Hi friends! It has been awhile. I have taken a bit of a break over here adjusting to this “new normal” and trying to balance ALL THE THINGS. I am sure most of you can relate. We have been enjoying all the family time, but every day is starting to look the same #groundhogday. We typically travel quite a bit during the summer, but all those plans got cancelled so we were looking for something fun we could do as a family. We headed to the Gaylord Texan for a little staycation and it was exactly what we were needing. They have SUMMERFEST going on right now with tons of activities for the whole family and we had the best time! Something about getting away and staying at a hotel just has a whole new feel to it. The kids keep talking about how much fun they had on our staycation! If you are looking for a fun getaway I highly recommend it. Here are all the details!
We arrived Thursday around noon, checked in, headed straight to our room to change and head out to Paradise Springs. Paradise Springs is a huge 10 acre water park that is exclusive to hotel guests. It is complimentary with a hotel stay. They have several huge pools, a lazy river, slides, zip lines, a restaurant and a huge water park area with slides, a dump bucket, etc for the kids. This was one of the things we were most excited about on our staycation!
Above you can see some of the activities offered during Summerfest! There is really so much to do. I shared our staycation on Instagram stories and got lots of questions about the crowds, cleanliness, etc. Let me address those. We felt very safe at the Gaylord. The day we were there it was only at 11% capacity. The design of the hotel is very open and spacious so it was easy to social distance. You are required to wear a mask unless you are by the pool or eating. The only restaurants open during the week were the Texas Station Bar and Grill, the Paradise Springs Grill, Marketplace (you can grab things to go) and room service. During the weekend evenings they also open up Zepolle. Paradise Springs is all outdoors, the seating was spaced out and was not very crowded. You have to do what you feel is right for your family, but we felt very safe at the Gaylord and were able to enjoy a lovely getaway.
This is directly from the hotel:
To help ensure proper social distancing, each of the resort’s events, restaurants, and pools now offer spaced seating arrangements. And in accordance with Marriott’s “Commitment to Clean” practices, we are providing enhanced cleaning technologies, hospital-grade disinfectants, attendants dedicated to sanitizing frequently throughout the day, and hundreds of new cleaning processes to take care of guests while they enjoy the resort’s amenities.Additionally, Gaylord Texan’s ownership group, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE:RHP) selected Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), a leader in medical research, as its official wellness advisor. These combined efforts further support Gaylord Texan’s multi-phased health and sanitation plans, procedures, and staff training
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Here we are headed over to Paradise Springs in the cute Gaylord trolley
WE HAVE ARRIVED. . .
This was my favorite spot because the kids could play and this mama could relax. We got chairs under a huge umbrella and I enjoyed some peace and quite with a book! Everyone was happy!
Living their best life poolside with a virgin strawberry daiquiri and ice cream cookie sandwich!
I was also living my best life with an incredible margarita. The Gaylord does these right!
Time for round 2! Mamas. . .we have earned it!
Like I mentioned above there are 10 acres to explore. We made our way to the other side to have fun at these slides, the zipline and the lazy river!
We spent all day soaking in Paradise Springs and then headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up, grab some dinner at Texas Station Bar and Grill and head over to family bingo! They also had trivia, but we decided to skip that and stay at the pool longer. After dinner we headed over to family movie night where they were showing Toy Story 4. Summerfest at the Gaylord offers activities all day long like canvas painting, etc so if you go be sure to check out all the fun things!
After a long fun day we were wiped out and headed to bed.
In the morning we slept in, enjoyed our amazing balcony view (below) and then headed to Marketplace to grab some pastries for breakfast.
After breakfast we went on a hotel scavenger hunt. Yall, this was so much fun! My kids (and Geoff and I) love a good scavenger hunt. The hotel did a great job with it. There are 11 clues to locations that you have to find throughout the hotel and each location has a sign you have to find with a letter. Then you have to unscramble the letters to find the final location and solve the mystery! If you complete the hunt you go to the lobby and get a prize! Not the best picture of Braden, but I assure you he loved it 😉
We ended up exploring the hotel a little bit more, checked out the trains in the atrium and then it was time to head back home.
I cannot tell you how much we needed this little get away! It was such a fun staycation that we will always remember. I can just hear my kids telling the story to their kids about “life & vacation during the Coronavirus”. If you and your family are looking for something fun to do this summer to get away and break up the day to day check out the Gaylord. It might be just what yall are looking for too!
This was Braden 5 minutes after we left. Definitely the sign of a good time!
Thanks to the Gaylord for hosting our family. We had the best time. All opinions and thoughts are my own.