Gaylord Rockies Staycation
You all know we love a good staycation! Heck, we love any kind of vacation, travel or adventure. We’re super blessed to live in a state that has so much to offer, Colorado has a ton of locations to choose from for the perfect staycation. Most recently, we decided to do a getaway in own own backyard, Denver. Just a few years ago the Gaylord Rockies Resort was built. Nick and I had walked through the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville and it blew us away. It’s one of the most extravagant resorts we’ve seen in the U.S. so when we heard they were building a Gaylord here in Colorado we were thrilled and eager to stay.
We first visited the Gaylord back in December for their Christmas event which was unbelievable, you can see a bit about that here. However, we didn’t stay at the hotel or experience the pools, so this stay we knew we’d probably be spending most of our time soaking up the sun and enjoying the amazing pools (yes plural) that they offer. The Gaylord Rockies has the perfect summer activities to keep you busy the entire time you’re staying on property. We spent most of our time at Arapahoe Springs, their indoor and outdoor waterpark complex. They have a lap pool, whirlpool, lazy river, water slides, an indoor splash pad area for kids and more.
Right after we check in we headed straight to dinner so we had some fuel for the pool the rest of the evening. We went to the Mountain Pass Sports Bar and the food was delicious. I highly recommend the salmon! This two level sports bar features a 75-foot flat-panel TV where you can watch your favorite sporting events. If you’re a sports fan, this is your dream spot to watch your favorite team! When it comes to dining, Covid has changed things temporarily at the Gaylord Rockies. They normally have a wide variety of food and restaurants to choose from like a steak restaurant, Italian restaurant or an Asian restaurant, but unfortunately these are temporarily closed. However you can still find everything you need at the sports bar, Rockies Marketplace which sells tons of quick snacks or grab and go items or Arapahoe Springs Bar & Grill which is where you can get all of the food poolside.
The pool was a ton of fun and like I said, we spent most of our time there. I highly recommend if you have the budget, rent a cabana! We had one all day and it was so nice to have a shaded location to sit in between pool time. If you have a cabana they bring you a fruit plate and an ice bucket filled with some drinks and a wait service that is amazing. Cabana or not, the pool area offers a ton of shaded seating, umbrellas, lounge chairs, etc!
They have plenty of activities to do during your stay other than the pool. During the summer they offer the Colorado Explorer Scavenger Hunt which as you explore the hotel with your scavenger hunt book you’ll learn about Colorado’s unique plants, animals, history and landmarks. It’s a super fun and educational activity to do with the kids! They also offer lawn games such as corn hole and giant jenga, or you can do outdoor activities including tennis, mini golf, basketball, biking and disc golf. There’s tons to do at the Gaylord Rockies, it’s such a great spot for families with kids of all ages!
Traveling during Covid, whether it’s a staycation or a destination vacation can cause a lot of fear and uncertainty for some. My review of the hotel in this respect is that the staff did everything they could to make the guests feel clean and safe. After every guest at the front desk they would clean down everything before speaking with the next guest, they had a pool intermission throughout the day for the staff to clean the pool and everyone was wearing a mask while inside. Masks of course were not required in or around the pool, but because of lowered capacity it felt safe and socially distanced.
We met a couple who had traveled to Colorado to visit the Gaylord Rockies and the wife said she was able to mentally detach from Covid for a bit since they were keeping everything so clean and she felt safe. That’s truly a blessing during these uncertain times, for people to mentally escape all that is going on in the world for a bit and feel normal, while still being safe for themselves and others. We also felt safe, we never for one moment felt like the stay wasn’t worth it due to Covid changes, and we also never felt unsafe due to people not taking it seriously. It was a perfect balance.
Overall I’d absolutely recommend staying at the Gaylord Rockies!! We had such a wonderful time and will cherish these memories forever. It’s a great destination vacation location or great for a staycation if you’re lucky enough to live close by like us!
