In 2019, my family planned a trip to Disney for Christmas 2020. My cousin was graduating college, my grandfather was retiring; this was our moment to celebrate those milestones, as well as, being together for the holidays. Everything was booked and ready to roll but unfortunately, we had to make that tough decision to cancel the trip because 2020 decided to go rogue. Christmas 2020 was hard not traveling or doing anything but I was determined that 2021 was going to be the year that we venture out and do something for Christmas.

While I wanted to go back to Disney for Christmas, I began to research other places. We went to Gaylord Opryland in Nashville for Christmas in 2018 (look at their little faces) and absolutely fell in love with the property during the holiday season.

Having been to Opryland for our 4th Anniversary and then again when our son was 2 months old, we weren’t unfamiliar with its beauty but didn’t realize how gorgeous it turned during the holidays. Contemplating on going back to Opryland, when I typed in Gaylord on the Marriott Bonvoy app, a list of other Gaylord properties populated. I was in shock because I had no idea that there were other Gaylord Resorts. There are a total of five: The one in Nashville, one in Maryland, one in Florida, one in Texas, and one in Colorado. Having never been to Colorado I instantly knew I wanted to spend Christmas at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado where the Christmas festivities began November 19, 2021, and ended January 2, 2022.

Departing on Christmas Eve Eve, we set out to the airport in our full Covid gear.

TRAVELING WITH KIDS:

Tests were taken the day before we departed just so we could keep track of our status over the 10 days we’d be gone. [The second part of our trip we went to Tampa, Florida for a flag football national championship game so I had Covid tests scheduled at Walgreens in each state.] I stocked up on Lysol wipes, airborne, vitamin C, zinc, hand sanitizer, KN95 masks (from target and amazon before the price gouging happened), and snacks for the children. We decided that the boys would have their carry-on suitcases and a backpack to keep their games, tablets, light jackets, gloves, extra wipes, extra masks, and sanitizer handy.

HOW WAS THE FLIGHT:

As our first flight during a Covid surge [we flew in May but the virus wasn’t doing what Omicron has been doing the last few weeks], it was a little overwhelming trying to make sure masks were on properly, face shields weren’t falling down, that they weren’t randomly touching things, all while trying not to have a Kevin McCallister moment in the airport. [Cole couldn’t sleep the night before our flight because he was afraid we’d forget him and he’d be home alone for the holidays. Ha!] By the time we arrived at the Denver airport, I was out of breath only to step outside and lose more air. Not only is Colorado stunning but the altitude wastes no time letting you know you aren’t in the south anymore. At the time there isn’t a shuttle from the airport available for this resort but it was easy to find a Lyft driver. It was a very quick drive from the airport to the resort and pulling up to the property, you feel like you’ve arrived at a castle. It took us 2 days to realize what we thought we’d seen wasn’t the entire property. It’s a large resort with a lot of activities for the family outside of the holiday activities you have to pay for prior to your arrival.

COVID POLICIES:

As Marriott members, we’ve stayed at a few Marriott properties during the pandemic. Whether for staycations or a skip to another nearby city just to break up the monotony and I have always felt like they ensure the protocols are upheld. One of the things that brought me great comfort while we were there, and considering how packed it was, was how often I saw employees cleaning frequently touched surfaces. There were employees handing out masks when you walked into certain parts of the resort as well as hand sanitizing stations all over the resort, inside and outside. There were people cleaning the elevators, the escalators, the doors, and counters. While most guests followed the mask requirement while inside, there were some who did not which was disappointing but not surprising considering what we’ve learned in the last two years.

WHAT DID YOU DO:

Aside from drooling over the view of the mountains from our room, over the course of 5 days, we enjoyed the following activities: The Snow Merry Go Round, Brunch with Charlie Brown, MISSION Save Christmas featuring ELF which, if you love the movie ELF, you’ll love this event, a Scavenger Hunt (which was much harder than we anticipated it would be), Snowdrift Mini Golf, Snow Tubing, and Mrs. Claus Christmas Tradition where she read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and we received milk and cookies. Naturally, I scheduled that event for Christmas Eve ;) Those were the events we had to pay for and reserve our time slots prior to our arrival.

The view from our room. NOTE: Mountain View Rooms are offered at a higher rate than a standard room.

Each day you get armbands for the other amenities available on the property which include the 2 heated indoor pools with two water slides, 2 hot tubs (one for adults only outside), a Heated Outdoor pool, Heated Lazy river, Basketball, Mini Golf, Table Tennis, Tennis, and they have a game room. There is a resort fee per day and this fee covers these amenities. During our stay, they also had “chocolate hour” which is similar to happy hour (only available for a few hours each day) but with full-size chocolate bars in a bowl, at the check-in counter, in the lobby. There is also a virtual Wildlife Rescue where you download an app, scan the QR codes found on the floor throughout the hotel, and the animal listed on the QR code description will “appear.” We took a lot of pictures with the different animals we “found” which was a very exciting hunt for the boys.

DID YOU EAT:

Every morning we had a buffet breakfast at Vista Montagne, for lunch we would hop over to Mistletoe Village (holiday season) or the Rockies Marketplace for some grab and go meals which were usually burgers or pizza, snacks were at the Auntie Annies/Cinnabon pop up in Mistletoe Village, and we ate dinner each night at the Mountain Pass Sports Bar which was the perfect spot to watch all of the college football bowl games. Scott and I had dinner one night at Old Hickory Steakhouse where the food sizes were much bigger than we anticipated. He got the Ribeye Cowboy cut which exceeded his expectations and raised his future expectations, and I got the Braised Beef Short Rib which I’m still dreaming about the flavor. Most places are working off a limited menu so while the variety is there if you’re a picky eater, the burger life might get old pretty quickly.

Currently, Gaylord Rockies is doing Winterfest where the available activities differ from what was available during the holiday season. If you’re thinking of planning a trip from now until the end of February, expect some different offerings as well as the closure of the lazy river for the season.

COVID TESTING:

Before we left, my oldest and I took a free covid test at Aurora Center for Active Adults - Del Mar. I prefer the PCR tests over the rapid tests and this location administered the PCR test. We were in line for about 90 minutes. You scan a QR code from the car which will prompt you to register your information in order to receive your test results. While the line was very long, it wasn’t a stand-still line which was good. They walk up to the car, swab your nose, and that’s it! You’re done. We received our results in 48 hours. Usually, I do the PCR test at Walgreens but the test I had scheduled at Walgreens in Aurora, when we arrived, they said the system that prints their Covid paperwork was down. So I had to quickly google free covid tests in Denver and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment website came up and I was able to find an available location.

FAREWELL:

At the end of the trip my oldest, who did his share of complaining during our family vacation to Disney during the summer, said this trip was better than Disney. Now while Disney carries a special place in my heart and I don’t think the two can be compared, I will say this trip, for the holiday season, is one I would absolutely do again and bring our other family members along for the experience.

A Holiday Adventure: Visiting Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center