Venue/Lodging
updated
26Feb09
VENUE & LOCAL: F2C will convene at the AFI Silver Theatre, a short walk from the Silver Spring Metro station. The Silver Spring Metro is six stops from Washington, D.C., Union Station on the Red Line. Interactive Map of Washington Metro here. See driving and parking directions here. AFI Silver is the newly restored theatre complex of the American Film Institute.
GETTING THERE: Washington DC has Amtrak and three major airports. National (DCA) is the most convenient, and it is right on the Metro. Dulles (IAD) and Baltimore Washington (BWI) are each about 32 miles away, and less expensive to fly into because they are served by discounters like JetBlue (IAD) and Southwest (BWI). Dulles is best for international flights. There’s a Hertz local office about four blocks from the F2C venue, and I’ve had mixed, but generally good luck with one way rentals.
LODGING NEARBY: There are four hotels within walking distance of the F2C venue, a Hilton, a Crowne Plaza. a new Hampton Inn and a Marriott Courtyard.
UPDATE 26Feb09: Here’s the latest on the Hampton Inn, Silver Spring.
a) Don’t call the manager. Instead call 800-HILTONS (800-445-8667) and ask for the Freedom to Connect rate at the Hampton Inn in Silver Spring. It should still be just under $180 a night.
b) There are equivalent rates for Monday and Tuesday on the Hilton Website (once you figure in the taxes). But there are BETTER RATES for Saturday and Sunday nights. (Hat tip to David Weinberger for spotting this!)
It still looks like the Hampton Inn is still the best deal within walking distance of F2C. That’s where I am staying.
UPDATE 6Feb09: The manager of the brand new Hampton Inn, about one block from the conference, has offered us a special rate of $159 plus tax, or about $180 total, per night. This is probably at least $50 better than anything nearby. TO GET THIS RATE YOU MUST CONTACT THE MANAGER:
Aloysious
Cory Phillips, Sales Manager
Hampton Inn Silver Spring
Phone: 301-563-3843
Fax: 301-588-1841
Email: aloysious.phillips@hilton.com
If you’re after “budget,” about 1.5
miles away there’s a little cluster with a Day’s Inn, a Ramada,
and
a Quality
Inn. You can use hotels.com
or similar to reserve a specific hotel. (I have had good luck using Priceline and Hotwire in the Washington DC area.
These yield good accommodations at very deep discounts, but they do not
let you choose specific hotels. In my experience hotwire/priceline
hotels are often an easy walk from a Metro stop, and so is the F2C venue.)
