Gaylord offers world-class luxury just down the road

You and your significant other have finally carved out a few days to vacation together. You've decided you want to go to a waterfront resort with fine dining, pampering services, a fitness program and access to golfing, shopping and sightseeing.

Oh, and you don't want to spend all of your vacation time and money getting to and from your destination.

The Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor on the Potomac River can fulfill all those wishes. The resort is part of the 300-acre waterfront development at the junction of Interstates 95 and 495 (the Capitol Beltway), I-295 and the Potomac, and just six miles, as the bald eagle flies, to Washington.

After you're greeted at the entrance by an 85-foot corten steel sculpture by Albert Paley, called "The Beckoning," you head toward the resort, where your first view is of the 18-story, arched glass-enclosed atrium. The 2,000 pieces of glass weigh 500 pounds each and are supported by 50-ton white trusses. Anyone familiar with the other Gaylord properties -- Gaylord Palms in Florida, Gaylord Texan in Texas and Gaylord Opryland in Tennessee -- will recognize the iconic glass atrium that soars over nearly small forest of trees and plants, dazzling water displays and cozy seating areas. A life-size recreation of a Federalist-style clapboard farmhouse and a two-story red-brick Colonial mercantile shop are also in the atrium and serve as boutiques.

The resort has 2,000 guest rooms, including 110 suites, and 470,000 square feet of meeting, convention and exhibit space, making it the largest non-casino facility of its type on the Eastern seaboard. There's also a 25-meter indoor pool (in the atrium, of course), adding to the footprint. Yet, the complex follows many green measures to improve energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction and air cleanliness.

With its Western orientation, you can see fantastic sunsets over the Alexandria skyline from the comfort of your balcony and several other prime locations on the property. If you don't want a balcony view, you can opt for a river or Maryland countryside view.

The Gaylord offers six dining options, from the National Pastime (a quick-service sports bar with a 30-foot hi-def video wall that's the official sports bar and grill of the Washington Nationals) to Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine (including sushi-sashimi creations).

A life-size statue of Babe Ruth, coiled as he hits a home run, stands in front of the National Pastime. Reportedly, a baseball will be installed in the overhead atrium glass, but even hotel officials are going to be kept in the dark about it. One day it will just be there. So, stand by the statue, follow the Babe's eyes and you may be the first to spot it.

There's also Pienza Italian Market, with its half-dozen stations for artisanal bread, antipasto, fresh produce, rotisseries and carvery, pasta and risotto, and a dolceria/sweet shop with made-in-house gelato.

For white linen service, it's dinner at the Old Hickory Steakhouse, the chain's signature restaurant. Wolfgang Birk is the executive chef and Carolyn Stromberg is the maitre d' frommage. When you decide it's time to try Kobe beef, this is the place to go. If you'd like to try some new cheeses, Stromberg will select a variety for you and tell you a little history about each. You can stop by her artesian cheese cave to admire the $8,000 or so worth of cheese in her collection.

Oh, there's also room service.

Heart of the harbor

The attractions of the Gaylord and National Harbor blend with and complement each other, so almost right outside the Gaylord's front door are other restaurants, including Potbelly's, Ben & Jerry's, Foster's Clambake, Sauciety and McCormick & Schmick.

Grace's Mandarin, Cake Love, Art Whino, Erwin Pearl, Govinda Gallery, Jake's at National Harbor, Harley-Davidson, Jos. A. Bank, Occasions to Remember and America! have opened or will be opening soon. Among the retail options at the Gaylord are Urban Chic, the Williamsburg Shop, Pajama Party, Strictly First Glass and the 24-hour Key Provisions for logo souvenirs and last-minute sundries.

Pose Ultra Lounge inhabits the 18th and 19th floors with infusion drinks and a view of the illuminated Washington Monument.

There are three marinas, one belonging to the Gaylord, so you can cruise to your destination. You can take advantage of the water taxi service to Alexandria or Georgetown (seasonal), take a river and sightseeing cruise aboard the Seadog, or enjoy a dinner cruise aboard the Odyssey or the Spirit of Washington.

You can even stroll along much of the 1-mile river bank with the moon reflecting off the waters.

The Relache spa measures in at 20,000 square feet with 12 treatment rooms, including a couples room with a floor-to-ceiling window wall for a Potomac River view. Services available include plenty of options for the tough guy. A well-equipped fitness center that's open 24 hours a day, providing options for strength and cardio work.

Arrangements have been made with the Tantallon Country Club in Fort Washington for Gaylord guests to play on the Ted Robinson-designed course. Challenge the par-3 No. 15 hole, with its three-tiered green, and be taken away by the view of the Washington Monument from the No. 16 tee bo.

The American Market, a blend of harvested and handcrafted wares, is held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from spring through mid-October. Organic produce, flowers and plants, baked goods and preserves will join a range of merchants and artisans, from vintners to glass blowers, performing artists and musicians to provide something for almost everyone.

As you wander the hotel's grounds and slip seamlessly into the rest of National Harbor, you're treated to a variety of public art pieces. Seward Johnson's "The Awakening" has been moved from Hains Point, where it has been on loan for about 30 years, and now welcomes climbers and admirers as a symbol of the awakening of this part of the river. Free Friday night concerts take place during the season in the area in front of the sculpture. Soaring above you, two eagles, created by Paley, represent George and Martha, the two bald eagles who entertained the Woodrow Wilson bridge workers.

Come this fall, Cirque du Soleil will erect its trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Capiteau (big top) at the Plateau at National Harbor and bring the traveling Kooza show to town from Oct. 30 to Nov. 16.

And, it's all within an hour's drive.

Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is south of the Washington Beltway (I-95/495) at exit 2A, along the Potomac River.

MetroBus NH-1 runs between the Southern Avenue Metro station and National Harbor every 20-30 minutes, seven days a week, from about 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Water taxis leave from Old Town Alexandria every half hour, and from Georgetown every three hours (Tuesday-Sunday) through Oct. 13.

www.gaylordnational.com

201 Waterfront St.

National Harbor, MD 20745

301-965-2000

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