Accommodations

San Francisco's elegant Fairmont Hotel has been chosen as conference headquarters for our symposium. It is located high on Nob Hill on the corner of California and Mason Streets. It has a beautiful view of the city and is a short cable ride to the Financial District, shopping at Union Square, Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf.

The Fairmont is an intimate hotel and was specially selected to offer an atmosphere to foster scientific exchange. We encourage participants to stay at the Fairmont Hotel to enjoy fully the symposium format. A block of rooms has been set-aside for registrants at a special Symposium rate.

Fairmont Symposium rates (per night) are as follows:

      $179   Moderate Room
      $219   Fairmont Queen or Fairmont 2 BD
      $239   Fairmont King
      $259   Fairmont Deluxe

Room types are available on a first come first serve basis. Please make your reservation directly with the hotel by phone (800-441-1414), fax (415-772-5086) and reference "Mass Spectrometry Symposium" to receive the discounted rate. We strongly recommend that you make your reservations immediately because the number of rooms is limited. Reservations must be made by July 19, 2007.

Airport-Hotel Transportation

Door-to-door shuttle service is available for both San Francisco International (SFO) and Oakland International (OAK) airports from SuperShuttle as well as other shuttle carriers (see links below).

For SuperShuttle, No reservations are necessary from SFO; cost is $15 per person. Shuttles are available 24 hours a day. For OAK, reservations are necessary. Please check the SuperShuttle website for more information.

Taxi service is also available. For 3-5 people, a taxi may be more economical (From SFO: $32 - $40 depending on destination, $2.00 exit fee added to trips originating at SFO). Taxis depart all terminals from the Baggage Claim level outside at the Center Island zone. Taxis should be available at all hours.

While Bart is available from both San Francisco Airport and Oalkland Airport (via a shuttle), there are no Bart stops near the hotel. One could take Bart to the Embaradaro stop and then take the Cable Car up to the Fairmont Hotel (see Public Transportation below).

For more information:

San Francisco International Airport Transportation Services
Oakland International Airport Shuttles, Limos & Taxis
511.org - a comprehensive San Francisco Bay Area travel guide

Driving Directions

Easy Driving directions can be found on the Fairmont Hotel website.

511.org, a SF travel resource is also an excellent resource for directions and other modes of transportation.

Parking

All of these garages are close to the hotel:

      Fairmont Hotel Garage
      Powell and California Street 
      Phone:  (415) 772-5223	
      Rates:  $4.00 each 20 minutes
              $45.00 maximum per day
      Hours:  24 hours

      Masonic Garage	
      Masonic Auditorium	
      1101 California Street  
      Phone:  (415) 474-1567	
      Rates:  $8.00 per hour
              $30.00 Flat rate maximum 
	      $11.00 Early Bird Special (in by 10, out by 6)
      Hours:  24 hours
      Parking Spaces: 500	

      Grace Cathedral Garage	
      1051 Taylor Street 
      Phone:  (415) 346-9156	
      Rates:  $2.50 Every 20 minutes
      	      $27.00 Flat rate maximum
	      $11.00 Early Bird Special (in by 10, out by 6)
      Hours:  5:30AM - Midnight, Mon - Thurs	
	      6:00AM - 2:00AM, Friday and Saturday

Public Transportation

As mentioned above, 511.org is a comprehensive San Francisco Bay Area travel guide and resource. A few routes that have stops close to the Fairmont Hotel are:

The California Street Cable Car stops at California and Taylor.

The 1 California bus stops at Sacramento and Jones (westbound) or Clay and Taylor, one block north (eastbound).

The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason Cable Cars stop at Powell and California, two blocks east.

The 27 Bryant bus stops at Leavenworth and California, one block west (northbound) or Hyde and Sacramento, two blocks west (southbound).

All of the above lines connect with Market Street buses, streetcars, and subways, and with BART.

Sightseeing

The San Francisco Bay Area provides numerous attractions for visitors, including excellent sailing on the San Francisco Bay. Additionally, the Lake Tahoe Sierra resort area, the scenic Monterey-Carmel Peninsula and Big Sur, the California wine country, the redwood forest and the Mendocino coast are all within a few hours driving. Symposium attendees may wish to attend a wide offering of cultural and theatrical events in the area.

August weather generally is pleasant and dry, but can be variable.

Information regarding sightseeing and tours will be available at the Symposium. If you wish to obtain information prior to your trip, write to: San Francisco Visitor Information Center, 900 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103-2804, or call 415-391-2000, fax 415-362-7323, or visit their website, San Francisco Convention and Vistors Bureau.