Giant Gaylord Gets Ready for Rockies Opening

Date: October 2018

Location: Aurora, Colorado, east of Denver near the International Airport, USA

Name: Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center – opening December 2018

No. of Keys: 1,501

Seller: It was open land prior to this hotel being built.

Owner/Developer: Ryman Hospitality Properties, who changed their name from Gaylord after selling the brand to Marriott.

The opening of Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, among the largest hotel meeting venues to break ground in the recent years, is just over two months away.

The property will have 486,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 175,000-square-foot exhibit hall, the 34,463-square-foot Colorado Ballroom, and the 20,000-square-foot Aurora Patio for outdoor events.

The centre-piece of the Gaylord’s Grand Lodge lobby will be an eight-story-high atrium window looking west toward the Denver skyline and the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

A rustic theme is carried through the property with boulders, evergreens, elevators that look like old mine shafts, and 26 fireplaces. In the convention centre, Colorado details are found in elements that represent ski tracks, snow drifts, and snowflakes.

Another local touch will be two exclusive Gaylord Rockies beers crafted by Dry Dock Brewing Co. in Aurora. And if attendees are sipping on those in the hotel’s Mountain Pass Sports Bar, they can watch their teams on a 75-foot screen.

Also on property will be a 17-room Relache Spa and Salon; a 22,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor pool, complete with a lazy river and winding waterways; and eight food & beverage outlets.

THPT Comment: Well they say the Americans do things large! Gaylord, a Marriott brand, which they acquired as a brand and the rights to manage four of the mega-hotels in 2012 for US$210, likes big with their Resort & Convention Centre at Opryland, Nashville, Palms Resort in Florida, Texan Resort in Dallas and others.

First Seen: MeetingsNet