Gaylord Palms Orlando - a Great Florida Retreat

My stay at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida was relaxing and amazing. Gaylord Palms offers four swimming pools, a convention center, a car service and many other ammenities for the entire family.

I visited the Gaylord Palms with my two children and my husband. There is something there for the entire family. For the children, there is a giant Octupus slide that empties into a relaxing Olympic size swimming pool with waterfall features and an adjacent sports bar where the moms and dads can enjoy a nice lunch while watching their children swim or even an afternoon frozen margarita.

For even more relaxation the Canyon River Ranch Spa offers services such as massages, manicures, pedicures, hair styles and much more. There is a state of the art gymnasium for the athletic types.

Gaylord Palms Resort centers around Florida and the history of the Sunshine State. There is a brick walkway marking each county in the state. There is a center celebrating the history of the Everglades and there is even a bridge from which you can feed a live alligator. This is all inside the atrium of the hotel. In the center of the atrium is a theatre with chairs and ottomans on the floor for children to sit and watch the newest released Disney movie.

There is a huge ship floating on water inside the hotel that houses a Key West style resturant. As you leave the resturant you can continue the Key West experience and purchase a trinket from the beach style store.

For the savvy shopper there are a variety of stores inside the resort such as a Brighton store, a shoppe filled with miles of chocolate, Ben and Jerry's, and even a shop for the golfers.

A car service is available in the valet department to allow the entire family to tool around Orlando and see the other wonderful sites.

On the other end of the resort is the Gaylord Palms Convention Center which is a home to many of central Florida's conventions and events. My visit there was in conjunction with my participation in the Mrs. Florida pageant. All of the delegates had a great time at the Gaylord Palms and we found our rooms as relaxing and comfortable as the rest of the experience.