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Local Venue is the Newport Beach Marriot Hotel: Updated 7

exterior view
Exterior of Marriot
interior view
Room at the Marriot

The primary venue for UBICOMP 2006 will be the Newport Beach Marriot Hotel & Spa. This hotel is located about 10 minutes from the University of California at Irvine (UCI) campus.

  • The rooms at this hotel are reserved at the rate of $129.00/night. The hotel should honor that rate for any UBICOMP attendees from 9/14 - 9/24 (9/15 is now full) 9/16-9/24, space permitting.
      Note: this low rate is guaranteed only until August 28. Please make your reservation before then, or you may be charged the standard hotel rate.
  • No hotel meals are included in this rate. (There is some food associated with the conference however)
  • Parking is not included in this rate. Parking is $16.00-$22.00 a night. All conference event transportation is being provided, including the shuttle to/from John Wayne airport. So as long as you can get to the hotel initially, a car is not strictly necessary.
  • Internet access is not included in the rate. Wired access in the rooms and wireless access in public spaces is $10.00/day. The conference areas will have wireless internet available for free during the conference.
  • To make a reservation by phone call 1-949-640-4000 or 1-800-228-9290:
    Two important points:
    1. Make sure you are making a reservation at the NEWPORT BEACH HOTEL & SPA in Newport Beach, California, USA. You will probably be routed to a national booking service that doesn't know the local area. There are other Marriot hotels in the area so the name is important.
    2. Use the code "UCI UBICOMP" (recommended by hotel) or "UBICOMP 2006" (worked in practice) to get the conference rate. The customer service people have trouble with both names, so spell them out for them if there is any confusion. Also, when using this booking code, you *are* making a reservation under a specially negotiated price. If it helps, the contract is associated with the "UCI UBICOMP" code and it is a "business" contract.
  • To make an online reservation follow this link (online registration) which will automatically insert the online registration code "ubiubia" for you.

An alternate possibility is to use the website Hotwire to find a hotel room in the area. This is public-commercial service, not specifically contracted to UBICOMP. Hotwire is generally a cheap alternative, but you do not know the specific hotel until after you have committed to using it. I recommend looking near zip code 92697, in areas labelled, "Costa Mesa - Irvine Area" and "Newport Beach - Huntington Beach". I also recommend only using hotels 3 stars and higher. Finally if you use this option you will also need a rental car to get around.

Another alternative is the Atrium Hotel. UBICOMP has not negotiated a deal with them, but they are frequently used by guests to UCI.

Airports for UBICOMP

airplane
Photo courtesy of Bruno Rodrigues
  • Orange County/Santa Ana/John Wayne - SNA

    The best airport to fly into for UBICOMP is the Orange County airport (code SNA). This airport is also called the Santa Ana airport and the John Wayne Airport. Map and Directions
    Hotel Direction: 5 mi SW
    Conference Hotel Shuttle Service is available from this airport
    Estimated taxi fare: $15 USD (one way)
  • Long Beach - LGB

    Map and Directions
    Hotel Direction: 25 mi SW
    Estimated taxi fare: $45 USD (one way)
  • Los Angeles - LAX

    Then the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
    Map and Directions
    Hotel Direction: 45 mi SW

    From General Chair:
    " While it's possible to take a cab from LAX to the hotel in Newport Beach, it's probably going to cost you $100 for that. A cheaper alternative (~$45) is the shared ride vans:
    http://www.lawa.org/LAX/srVans.cfm
    Or you can rent a car."

  • Ontario - ONT

    Finally there is the Ontario airport.
    Map and Directions
    Hotel Direction: 49 mi SW

Directions to UCI Campus

The University of California at Irvine campus is about 8 minutes from the conference venue by car.

Here is a Google map giving directions from the Newport Beach Marriot to campus.

Bus routes in Orange County

busstop.jpg
Photo courtesy of zongyaowen

Cars make getting around the O.C. a lot easier, but there are buses that can be used to get around town as well. The local bus website is located here. The 79 bus in particular will take you between the conference venue and campus. When making plans using the online trip planner, use "Fashion Island" as a landmark name for the conference hotel. Fashion Island is the name of the mall across the street.

Travel Arrangements for the Program Committee: Updated

Update: The information in this entry is for an event that was held 6/2/2006.

airplane
Photo courtesy of gwen

A block of 20 rooms has been reserved at the UCI contract rate at the Atrium Hotel for the Program Committee meeting. The rooms are being held until 5/26/2006, and they are blocked out for the nights of (Thursday) 6/1, (Friday) 6/2 and (Saturday) 6/3. You can book a room by calling 949-824-0247 1-800-854-3012, asking for "Reservations" and using the magic phrase "UBICOM PC MEETING" [sic]"UCI Informatics (UBIC)" to get the magic rate of $94.00 per room. The Atrium Hotel is located across the airport (walking distance, rental car not necessary). A shuttle runs from the hotel to the CalIT2 building on the UCI campus. Breakfast is included in this rate, taxes (~10%) are not. Self-parking is complimentary.

Any other questions, please contact the local arrangements chair.