The Gaylord Texan Resort has unveiled plans for its upcoming $120 million resort expansion. The project is being completed by property owners Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc., a lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets.
The expansion will add 303 guest rooms to the resort’s current 1,511 room inventory and will add 86,000 sf of carpeted meeting space, bringing the total meeting space to approximately 490,000 sf. Once the expansion is complete, it will be one of the top three largest non-gaming convention center hotels in the United States as measured by total self-contained exhibit and meeting space.
An addition to the existing resort property, the new space will feature a contemporary take on the existing Gaylord Texan design. Keeping to Gaylord’s regionally inspired architecture and décor, the expansion will be called The Vineyard Tower; with its meeting rooms inside named after the many wine growing regions of Texas.
The meeting space will feature a separate ground floor entrance along the main drive of the hotel, as well as a ground floor terrace. On the second floor, there will be a large outdoor terrace overlooking the magnificent Lake Grapevine.
Rustic and refined, the first floor will offer generous prefunction space that is open to the second floor. The first floor also will have 30,000 sf of carpeted breakout space as well as a corridor to the existing portion of the resort.
The second floor is open to the ground floor through another expansive prefunction space, offering a total of approximately 26,000 sf of prefunction space over the first and second floor.
The second floor will also house the new 30,000-sf ballroom, named the Tate Ballroom in honor of Grapevine’s existing mayor, Mayor William D. Tate. The décor in the Tate Ballroom will pay tribute to the Texan Longhorn, which you can see in the glass-blown Longhorn antlers in the magnificent chandelier and wall lighting.
“Our company has always enjoyed a strong relationship with the City of Grapevine and its leaders, who shared in our vision for Gaylord Texan from day one,” said Colin Reed, chairman and chief executive officer of Ryman Hospitality Properties. “We appreciate Mayor Tate and the City Council’s support on this important step forward for the Texan and the City of Grapevine.”
The 300 guest rooms, located on six floors on top of the meeting space, will bring Gaylord Texan’s total room count to 1,814 rooms. The luxury guest rooms will complement the other resort rooms and feature luxurious bedding and furniture.
Gaylord Texan Resort’s expansion is already underway, and is currently booking meetings for the new space for the 2019 calendar year.