Sunday, August 30, 2009

Gaylord Opryland Resort

I was at a developer conference this weekend, held in Nashville, TN.  I've written on my tech blog about some of the talks, but I didn't mention how much I grew to hate the place where I was staying (and where the conference was held): the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

For starters, the idea of "southern hospitality" doesn't seem too prevalent here. Maybe people are just friendlier in the midwest (so I have unrealistically high expectations), but I was really surprised at how rude some of the employees were, particularly those at registration. 

The thing that really got to me was how the hotel nickel-and-dimed me for every little thing.  The room was $109/night, but the fees and taxes came to another $50.  That's 46% of the room rate!  This includes a $15/day charge for the "Resort fee" (two bottles of water, access to the gym, etc), and $19.67/day parking fee.  That's not valet or any other sort of special parking.  It's just me putting my car in the cheapest lot the resort had.  The resort had a bunch of stores and places to eat, but of course they were very proud of their food and wares, and priced them accordingly.  The high prices I can understand (it's a resort, after all), but the 46% taxes & fees is just deceptive and pisses me off.

If I go to the conference again next year (and it's at the same place), I'll definitely stay anywhere but the Gaylord Resort.
Posted by at 1:02 AM

3 comments:

  1. I have it on good authority the place your in right now is much nicer and costing you a lot less. :) I'm jealous
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  2. Maybe they charged too much on fees and taxes, but walking around that place I expected a night stay to be some 2~300$! For $109/night that's a steal buddy! The place was rockin, a boat ride indoors, a jungle-themed view from your hotel balcony--the place was kicks. However I do agree, that I would probably stay at the Romada across the street. (the parking fee was outrageous, I admit)
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  3. marksands -- Well, for one, my issue with the "109" price is mainly that I think it's dishonest, when you consider all the fees and such that get tacked onto the final bill. That said, I could understand some people liking the resort itself. The self-contained, touristy atmosphere definitely isn't my thing, though.

    Oh, and congrats on the nice view from your room. I had a view of a big empty parking lot -- which reminds me of another annoyance. The only self-parking lots were way on the other side of the resort. It took at least five minutes to get from the room to the lot... The parking lot outside my window was vast, and didn't have a single car in it the whole weekend. I don't know what they use that lot for, but it would be nice if they gave their guests more convenient parking, since it's so readily available.
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