Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center facts for kids

Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
Gaylord Palms, as viewed from the front
Hotel facts and statistics
Location	6000 West Osceola Parkway Kissimmee, Florida
Opening date	February 2, 2002
Architect	Hnedak Bobo Group, Inc.
Management	Marriott International
Owner	Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.
No. of restaurants	4
No. of rooms	1406
of which suites	106
No. of floors	9

The Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center is a huge hotel and meeting place located in Kissimmee, Florida. It first opened its doors on February 2, 2002. This resort is a very important spot for big meetings and events in Osceola County, Florida.

The Gaylord Palms has a massive 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m²) of meeting space. This makes it one of the hotels with the most meeting space in all of Florida. It also has a total of 1,406 guest rooms, which means it can host many visitors at once.

The hotel is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties and run by Marriott International. It's like a sibling to other big Gaylord hotels, such as the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville and the Gaylord Texan in Texas. You can find Gaylord Palms near Walt Disney World Resort, making it a great place to stay if you're visiting the famous theme parks.

History of Gaylord Palms

The hotel was first going to be called Opryland Hotel Florida. But before it opened, the company that owned it, Gaylord Entertainment, changed the name of all their hotels to "Gaylord Hotels." So, on October 26, 2001, the Florida hotel was officially named Gaylord Palms.

Fun Events and Future Plans

Every year, Gaylord Palms hosts special Christmas events. One popular attraction is called ICE!, where artists carve amazing sculptures from two million pounds of ice. It's a truly cool experience!

There are also plans to make Gaylord Palms even bigger. This expansion might add more rooms, new restaurants, and even more space for meetings and events. This would almost double the current meeting area, making it an even larger destination for visitors.

Exploring the Hotel Areas

The Gaylord Palms is built around a huge glass-covered area called an atrium. This atrium is about 4.6-acre (19,000 m²) in size and is divided into four different sections. Each section has its own special theme and activities.

St. Augustine Section

The St. Augustine area looks like an old Spanish town. It's inspired by North America's oldest permanent settlement, St. Augustine, Florida. Here you can see:

• A beautiful wedding gazebo.
• A small copy of the Castillo de San Marcos, which is North America's oldest fort.
• An alligator exhibit with animals from the Gatorland theme park.
• A display of treasures from an old Spanish ship called the Our Lady of Atocha, which sank off the Florida coast a long time ago in 1622.

Key West Section

The Key West section is designed to feel like Mallory Square, a famous spot in the Florida Keys. The main feature here is a 65-foot (20 m)-long sailboat. This sailboat is actually part of a seafood restaurant called Moor.

The Everglades Section

The Everglades area is themed after Florida's famous "river of grass" wetlands. In this section, you'll find the hotel's special restaurant, Old Hickory Steakhouse. The Everglades also has a large spa called Relache Spa, which is about 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m²) in size.

Emerald Bay Section

Emerald Bay is often called a "hotel within a hotel." It has its own dedicated meeting space and some of the most luxurious rooms at the resort. There are 26 fancy suites in this section. You can also find several shops and boutiques on the ground floor of Emerald Bay.

Convention Center Facilities

The Gaylord Palms Convention Center has a huge 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m²) of space just for meetings and events. A big part of this is the Florida Exhibition Hall, which alone is 210,300 sq ft (19,540 m²). The center also has a large stage for performances, complete with dressing rooms, connected to its Osceola Ballroom.