Hotel Accommodations
Rice University has reserved blocks of rooms in two hotels near campus. The Hilton Houston Plaza Medical Center Hotel and the Houston Marriott Medical Center. Both hotels can be booked at $149 a night using the POLMETH group codes and must be booked on or before 6/29/2016.
Guests can make reservations to the Hilton here or by calling the 24 Hour Central Reservations Department at 1-800-445-8667 and asking for the group by the name PolMeth 2016 or the Group Code: POLM.
Guests can make reservations to the Marriott here or by calling Marriott Reservations Department at 800-228-9290 and providing the Mini-Hotel code: PSL.
On-Campus Accommodations
Conference attendees who elect to lodge on Rice campus will stay in the Will Rice college dorms (at a cost of $33 a night). Keys to the assigned rooms will be available for pickup on July 20th from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. and during the conference itself. Keys can be picked up at the registration table in the BRC.
Bed linens and towels will be provided by the dorms.
All keys must be returned by 11:00 AM on Sunday, July 24. Keys can be returned to the registration table in the BRC during the conference (July 21-23 between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM), or to 108 Herzstein Hall between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM on the Sunday after the conference (July 24). Failing to return the key will result in a $100-$500 fee, depending on the key.
Walking directions from the Will Rice dorms to the BioScience Research Collaborative building (the conference site) are available here.
A: Hilton Hotel B: Marriott Hotel C: Bioscience Research Collaborative (Conference Site) D: Rice Memorial Center (Dinner Location for 7/21) E: Will Rice College Dorm F: The Ginger Man Pub G: South College Residents Lot (Dorm Parking w/ Permit only) H: El Real Tex-Mex Restaurant (Women/Diversity Dinner)
Parking
Attendees who stay at the designated hotels can park at the hotel and must cover any associated fees for doing so. Parking is also available in the BRC underground garage at a rate of $11/day.
Those who are both driving to the conference and staying in the Will Rice Dormitory can park in the South College Residents Lot with a special permit; this permit must be requested from the registration desk when you receive your conference materials.
Places to Eat
Breakfast and lunch will be provided each day (7/21-7/23) at the conference. Additionally, dinner will be provided on 7/21. Dinner plans for the other days are the responsibility of attendees.
We encourage attendees to gather at The Ginger Man Pub for fun and fellowship on Thursday and Friday evening after the official conference activities have concluded. Chartered Rice University shuttle buses will run between the BioScience Research Collaborative building and The Ginger Man Pub from the time when conference activities have concluded until 12:30 AM on thee two evenings. The chartered shuttle can also be used to reach the other restaurants and bars centrally located in the Rice Village area. At other times, attendees can use the Rice Shuttle System to reach Rice Village. A route map is available here. Note that routes and service times vary by day of the week and that transfers may be needed.
Child Care
If you are interested in child care during the conference, we would like to help meet your needs.
If your child is already attending a Bright Horizons program and/or has access to back-up child care via Bright Horizons through your home institution, then it may be possible to arrange child care at a local Bright Horizons center. You will need to contact Bright Horizons directly in order to make the arrangements.
It may also be possible to locate a local sitter via SitterCity (https://www.sittercity.com/) or the Motherhood Center (http://www.motherhoodcenter.com/babysitting/).
If you have questions or would like additional assistance, please contact Justin Esarey (justin@justinesarey.com).
