"Creating new and exciting hospitality and entertainment experiences.".

The nine-acre Opryland Hotel is the largest combined hotel/convention center under one roof - anywhere.

The property, which now has 2,884 guest rooms and 600,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, opened in 1977 with 600 guest rooms. It is part of Opryland, an entertainment resort that also includes the Grand Ole Opry, Springhouse Golf Club, Grand Ole Opry Tours, General Jackson Showboat, Music City Queen riverboat, River Taxis, Ryman Auditorium, Wildhorse Saloon, Opryland KOA Kampground, and the Inn at Opryland.

The newest component of Opryland, Opry Mills, will open May 2000. A project of Opryland's parent company Gaylord Entertainment and the Mills Corporation, Opry Mills is a $200 million entertainment and retail development featuring 200 stores, theme restaurants, entertainment venues, an IMAX theater, and a Regal 24 cinema.

Strives to Make a Difference

The Opryland Hotel, seven miles from the Nashville International Airport, maintains an occupancy rate of more than 80 percent, considered high by industry standards.

"We strive to make a difference in every guest visit," says Jack Gaines, president of Opryland hotel and attractions group. "Opryland is dedicated to creating new and exciting hospitality and entertainment experiences."

The hotel has expanded three times since it opened - to 1,067 rooms in 1983, 1,891 rooms in 1988, and to its current capacity of 2,884 rooms in 1996. In 1990, it added the 18-hole Springhouse Golf Club, home of the BellSouth Senior Classic, part of the PGA Senior Tour.

Five ballrooms are the delight of meeting planners. The largest, the Delta Ballroom covers 55,314 square feet. The others are the Presidential (29,298 square feet), the Tennessee (18,105 square feet), the Governors (18,277 square feet), and the Magnolia (3,359 square feet).

"We also have three executive board rooms, the Charleston, the Hermitage, and the Sam Davis," Gaines points out. "Each is unique in detail from custom-made tables and woven carpet to hand-crafted mahogany and French ironwork."

With 85 meeting rooms and the 288,000-square-foot Ryman Exhibit Hall, Opryland can accommodate about 95 percent of the 10,000 trade shows conducted annually in the United States. The Ryman Exhibit Hall is the nation's largest single-level, self-contained exhibition facility in a hotel.

Three Indoor Gardens

To the amazement of meeting delegates, Opryland Hotel has three massive indoor gardens - each surrounded by balconied guest rooms and topped with sparkling glass roofs.

1. The Conservatory, which was completed in 1983, is a collection of 10,000 tropical plants.

2. The Cascades, another massive interior space, dominated talk of the 1988 expansion. Three waterfalls ranging from 23 to 35 feet tall rumble from the top of a 40-foot-tall mountain into a 12,500-square-foot lake. At the opposite end of the lake is the Cascades Restaurant, which has a tropical flair, and in the middle is the Cascades Terrace, a revolving lounge. The restaurant and lounge are separated by the "Dancing Waters" fountain that is accented by lasers and colored incandescent lights. Some of the computer-controlled shows are synchronized to music.

3. The 4.5-acre Delta is the third indoor garden. Its glass roof has a 150-foot peak - 15 stories high. It is big enough that two- and three-story buildings are inside the Delta; they house an array of retail shops, meeting rooms, and lounges.

One of the Delta's surprises is that a river does run through it. The Delta River is more than a quarter mile long, and is big enough to have passenger-carrying flatboats.

65-Acre Opryland Hotel Florida to Open in 2002

The Opryland Hotel Florida is slated to open in the first quarter of 2002. Situated five minutes from the main gates of Walt Disney World Resort in Kissimmee-St. Cloud, the 65-acre property will feature 1,400 guest rooms including 118 suites, 80-plus oversized rooms, four acres of gardens under glass, 380,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space, three restaurants, and several entertainment venues.

The Florida resort will be Opryland's first hotel construction project following Opryland Nashville.

The Opryland Hotel Florida, about 17 miles from the Orlando International Airport, will bring the spirit, excitement, and adventure of a grand tour through Florida. Strolling along cobblestone streets reminiscent of Old St. Augustine, your meeting delegates and guests discover a variety of eateries, restaurants, and shops - including an oversized tree offering fresh orange juice directly from its branches and a variety of fresh juices. Made-to-order specialty fruit drinks will be available from the adjoining juice bar.

The Key West area will feature a seaside wharf with a 60-foot floating weathered sailboat housing a bar serving beer and light fare, such as oysters on the half-shell. While enjoying the food and drink on board, guests will relax to the sounds of lapping waves and view the underwater coral reef or wharf activity.

A hike through the Everglades will evoke a feeling of mysterious swamps. The 150-foot Treehouse Walkway reaches 30 feet into the top canopies of cypress trees, slowly climbing over the mysterious swamps and bogs. This vantage point will offer a view of the rustic steak house as well as the heart of the Everglades area.

178,000-square-Foot Hall

Meetings and conventions will be served in grand style within 380,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 178,000-square-foot exhibition hall, ballrooms, and meeting rooms conveniently located on two levels and connected to the hotel via an enclosed walkway or a pool-level covered walkway. The ballroom, meeting, and pre-function area will overlook two sparkling pools - one with cabanas near the full-service spa, the other an activity pool for families and fun-lovers.

All meeting and break-out rooms will be located on one level directly above the convention center. Other specific features include:

* Exhibition offices and permanent registration desks.

* 20-bay loading dock connected to the exhibit hall.

* Two ballrooms of 48,000 square feet and 30,000 square feet respectively, with the larger containing a 35[feet] x 100[feet] stage equipped with built-in sound and lighting.

* More than 45 breakout rooms in the meetings area.

* 14 additional executive meeting and board rooms located within the Sun Atrium.

* Two docks dedicated to the ballroom space with direct loading into a car-sized freight elevator and a standard freight elevator.

* Enclosed walkway from the hotel atrium to the convention center, as well as covered access from the pool level.

* Ballroom and prefunction space with access to a terrace overlooking pool areas.

* Pool-side function space with built-in tent capability off the exhibition area.

* Escalators providing accessibility to ballroom level and exhibit hall level.

Boon for Central Florida 

When opened in February 2002, it will be the largest hotel in the Kissimmee-St. Cloud resort area and will increase by five percent the number of dedicated hotel rooms in Osceola County.

"If the 1,400-room Opryland Hotel Florida maintains a 75 percent occupancy figure, nearly $3 million in resort tax revenues will be added to the county's tourism funding," says E. K. Gaylord II, chairman of the board of directors of Gaylord Entertainment.

New Opryland Hotel Texas Will "Inspire Sense of Pride"

The latest venture of the Opryland Hospitality Group, a subsidiary of Gaylord Entertainment, is The Opryland Hotel Texas in Grapevine, Texas, just five minutes north of DFW International Airport. A deluxe hotel, convention center, and entertainment venue, The Opryland Hotel Texas will feature 1,500 guest rooms and 380,000 square feet of meeting, convention, prefunction, and exhibit space.

The project, whose estimated cost is $300 million, will be built on 77 acres at the scenic southern tip of 7,380-acre Lake Grapevine. Plans call for opening in early 2003.

Meeting Rooms on One Floor

All meeting and breakout rooms will be located on one level directly above the exhibit hall. Plans also call for:

* Permanent registration desks.

* A 178,000-square-foot exhibition hall.

* Three exhibition offices.

* Two ballrooms of 48,000 square feet and 30,000 square feet, the larger containing a 35[feet] x 90[feet] stage equipped with built-in sound and lighting.

* More than 45 breakout rooms.

* 14 executive meeting and boardrooms located within the Grand Atrium.

* Two docks dedicated to the ballroom space with direct loading into a car-sized freight elevator.

* An enclosed walkway from the atrium to the convention center.

* An outdoor entertainment/function terrace.

Highlights and Amenities

The property will also offer association meeting delegates 120 suites, an indoor Texas-shaped swimming pool, an outdoor pool, a business center, a full-service spa, on-site entertainment, 27 holes of championship golf, nearby boating and fishing, retail shops, and five restaurants, eateries, and lounges.

"Each of Opryland Hospitality Groups' hotels have been designed to be special and distinctive," says Jerry Wayne, senior vice president of marketing for the Opryland national sales organization. "The frontier spirit is well represented in the annals of Texas history, and that gives us a great heritage to build upon at the Opryland Hotel Texas. I believe we can create a facility that will inspire a sense of pride among Texans."