Gaylord Opryland Events Center — Local services in Nashville-Davidson

PROS: Space: I traveled here for a work convention, the convention rooms are large and the staff were great and provided food and service. The convention rooms are all clustered together, but with nearby outdoor space for quick breaks. The hotel provides an app that helps you navigate the 47 square foot area, which you would absolutely need to download or you will get lost!

Service: When we checked in we were given a room that we did not request but they switched it very quickly. All the staff were very kind during our stay.

Outdoor space: This hotel has beautiful views with real landscaping throughout the park. It even has a boat ride you can take with a guided tour about the hotel. They also have several park benches positioned throughout the area.

CONS: Spiders: If you're not a fan of spiders, this is not the place to stay, the hotel has a lot of open space and so with that bugs and spiders will be there, they didn't really bug me, but some guests were terrified of all the webs that we found on fences and light posts throughout the hotel. It would be nice if they kept it cleaner.

Food: The food at the restaurants is okay, not great, especially when considering the price tag that comes along with it.

Pools: Soundwaves (the water park) is only open on Fridays and Saturdays, at least in April and May which is when we came. This was a huge letdown, and whenever you go in an elevator, you'll see the water park promoted which just reminds you. You don't have access to it. I don't know why it's not open year round but I wish it was clearly stated on their website.

The Mongolian pool was closed as well and looked like it hadn't been maintained or cleaned for quite a while, as fungi was growing in it. That left only one pool (Cascade -depth 1-5 feet) open for the entire hotel, which can host 2800 guests. Besides the one pool, there's not really anything else to do except for walk around in the grounds.

DRINKING FOUNTAINS: I usually try to carry my own water but kept forgetting on this trip. I tried five different drinking fountains, four of which were broken. They seriously need to go around and fix all the drinking fountains. Cleaning them would...

If I could give less than one star, I would. First, we were directed to park in a parking lot that was barely visible from the hotel because we were not hotel guests, we only had tickets to the ICE exhibit and events. It was at least a half a mile walk. Nothing was clearly marked and we were nearly late to the ICE exhibit because it was difficult to find (we arrived one hour prior to our reservation time). We stood in a long line and were given parkas to wear but were told to “keep the line moving” so I was moving as fast as I could to dress four children in parkas. They literally took our family photo while I was trying to dress the kids. One photo, that’s all you get and KEEP IT MOVING. Once inside, it was shoulder to shoulder. Standing room only. The kids wanted to see the ice sculptures and take pictures but we were literally herded through like cattle. Again, keep it moving. We were herded through in less than 10 mins. From there, we entered a huge gift shop that had lines waiting to check out as far as you could see. Next we moved on to the ice tubing which was another disappointment. More long lines and rush, rush, rush. Lastly, I had three questions during our time there. Where is the restroom, where is a restroom with a changing table and where is the exit. I asked 3 separate Opryland employees these questions and each time was told “no English.” These were uniformed employees working in the hotel. Another Mother looking for a changing table finally gave up and changed her baby on a trash can. I paid $402 for tickets to ICE/Ice Tubing/Rudolph’s Scavenger Hunt. In addition to the $402, I paid $36 to park a half a mile away. We didn’t even do the scavenger hunt because we were so disappointed. I’ve never been more disappointed in an event. It’s ridiculous to charge this amount of money and pack customers in there shoulder to shoulder and herd them through like livestock. I left in tears because that $400+ could have been spent on something actually enjoyable...

While the venue is beautiful, we had a bit of a bad experience. We were there for ICE and did a few other things as part of a purchased package. One thing we did that was unplanned was our daughter got her pictures with Santa. The experience itself was great, but I'm super disappointed with the people at the counter selling the photos and how the rules around the pictures work. We bought the package for digital downloads and they did not point out that if you don't download your photos within 14 days that they are gone. Had I known that was the case I would have obviously made sure to do that. We bought them, they put the folder together and we were on our way. The only thing in the folder is the 1 picture they picked for us and the QR code for the downloads. So I really thought nothing of it and had no idea there was a time limit, and I didn't know there was a fine print. I was getting ready to download them last night and I saw they are gone from the website. I just feel sort of ripped off, and again had I known there was/seen the fine print/rules of the downloads I would have made sure to do it. $55 is a lot to spend for no pictures. So I reached out to customer service and here was their response- Unfortunately we are not able to refund from our side. I do apologize for the information regarding the photos having an expiration.

That is absolutely ridiculous. We spent hundreds of dollars at this venue and expected much better customer service...