Travel & Accommodation
Photo by: istargazer on Flickr
Getting Here
Note to Attendees from the U.S.: As of June 1, 2009, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires all U.S. citizens to have a passport or other approved travel documentation to re-enter the States.
Vancouver’s International Airport is a major destination serviced by most major airlines.
From the Airport - Taxi
Taxi from the airport to downtown hotels will cost approximately $40Cdn.
From the Airport - Shuttle
While none of the official conference hotels offer direct shuttle service, another option is the Airporter Shuttle bus. It departs every 30 minutes from both the International and Domestic terminals, and is substantially cheaper than a taxi. Officially, the closest stop to the main conference hotels would be the Hotel Vancouver, 1 block from each, though the driver may let you off directly at your hotel if asked.
Conference Venue
The conference will be held at UBC’s Robson Square facility on Robson Street in between Howe and Hornby.
Accomodation
The Open Education Conference has negotiated conference rates at the hotels listed below. In all cases, to receive the conference rate mention that you are with the “Open Education” conference.
The Metropolitan
(Main conference hotel)
645 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 2Y9
http://www.metropolitan.com/vanc/
Map: http://tinyurl.com/54mz77
Reservations: 1-800-667-2300
Conference Rate: $187 Cdn - Must Reserve by June 30, 2009
(Mainstream hotel is less than a 3 minute walk from conference location at Robson Square)
Le Soleil
(Secondary Boutique hotel near Robson Square)
567 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 2E8
http://www.lesoleilhotel.com/
Map: http://tinyurl.com/54nong
Reservations: 1-877-632-3030
(Boutique hotel a 2 block walk from conference location at Robson Square)
The Sylvia Hotel
(Historic Hotel on waterfront)
1154 Gilford Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 2P6, Canada
Map: http://tinyurl.com/3rh3xd
Reservations: 1-604-681-9321
Conference Rate: $169-$189 Cdn - Must Reserve by July 10th, 2009.
(Hotel is about a 25 minute walk or 10 minute cab ride to conference location, BUT…it’s located right on English Bay, a gorgeous spot!)
910 Beach Apartment Hotel(Suite hotel, great for families)
910 Beach Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2W7 Canada
Map: http://tinyurl.com/8459rj
Conference Rate: $169 (Junior Suite - sofa bed in same room) $209 (One bedroom suite - separate master bedroom.) No deadline, but rooms available on first come first served basis.
To obtain the conference rate, email the Sales Manager, Ethel Wan-Sharp at sales@910beach.com or call her at (604) 609-5100 extension 3002 and ask for the “‘UBC Robson Square Rate’ for August”
(This hotel is a 15 minute walk or short cab ride from the conference location, but we’re including it as a reasonably inexpensive “suites hotel” option for people travelling with families who may apartment-style accomodation want cooking facilities and additional bedrooms)
