Six gaylord resorts across the U.S are GaylorD resort, according to . S S. The next places are Nashville, Kissimmee; Florida and Aurora in Colorado (Gravine), Texas & National Harbor at Maryland — Chula Vista of California.

Each location has the required guest rooms, pools and fitness centers that you’d expect from a Gaylord resort — it’s not just hôtel-based; it’s more than.

In years I’ve been to a number of Gaylord locations and can be confirmed that there is so much food and fun that I have spent all weekends visiting the resort without ever leaving the property.

What do you want to know before you go so you can make the most of your trip, save a little money and fully embrace Gaylord experience?

Here are six tips to keep top of mind when planning a stay at a Gaylord resort.

It’s more than a hotel: It’s a destination

Cypress Springs Water Park at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

Gaylord resorts are designed to celebrate the culture, heritage and natural landscape of their location.

Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida, for example You’ll be watching local flora and fauna including gators – at the resort’s 4-acre (4.5 km) length of its 4,500 acres. Life size sailboat 5-acre glass atrium and eat fresh seafood in a life-size sail boat.

Gaylord Palms guest room with Florida artwork. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

Meanwhile, at Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, the resort’s massive atrium has replicas of Lone Star State landmarks such as the Alamo and San Antonio River Walk.

Every resort is a unique one-word theying, but there’s something that all the resorts share in common You can spend hours walking the meandering paths of the beautiful signature atriums as you visit caves, waterfalls and gardens.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

There are also so many shopping, dining and entertainment options that you may forget to leave the hotel during your stay at those atriums in and around those Atrium.

At each Gaylord resort there are several restaurants Pizza joints, sports bars and fine-dining places on a date night basis. The Cocoa Bean coffee shop, which serves a full Starbucks menu, also provides you with your morning caffeine fix.

Between meals, you can buy souvenirs with local flair, go to the full-service spa, swim at the pool or water park and participate in seasonal holiday activities.

You can book with (or earn) Marriott Bonvoy points

Since Gaylord resorts are under the Marriott umbrella of brands, they participate in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. If you can earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for stays at any Gaylord hotel, that’s what it means to do so.”

Points prices vary depending on the date and room type, just as if you paid cash. Gaylord hotels generally cost about $300 or 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. While the rates for a night are generally more than $200 or 32,000 points, you can sometimes get it as low as your dates go with flexible terms but at holidays and special events nights prices can rise above $500 or 60,000 points.

Related: Best Marriott credit cards

Gaylord hotels also provide perks for members of Marriott Bonvoy, which is also offered additional sex. Gold elite and above Silver Elite members receive a points bonus (subject to availability) as well as Gold Elite memberships who also enjoy ‘free room upgrade’.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

Marriott Bonvoy members are often able to get exclusive offers such as bonus points and room and ticket discounts when you visit one of Gaylord’s seasonal events. Visit hotel’s “Special Offers” page to see current deals for .

Related: The complete guide to earning Marriott elite status with credit cards

If you earn Marriott elite status, it requires at least 10 qualifying stays per year but with some cards you can fast-track your way to Marriott Elite status to enjoy some of the benefits that come in. Card cards such as the American Express Platinum Card® and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American express® Card will automatically give you automatic elite status (enrollment is required)

Rooms with an atrium view are worth the added cost

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

A large number of Gaylord hotels have balconies overlooking the atrium. Other exceptions include the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, which provides select rooms with mountain views, and Gaylad Pacific Resort (which also offers options for both mountain and bay view rooms).

At the time of booking, you’ll have to reserve an atrium-view room so that you can be able wake up to views of the peaceful indoor gardens below.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center pricing. MARRIOTT

A typical nightly room atrium-view rooms cost between $70 and $100 more than regularrooms; this is where the free room upgrade for Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite members and above enters play.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

There is no guarantee that an upgrade will be available, but if you are willing to risk it, you can book a standard room and cross your fingers and toes for an atrium-view room upgrade. A call at one of the day or two before check-in may be helpful for making the request by phone and if you have an employee who is a customer service agent add ‘a note on your reservation’.

There are special offers to take advantage of

When looking for extra perks or discount rates, check the hotel’s website and social networking page for special deals. The offer varies depending on location and time of year, but you can get up to 50% off packages with rooms and tickets to special events (such as Gaylord’s signature holiday event, “Ice!”)

“Pomp, Snow & Cirquemstance” show at Gaylord Opryland. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

A few other specials may include free breakfast, daily resort credits, spa treatments or water park access (the latter is only applicable at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center where water parks are not included in the cost of your stay).

Each resort has a year-round water park or pool

Cypress Springs Water Park at Gaylord Palms. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

Speaking of water parks, each Gaylord resort has an on-site pool or water park that is open year-round.

There are outdoor water parks in Gaylord Texan, gaylorD Palms and Gaylad Pacific; Gayld hotels not in states where the temperatures are conducive to being outside any time of year have indoor-outdoor water park or pools that can be enjoyed no matter the season.

Related: Hotels with the best lazy rivers to beat the heat and float away

Some of the best hotel water parks around Gaylord are Gaylad water Parks, except Gaylaned National Resort & Convention Center which has only one indoor pool and an outdoor sundeck. You’ll get big splash structures for kids, lazy rivers, slides, pools and more.

Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center. MARRIOTT

Gaylord Opryland’s water park is only open to gaylorn Opry, with a separate entrance fee. For example, if you’re at this resort, you have to book a package that includes water park admission so as not to pay the extra fee when you arrive. Every other Gaylord property has water park admission, which is included in the cost of your stay.

Holidays are especially fun times to visit

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

During one of the brand’s seasonal events, when you go to a Gaylord hotel and your schedule allows for it, you’ll get the most out of your time.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

During the winter holiday, you can build gingerbread houses, take photos with Santa, visit the Christmas trees and decorations in the atrium, participate in wintertime activities such as ice skating and snow tubing (and even go to a festive walk-through experience made entirely of Ice that’s called “Ice!”

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

Over 6,000 blocks of ice expertly carved into beloved scenes and characters from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Elf” and more, your favorite holiday stories are brought to life with Ice!. There are several rooms of different scenes and each location has interactive elements for memorable photo ops and a two-story slide made of ice.

Ice! at Gaylord Palms. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

The halloween ushers in Halloween costumes are adorned with lots of spooky (but kid-appropriate) activities, such as trick-or-treating and monster dance parties. During Easter, you can meet the Easter bunny and participate in a spring-themed scavenger hunt.

The fun time is also a part of Summer, as the Gaylord properties host showcasing hero-themed activities for children at ‘DC Summer’.

Alligator Springs at Gaylord Palms. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

If you can’t survive one of these special events, there is always a schedule around the resort such as atrium light shows, movie nights, animal encounters, scavenger hunts and more. At the front desk, you can request an activities schedule but most likely will be in a QR code in the lobby or your guest room with ‘link to see the calendar for your visit.

Bottom line

The fun We’ve shared almost everything you need to know in order to plan a perfect Gaylord resort stay, but there’s one thing we can’t say is the best part of it. It’s up to you, but luckily Gaylord makes it easy with lots of fun and delicious dining and beautiful scenery. It’s only you, the one thing that is missing most about paraphrasing.

Thanks for reading 6 things to know before you visit a Gaylord resort