Relache Spa at Gaylord Opryland.

Gaylord Opryland is a world-class destination in Nashville, TN complete with Vegas-style water features, laser light shows, and rides for the kids. Attractions at the resort include Grand Ole Opry entertainment, Gaylord Springs golf course, showboat cruises, shopping, and sightseeing tours in Nashville, complete with some of the country's most renowned musical acts.

In order to keep pace with the international resort industry, Gaylord Opryland added a spa, fitness center, and indoor swimming pool facility in 2003, designed by Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative. "The hotel called us to come and help them creatively solve a planning problem," recalled Doni Visani, project architect from Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative.

"They needed a spa, fitness area, treatment center, and indoor pool ... The hotel had over 2,800 rooms spread out over the property and it was important to locate the spa centrally and maintain high visibility to hotel guests from the interior. After several concepts, the design team agreed that the most appropriate location without removing guest rooms was on the second floor, spanning the area between the hotel and existing outdoor pool area."

The addition was located in a particularly challenging spot, literally atop the hotel's portico. Because of its visibility from the valet drive-up, the structure's architectural harmony with the hotel was essential. Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative carefully matched the design and style of the existing architecture, and raised the floor of the portico in order to fit spa plumbing and electrical between floors. "We had to create something that had a very slim profile to make it look less flat and heavy," Visani explained. "We ended up building an archway that spanned the new and existing structural elements--a trimmed piece that created a more welcoming entrance. By working closely with the hotel, we were able to take something that could have turned out awkwardly and actually enhanced the original building."

Inside, the spa uses elements such as metal accents and lighting to modernize traditional Southern aesthetics carried over from the rest of the resort. The higher ceiling in its entryway immediately brings a relaxed openness to the transition area, tempered by the friendliness and intimacy of the space. A curved circulation hallway, wrapped around the spa and fitness center, disguises the long walk toward the pool area with engaging windows into spa, fitness, and retail activities.

Locker areas are well amenitized and luxuriously appointed, accessible directly from the spa, fitness area, or from the corridor leading to the lower pools. The seamless flow of spa, fitness, and swimming areas proves a critical aspect of the design's success, allowing integration of massage into fitness appointments, and allowing staff to gracefully slip between front and back of house with minimal guest impact.

"The hotel had very real concerns about control, exiting, circulation, and utilities for the spa addition," Visani recalled. "From a planning point of view, the project required dedication and creativity from everybody involved, including the client, both to accomplish Gaylord Opryland's ultimate goals and to manage the actual construction while the hotel was operational."

DESIGN VERDICT:

Meticulous planning paid off, and the design team was able to maximize a highly constrained site and budget to gain the resort a huge bang-for-the-buck result. The well thought out and tastefully designed program was the right solution for the client, with a minimum amount of fluff.

PROOF OF SUCCESS:

The spa has had an immediate positive impact on the overall guest experience and will be a long-term benefit to the hotel in new convention bookings.

MANAGER TO MANAGER ADVICE:

Spend money where it is visible and where it makes a noticeable impact on operational efficiency, such as on mechanical systems. From a planning standpoint make sure the flow of the facility makes sense--in this case the locker rooms in relation to the spa and fitness area with minimal corridors.

TYPE: Spa, Fitness, and Indoor Pool Addition

SIZE: 27,000 Square Feet

ARCHITECT: Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative

INTERIORS: Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative

Architecture and Design Writer Dafna Zilafro has covered over 40 clubhouse design articles for Club Management. She works in a fulltime capacity as the director of marketing for SPF: architects (www.spfa.com), an award-winning California-based architecture firm.