As our mini-vacation in Kissimmee drew to a close, my husband and I tried not to think about the inevitable:
We were going to have to check out of the Gaylord Palms Resort.
Although we had only laid eyes on the sprawling property for the first time days ago, we had already come to feel connected to the place. The inner atrium bathed in natural light from the glass dome had the familiar feeling of our own backyard, with decidedly better landscaping, of course.
Possibly because we came in and out of the valet so many times the entire valet staff knew our name. Or at the very least, our car. “Welcome back!” they’d say with a smile when we pulled under the stone canopy again at the end of a long day of playing tourist. We knew there would be no one in our meager concrete driveway welcoming us back with a smile when we returned home.
We also knew we were going to have to start making our own bed, a chore I never appreciated enough before staying at the Gaylord Palms. While most hotels make the bed up once a day, the staff at the Gaylord Palms Resort makes sure that your bed is ready for you at all hours. Morning nap after breakfast and shopping? The bed is freshly made. Afternoon nap after a day at the water park? The bed is freshly made again! Collapsing into bed after hitting the second theme park of the day? Yep, freshly made bed and plumped pillows for the third time in one day. I’ll never be able to look at plain ol’ once a day housekeeping the same way again.
Or hotel lobbies. The Gaylord Palms Resort doesn’t just have a high-ceilinged lobby with matched chairs arranged in multiple seating areas. They have courtyards and tunnels and replica forts. They have pirate ship restaurants and lounging alligators and koi fish and waterfalls. They have 24 hour cafes, shops, restaurants and an arcade. It’s one of the few hotels not located on a beach that actually have a legitimate reason to call themselves a resort. When I advocate spending time in your hotel during your vacation, I’m envisioning easy-to-please kids hanging out beside a pool, but the Gaylord Palms Resort offers so much more than just a pool. Whether you’re a kid (who can swim anywhere) or a couple spending long overdue time without children, the Gaylord Palms Resort has something to capture your imagination.
This visit to the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee has caused me to redefine what I expect from a luxury hotel. A comfortable bed in a prime location is no longer enough. You have to do better than fluffy towels and a marble bathroom. The Gaylord Palms Resort offers all of that and more, and they do it with the grace and elegance of a well-off relative who is really and truly just happy you took the time to stop by.
I give the Gaylord Palms Resort the highest compliment I can imagine for a hotel: I can’t wait to go back.
