This Austin-tascious, Southern-flavored convention-resort follows the blueprints of its Nashville sibling Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. In spite of its size, it shows graceful lines, with cupolas, tiled roofs and a ring of five- to seven-story balconied wings encircling a 4-1/2-acre octagonal atrium.
It is a brash architectural standout compared with its sleek competitors, the JW Marriott and Orlando World Center Marriott. With a deft staff, an impressive dedication to regional influences, and currently the largest hotel exhibition hall, second only to the OCC (400,000 sq ft), this property continues to reap rave reviews from planners, conferees and leisure travelers.
At inspection in early 2008, the hotel had just celebrated its sixth year of operation, and though nothing notable has changed in the hotel's physical plant, room renovations have already begun. Service is always a work in progress, though smiles are everywhere.
The elegant lobby has a wide corridor of arched and pillared stone and marble, deep walnut paneling, and 19th-century-style iron lamps and screens. Contemporary seating and extravagant floral arrangements add warmth, as does the amiable reception staff. Cobblestoned paths lace around a rock grotto and a stone replica of a 16th-century Floridian fortress. The climate-controlled environment allows for the cultivation of 500,000 different plants, including the largest indoor palm collection
in the world.
Encircling the atrium are four distinct thematic regions from old Florida: St. Augustine with its Spanish influences; Key West with clapboard siding, shingles and shutters overlooking a 60-ft sailboat resting upon a coral reef; Emerald Coast, highlighting the sun and sea; and Everglades, where cypress and sabal palms tower over decorative shanties perched on stilts.
A Mediterranean restaurant prepares seasonal menus and bodacious buffets for all meals. Sunset Sam's Fish Camp, onboard the boat in the Key West wing, offers Floridian and Caribbean specialties. The hotel's signature restaurant, the dinner-only Old Hickory Steakhouse, offers aged prime cuts, fresh seafood, an impressive wine list and an inspired cheese course. Its adjoining bar stays open late, hosting tipplers till the wee hours. Light fare is also served along with cocktails poolside and in the lounges, including the piano bar, where dueling pianists draw nightly crowds. In the Key West Bar, sunsets are a nightly celebration a la Mallory Square. Strolling storytellers and strummers add to the lively scene here, and an espresso bar, newsstand, ice-cream parlor and array of shops are further diversions.
Two pools are on hand, one geared to adults with art-deco styling, whirlpools and furnished cabanas equipped for work and play, with PC hook-ups and massages available. The second pool, designed for children, has a sandy beach and sea-motif waterslides, 
waterspouts and a two-story dolphin fountain. A Montessori-based children's center also keeps the young set busy.
Guests have preferred tee times at the nearby Rees Jones golf course, and the blue-ribbon Canyon Ranch health spa anchors one end of the hotel. Better yet, golfers have an on-site 9-hole executive course at their disposal, and the volleyball court and croquet field will appeal to families. Professionals assist guests in the fitness center, also working with planners to design "energy breaks" for conferees.
A skybridge connects to the state-of-the-art convention center, where up to 10,000 attendees can gather. (One room alone can seat 5,000 people.) Three divisible ballrooms, 14 meeting rooms, 61 breakout rooms and a well-equipped, 24-hour business center are easily navigated thanks to good signage. Parking is ample, but no longer free.
The spacious guest rooms in the St. Augustine wing have Spanish and mission styling, with tapestry motifs and mosaic designs. Key West quarters have vibrant colors set against bright white walls and whitewashed furnishings. Everglades provide wicker furnishings and palm-frond motifs in deep reds, greens and black. These rooms are perfumed with the scent of night-blooming water lilies and humidified by fog. Emerald Tower rooms overlooking the lagoon are upgraded versions of standard guest rooms, with marble entryways, gleaming walnut and mahogany furnishings and crown molding. Dressed 
in sunny yellows and blues, the wall, bed and window treatments are lavish, and the large desks, oversized armchairs, elevated beds and high-fidelity sound systems come as a surprise.
All rooms have large TVs, CD players, cordless dual-line speakerphones, high-speed Internet access (free if you consider the resort fee), laptop-size safes with outlets, and paired queen or king beds. Key-cards tally up the tab from the soda machines.
The baths have excellent lighting, granite countertops with dual basins, magnifying mirrors and hair dryers, and many have additional stall showers and WCs. Rooms overlooking the atrium have balconies and are slightly more expensive. The daily resort fee feels a bit like the Pirates of the Caribbean, but it does include high-speed Internet access, access to the gym, shuttles to Disney and Universal theme parks, in-room local calls and two bottles of mineral water replenished daily.
Wheelchair-accessible units are available, and room service is around the clock. Pets are not permitted, and smoking is now banned.
Designed to pamper conventioneers, this place is considered by some leisure travelers to be a destination unto itself.
