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.