The Gaylord Palms is located right off Florida Interstate 4 on the W Osceola Parkway

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcogp-gaylord-palms-resort-and-convention-center/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

Dates Stayed:  May 13-16^th, 2018

Average Rates:  $240-$290 per night during peak seasons – but check the rate calendar – there are times I have seen rates around $160 per night.

Resort Fee:  $22 per night – which includes wifi access and shuttles to Disney World

Parking Fee:  $22 per night for self-parking and $33 for valet

Top 5 Reasons to Stay at Gaylord Palms

• Waterpark/Pool Area
• Indoor Facilities/Everything under 1 roof
• Location
• Selection of Restaurants
• Events held at hotel

LOCATION

The Gaylord Palms is located right off Florida Interstate 4 on the W Osceola Parkway.  The hotel is close to Walt Disney World Resort and just a short drive to all the other activities in the Orlando area.  Just a short drive down the interstate and you are at the main tourist road in Orlando – International Drive.  On International Drive there are several restaurants, shopping and activities for everyone.  The Gaylord is also 10 Minutes from Seaworld & Disney World and 15 minutes to Universal Studios.

Why I choose to take my family to the Gaylord Palms in Orlando

Let me just tell you that I LOVE Gaylord hotels!  The Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee near Disney World is the 3^rd Gaylord that I have had the pleasure of visiting!  Yes, this hotel is HUGE and technically classified as a convention center, and in my business life, I have attended 2 different conventions at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville and Gaylord National Harbor, in Washington DC.  The hotel is geared towards the business traveler or those staying because of a convention, but with all the amazing amenities all the Gaylords have to offer, this hotel is perfect to bring your families to!

This hotel is near the Walt Disney World area. There is nothing within walking distance, but a quick drive, shuttle or Uber/Lyft to Disney World and other areas. This hotel is a completely full service hotel, with several restaurant options including quick service as well as full service restaurants, several shops that have convenience items for sale, including beverages and snacks , a water park, arcade and beautiful atriums to walk through.

Everything you need is all under one roof!  This was great during the time we were in Florida in the middle of May.  It rained every day we were in Florida, so walking around the hotel inside was great!  I have stayed at other properties in the Orlando area, and depending on the type of hotel, even several of the value hotels at Disney, you have to walk outside to get to the lobby and dining facilities.  If it rained, we just walked around the hotel, watched the alligators, grabbed something to eat or headed to the arcade.  I found that because of all the options to eat, drink it was no more expensive than any other property I stayed at in the Orlando area.  Yes, this is a full service hotel, and they want you to enjoy their dining establishments, so if cooking your own food, or being on a tight budget is what you are looking for, than the Gaylord is not for you.  We were on vacation, so we fully knew that food and beverages would be a little higher.

WATER PARK AND POOLS

The Cypress Springs waterpark and wake zone were one of the main reasons I choose this hotel.  The waterpark has a 3 story Tree-House Playground with tons of water features.  There is a giant bucket that fills then empties over the entire tree house!  This was a favorite spot for my daughter to go beneath and wait for the bucket to overflow!  On the other side of the Tree House was the 2 Water Slides, one that had a height requirement of 36” and the taller one with a height requirement of 40”.  My daughters rode both several times and said the green one was their favorite.

Located next to the Water Park area is the main family pool with a zero-depth entry.  This pool also had basketball hoops in the deeper section as well as a giant screen with entertainment and music.  There is also an adults only pool just past the main pool.  This pool was a quiet zone, with lots of shade and beach chairs! This pool was perfect for just relaxing or taking a dip, without getting splashed.

Toward the back of the water park was the Wake Zone with a Double Flow Rider.   If you would like to ride the flow rider, you need to reserve a time at the main Towel Hut.  The cost was $24 for a ½ hour session.  ½ hour is plenty of time for your child to learn how to sit and then even stand on the board and get accustomed to “surfing”.  Since we were from Iowa, this was a huge hit with both of my girls. The instructor was great!  He showed both of my girls how to sit and then even stand on the board.  My 7 year old didn’t want to stand up, so she just rode the waves on her knees.  My older daughter took right to it and was standing up on the board and surfing with in just a few tries.  Both of my daughters were tired after a ½ hour, so the ½ hour was the perfect amount of time.  But once you mastered the surfing, I’m sure a second try would make the kids happy!

LAYOUT OF HOTEL

There are 3 different sections of the Gaylord, each section of the hotel is to represent a different area of Florida.  The 3 Sections are the St. Augustine Section, Everglades and Key West section.  Each of these sections have some unique properties to them.

St. Augustine Section

As you walk in the lobby you walk directly into the St. Augustine Section, and this is the main area of the hotel.  The St. Augustine has walk ways to all the other sections as well as elevators to the guest rooms in the St. Augustine Section.  As you walk through you see all the foliage, lush landscaping, water areas, including the Gator Springs area that is home to several small alligators.  My 7 year old daughter loved walking by the alligators and seeing them out on the rocks.  The rocks are heated, so they like to hang out on them and are very visible.  Because the area is an atrium, it is very well lite, and has a ton of natural light.  There are several great areas to take photos.

Everglades Section

This section looks like areas of the Florida Everglades.  With shack type buildings all around, wooden bridges and walkways and  are meant to look rustic.  This section also has Gaylord’s Signature restaurant – Old Hickory, their fine dining steakhouse.  This section is not very big, but with the walk ways and multiple levels this area is fun to explore.  The Everglades Section also has the arcade on the bottom level, and this was a highlight for my daughter!   The arcade had several games and gave out tickets.

Key West Section

The large sail boat is the main appeal of the Key West section.  The sail boat is the seating area for the hotel’s seafood restaurant, MOOR.  Just looking out over the water feature of the Key West Section and seeing the large sail boat is fun to see inside of a hotel!

ROOMS

We stayed in the St. Augustine Atrium section on the 3^rd floor with an Atrium View.  From the lobby we would walk through the St. Augustine section across the Emerald Plaza and to the Emerald Bay B elevators.  This was a quick walk and there were nice walk ways that were easy to manage your luggage through.   Our room had 2 double beds with desk and chair and a dresser and TV on top of the dresser.  The room was not oversized by any means, but was conformable for myself and 2 daughters (7 & 18).  The double sinks in the bathroom was very nice, especially with 3 girls!  The small balcony off the room was nice and had 2 chairs and a small table.  The view at night from our room was great!  Some of the restaurants had lights on them but overall the atrium was pretty dark.  The day time view was much better.  Even though we had an atrium room that overlooked the Emerald Plaza, where they held some evening functions, there was some noise, but nothing past 10:00 at night.  I could see how this would not be appealing if you were at the parks all day and wanted to take a nap in the evening, and there was an event with a lot of people talking, etc.  It didn’t seem to bother us.

ON SITE HERTZ FACILITY & SELF PARKING

We decided that during our stay we wanted to go to Kennedy Space Center and the beach.   So I only wanted a car for 1 day.  Unfortunately the times that the on-site facility were open were from 8:30-5:00, so I decided to rent the car for 2 days, so I could get an early start and have a full day at the Space Center and Beach and leave the hotel before 7:00 am.   I was able to get an economy sized car – a Toyota Yaris with was VERY SMALL  -but did the job and was fine for just 1 day of travel.  I paid $44 per day plus taxes and declined all the additional insurance options so I paid a total of $116 for 2 days rental.  This also meant that I had to pay an additional $22 for the 1 night of parking.  I was able to pick up my car in the afternoon and then drove to a Target to get breakfast items as well as a case of water to put in our room.  We also drove to the nearby Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets and then drove back to the hotel and paid to park the car.  I was not super happy with where I had to park the car in the self-parking lot.  I dropped off my girls at the main lobby with our items, and then drove to the self-parking lot.  Not that it was a “sketchy” area, but it was after 10:00 pm and I was by myself and the walk to the lobby was a little bit of a hike.  The parking lot was lit, but not super bright and again I was by myself so it was a little bit of a walk.  Overall it was fine, but the self-parking lot is quite the distance from the main lobby.  This is why I assume they charge another $11 to park in the valet section for $33 instead of the $22 to self park.

RESTAURANTS

The Gaylord offers several restaurant options from grab and go to fine dining.  We experienced Wrecker’s Sports Bar and the Pool Bar – SandBar.  We choose to have breakfast in our room, consisting of granola bars, cereal and yogurt to save a few dollars.  But we did have lunch and beverages at the hotel, as well as enjoyed other facilities off property for our other meals.

Wreckers Sports Bar

We were able to have a late lunch on our first day at Wreckers Sports Bar.  The restaurant is a 2 story bar with several large screen televisions to watch sports on.  We just wanted a casual lunch and unfortunately it was raining, so the pool bar was closed.  The menu was upscale sports bar fare, and my older daughter and I thought the chicken nachos were the best nachos we have ever had.  The queso served on the nachos was not just white queso out of a can, it was homemade and great!  If we knew how great the nachos were, we would of just stopped there, but we also ordered and split a Bacon Cheeseburger, and my youngest daughter ordered chicken fingers.  All the items were great and served very quickly.

Sandbar

Located at the pools and Water Park, the Sandbar is open at 11:00 am and serves pool side items, like nachos, burgers, fries and salads as well as beverages.  My girls wanted a slush or icy drink and they made them Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris, and I ordered a virgin Pina Colada.  Each drink was $6 and with tip it was well over $20 for 3 slushy drinks.  There were servers that would come to your pool chair, or you could go up to the bar to order and there were also table and chairs to have your food at.

SEASONAL EVENTS

Even though we stayed during a non-peak season we had plenty to do at the resort. They did not have any special entertainment while we were there.   With the waterpark, pools and hotel amenities, it was a great stay.  During other times of the year, the hotel holds events based on season.  During the summer months the hotel has their Summerfest where they offer special rates and promotions and activities.  During Easter they offer their Easter Eggstravaganza where there are several Easter Themed activities and events.  What Gaylord is also famous for is their ICE show during the Christmas months.  Each Gaylord has their own specially created ice sculptures, ice slides and holiday scenes. I was able to experience ICE at the Gaylord National Harbor, and it was spectacular, plus it was all about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – my favorite Christmas Story.  If you happen to be in the Orlando area and are not able to stay at the Gaylord – it is something you can experience as it is a charged for experience, and anyone can pay to enjoy it- not just hotel guests.  Check back soon, and I will have an update on the Easter Eggstravaganza – on my stay in April of 2019!

SUMMARY

With the Waterpark, pools, everything under one roof, and centrally located the Gaylord Palms is a hotel not to be missed.  Don’t let reviews that say it is only a Convention Center hotel fool you.  Both of my daughters 7 and 18 loved this property and would love the opportunity to go back.  Yes, there are conventions held at this hotel, but there are still tons of activities for families as well.