Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center

All rooms either face toward the atrium or toward the outside of the hotel (with possible views of Lake Grapevine.) My suite opened into the atrium and gave me a small balcony with a very pleasant view of all the goings on at the various restaurants and gardens in the atrium. Pleasantly there is no airplane noise from DFW Airport.

Call it all a bonus and a wonderful place for a meeting or a getaway weekend. With room prices starting at $249 per night, you need to look for special package rates that include, spa, shopping at the Mall or Bass Pro Shop or golf.

Ya'll come now! I can promise that you won't be disappointed. Not a chance of that.

Absolutely high-end sheets, towels and bath products. All the beds are huge and some are bigger! Texas size! The room service menu prices are quite reasonable for what you get and there is a 30-minute delivery guaranty. If they don't get it to you that quickly, there is no charge. The breakfasts are really great.

No poodles allowed. I’m not pleased about that, but it's a minor problem that I can't take my poodle princess to Gaylord.

What an evening in the dear little house called Ama Lur in the middle of the atrium at this wonderful hotel!!! I can't brag about it enough. A new hotel and everything was fantastic! There was a variety of tables available including one large one that looks like the king's banquet table. There was plenty of atmosphere and kind service. We all had a great time. Telephone ahead for reservations to avoid disappointment.

The food is basic American chow with a heavy emphasis on what children and young families like to eat. It’s priced accordingly. But the food is well prepared and well presented. Every time I have dined there, the service has been above average.

The Gaylord Texan Resort offers a free shuttle trolley to and from Grapevine Mills Mall and some families with young children who are staying at the resort give the kids a break with a trip over to the Rainforest Cafe.

We had hamburgers, large, fresh and very tasty and an enormous plate of potato skins. I had coffee, which was freshly made and served with real cream.

Not just for children, this restaurant has a full bar. In fact you can get into the bar without having to wait in the line for a regular table. As you can order food in the bar, this may be an alternative to the often long line.

If the sounds of roaring lions and screaming monkeys don't set your nerves on end, you might want to give this place a try.

This location has only outside seating with miniature picnic tables for small children and benches for everyone else. You slurp your ice cream with a nice view of the new Tarrant County Subcourthouse and a long line of high-end shops. This location is very close to a Starbucks and an Eddie Baurer store. This is a very good place to rest those tired feet. Open all year with shorter hours in winter, this is a very popular place for the young people of this beautiful small town that is close enough to DFW that you can read the tail logos on the jets as they are on their final approach to land at the big airport.

It’s always, always busy but sometimes chock full of folks. The staff is kind and helpful. I wanted a sun block shirt and, of course, they had a selection in several colors. Do you want a new boat? Camper? No problem, run out to Bass Pro Shop. They also offer a free shuttle to and from DFW Airport (972)724-2018 if you have three hours or so between flights and want to visit this amusing, useful and adventurous store.

You have to find the Live Bait 'Coke' machine! In our part of North Texas, remember it's BAIT not sushi!

When you book the Gaylord Texan Resort, one of the weekend packages is 'shopping'. While some family members head out for golf at Cowboys Golf Club, others than run up the credit cards at this huge mall.

Don't feel silly about dragging back to the Gaylord Texan with huge shopping bags as so many people do it. This really is a discount mall, not just an outlet mall in theory. You can easily walk over a mile in air-conditioned comfort (skip those outdoor outlet malls!!!) while you take at look at all the stores. They have very good prices on all sorts of things for children from clothing to toys. Also there are five or six different shops that sell chocolate. Make your own choice.

The look of the peoples' faces! After staying in the hotel for a couple nights I got used to seeing that amazed expression. The experience of staying at or even just walking through the Garylord Texan is nearly beyond words.

For a start a river runs through the atrium. There are hundreds of live trees, shrubs, flowering plants and carefully placed benches so that you can enjoy it all without having to pay to sit in a restaurant or bar (unlike the hotels in Las Vegas!). Bring granny or have granny bring you to this hotel. It is a pure pleasure just to walk around the place.

The atrium is designed to have familiar aspects of the San Antonio Riverwalk, so much so that you will feel quite at home on your first visit. Well, there you are on one of the Riverwalk bridges for sure.

In one of the garden areas a beautiful bridge is having her photos taken. It's that kind of a place, an instant local tradition.

Blessings to the folks who designed this place and had the courage to spend nearly $500 million to build it. Yes, nearly half a billion US dollars. Every detail is so well considered from the beauty and comfort of the furniture to the original works of art around the place. Every eye goes up to look at the massive Texas star in the glass ceiling of the atrium, so large that you can see it from an airplane landing at the nearby DFW International Airport. Now that's Texas size.

The guest rooms in the hotel face either inward to the atrium or outwards toward the lake or countryside. If you have an atrium room, you also have a balcony where you can sit in air-conditioned comfort and watch all the goings on. We never had any noise in our room from the atrium. This place is very well designed. If you know a Texan summer, then you know that you really do want that air conditioning.

This resort is so large that the size itself became a problem for some of the older guests in our group. There’s miles of walking to do. Don't worry about how much you eat as you are going to walk it off for sure.

Enjoy this fine place. It is already a very special part of our lives here in Texas.