Accommodations

San Francisco's beautiful Hotel Nikko has been chosen as conference headquarters for our symposium. It is conveniently located in the heart of San Francisco. It is a short walk to the Financial District, shopping at Union Square, Chinatown and Moscone Center. The hotel is also a short street car, bus or cable car ride to Nob Hill, North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf.

The Hotel Nikko is an intimate hotel and was specially selected to offer an atmosphere to foster scientific exchange. We encourage participants to stay at the Hotel Nikko to fully enjoy the symposium format. A block of rooms has been set aside for registrants at a special Symposium rate of $219 per night for Deluxe King or Nikko 2 Double Bed rooms. All rates are subject to applicable State and local taxes (currently 14.065%).

Room types are available on a first come first serve basis. Please make your reservation directly with the hotel by phone (800-248-3308) and reference "UCSF Mass Spectrometry" 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 no later than July 24, 2009.

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.

Bart is available from both San Francisco Airport and Oakland Airport (via a shuttle). The Powell Street station is the BART stop nearest the hotel, which is located at 222 Mason Street. Information about BART schedules, fares and station locations can be found at the 511.org web site, which is listed as resource 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 Hotel Nikko website.

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

Parking

Parking is available to overnight guests of the hotel for a fee of $45 per 24 hours.

All of these garages are close to the hotel:

	Hotel Nikko Garage
     	Ellis and Mason Street 
      	Phone:  (415)394-1111	
      	Rates:	  $10 first hour or fraction thereof
			$4 for each additional half hour
			$45 maximum per day for hotel guests
      	Hours:	  24 hours

      	Ellis-O'Farrell Parking Garage	
      	123 O'Farrell Street 
	 Ellis O'Farrell Garage 
      	Phone:  (415)986-4800	
      	Rates:	Day Rate (5:30am-6:00pm)
			Mon-Sat   
			$ 2.50 first hour 
			$ 3.00 every additional hour 
			$27.00 Rate Cap over 8hrs
			$33.50 24hour maximum charge
			Sunday
			$ 6.50 Rate Cap over 2 hours
			$13.00	24hour maximum charge
			Evening Rate (6:00pm-5:30am)
			Mon-Sun		
			$ 2.50 first hour 
			$ 2.50 for additional hour
			$ 1.00 additional over 2hours
      	Hours:	 Sunday-Thursday	5:30am-1:00am
		       Friday-Saturday		5:30am-2:00am	

      	Downtown Center Garage	
      	325 Mason street (between Geary and O'Farrell Streets)
      	Phone:  (415)673-6757	
      	Rates:	  $ 7.50 per hour
			$29 Flat rate maximum 24hrs
			$15 Early Bird Special (in by 10am, out by 7pm)
      	Hours:	  24 hours

Public Transportation

As mentioned above, 511.org is a comprehensive San Francisco Bay Area travel guide and resource.

Sightseeing

The Hotel Nikko is located in the heart of downtown San Francisco. The hotel is approximately six walking blocks from the Moscone Convention Center, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, as well as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Symposium attendees may wish to attend a wide offering of cultural and theatrical events in the area. The Curran, Golden Gate and ACT theaters are located in the near vicinity of the hotel. The San Francisco Symphony, Opera and Ballet are located nearby as well. The Metreon and Westfield Shopping Center are also close to the hotel.

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.