Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center

Rooms and decor

What people never forget about Gaylord Palms is the central atrium under a giant glass dome, roughly 4.5 acres, that lifts the whole state of Florida indoors. The resort opened in 2002 and has around 1,416 rooms, and the first walk in genuinely stops people in their tracks. Under that big glass roof, which lets daylight in all day, the space splits into three recreated districts: the Spanish old town of St. Augustine with stone lanes, fountains and wrought-iron balconies; Key West, all laid-back southern-island feel with palms and pastel houses; and the Everglades zone, dense with greenery and marsh water like stepping into a mangrove forest. Most rooms are designed to face this atrium, and many have a balcony or window opening onto the green districts below. The rooms themselves run to a warm, comfortable resort palette, are spacious, with soft beds and enough room for a bigger family to spread out or a convention guest to set up a desk. The overall feeling is staying in a small town with a roof over the whole thing.

Food and amenities

The heart of a stay here is how self-contained it is, in a way kids never get bored of. For water fans the highlight is the Cypress Springs water park, with water slides, a giant dump bucket and a shallow zone for little kids, ringed by sun loungers and cabanas for the Florida sun. There are also several pools, both indoor and outdoor, to pick from by the day. The atrium itself is an activity, since you can wander the three districts all day, with a boat ride through the Everglades zone complete with a guide telling stories, model fish and gators in the marsh, and photo spots around every corner. Nearby is the Relâche Spa, which reviews praise for its treatments and calm, plus fitness for anyone who wants to work out. For food there are restaurants and bars spread through the atrium by district theme, from a steakhouse and seafood to a breakfast buffet, a cafe and a poolside bar, so you barely need to leave the resort for any meal, and you can walk from where you eat to the water or back to your room indoors the whole way.

Location and getting there

The location pitch is very clear for two groups. The first is theme-park families, because the resort sits in Kissimmee, very close to the Walt Disney World gate, about a 5-10 minute drive, so you can be up early and into the parks easily, then come back for the kids to swim or wander the atrium in the evening. Universal Orlando is about a 25-minute drive and Orlando International Airport (MCO) is also around 25 minutes, so getting in and out is easy. The second group is business travelers and convention attendees, because the resort has a large in-house convention center that handles seminars and events for thousands of people, so you can stay and attend in one place without a long trip every morning. The area around the resort is car-dependent and has no train, but with Disney on one side and the main highways close, driving anywhere in Orlando is straightforward. In short, it is a balanced base for both family and work trips.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First is the size of the resort, which is a double-edged sword. The upside is there is a lot to do and the setting is striking, but the downside is the walk from your room to the central atrium, restaurants or water park can be long and maze-like, almost like getting lost in a small town, and you sometimes need to budget real time walking the building. Families with small kids or anyone who tires easily should keep that in mind. Second, a common point in reviews, is added fees: a resort fee and a daily parking charge on top of the room rate, and at times Cypress Springs admission billed separately, so the real total at checkout runs higher than the booking price. Check the list up front so there are no surprises. Last is room feel and crowds, since most rooms face the indoor atrium rather than an outside view, so anyone who likes opening a window onto real sun or nature may find it more enclosed than expected. And on days with a big convention the lobby and restaurants get crowded and busy, with some reviews hitting long check-in lines, so check the convention calendar for your dates if you can.

Our take

From reading through real guest reviews from both family and work travelers, Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center is a resort that goes big and actually delivers what it sells. The glass-domed atrium recreating the whole state of Florida indoors is striking enough to be a destination on its own, plus the Cypress Springs water park, several pools, a spa, a range of restaurants and a big convention center all in one place. If you are a family that wants to base near the Walt Disney World gate but still have plenty for the kids on a day you skip the parks, or a convention group that needs a big meeting center with lodging and downtime in one spot, this works very well. But if you want a small, compact hotel where everything is a few steps away, prefer rooms with real outside views, and dislike the bustle of convention days, the sheer scale and indoor feel here may not be your style. Overall we give it 8.6/10, best for families who want the resort itself to be the destination near Disney and for convention groups who need a fully equipped meeting center in Kissimmee.