet into the air.
PHOTOGRAPHIC DELIGHTS
Both of the gardens feature numerous waterfalls, tropical flowers and other special photo-magic locations from which to shoot pictures. I'm not much for taking pictures; but this hotel is too amazing to simply describe in words, it has to be seen. Even pictures don't quite do it justice.
WHERE ARE THE ROOMS?
The hotel rooms actually ring around the garden areas. My two-room suite was decorated in floral wallpaper with matching curtains on the windows and the french doors to the bedroom. The couch and chairs in my sitting room were upholstered in a tapestry fabric. The furniture and even the pictures on the wall were all carefully chosen to add to the southern plantation ambience of the rooms.
SO DID IT COST A MILLION TO STAY THERE?
The rooms we had were most likely at a discounted convention rate. My suite ran a little over $100 a night. There were restaurants and eateries at every turn in this hotel. There were elegant full-service restaurants that charged elegant prices. There were more casual restaurants that charged a moderate price for a meal. There were also deli-type eateries where one could get a reasonably-priced sandwich and a drink.
I stayed at the Opryland Hotel for a total of five days. It was so big that I never once felt the need to leave the hotel. The weather outside was cool, rainy and dreary, so it was far nicer to stay inside my tropical, country Christmas paradise!
Please note that this review previously appeared in the "Nashville" category - I have now moved it to this newly added, most appropriate category.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
elusive_blonde
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Member: Dori
Location: Quad Cities, USA
Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 27 members
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