Accommodations and Travel
The housing deadline for the conference is July
24, 2014
Location and Housing
Housing
Form
Airport
Transfers
The Conference will be held at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California (near Monterey). The address for the hotel is: 800 Asilomar Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. Click here to visit the Asilomar Conference Grounds online. The conference will open on
Sunday evening, August 24 with the Opening Remarks and
Plenary Session at 4:45 pm and end on Thursday, August 28
at approximately 1:00 pm. The PI meeting will follow
lunch on Thursday and conclude at 4:00 pm.
This 107 acre protected coastal state park is located right on the Monterey Peninsula. With miles of trails that lead you along the beautiful coastline as well as through the park, it is the perfect environment in which to learn, share research and meet with colleagues. Daytime weather in October is near 70 degrees with nighttime temperatures in the 50s.
The Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY) is just 8 miles from Asilomar, while Mineta San Jose International (SJC) is 80 miles to the North and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is 110 miles to the North.
The airports in San Jose and San Francisco are served by the Monterey Airbus (http://www.montereyairbus.com/), an airport shuttle service that can bring travelers right to Asilomar.
Accommodations
All Asilomar rooms have private baths and free Wifi. Most also have fireplaces. There are very few singles available. Requests for single rooms will be honored in the order received. All rates are per person and include meals, beginning with
Sunday dinner and concluding with Thursday lunch. No refunds are available for missed meals. Infants under age 2 years of age may stay in your room with no charge. Children from 3-12 years old are charged the special rate of
$374 provided there is triple or quadruple occupancy with one adult in the room. Otherwise, they pay regular rates. No pets are allowed on the grounds.
Housing Fee
(includes four nights accommodations and meals beginning with dinner on
Sunday, August 24 through lunch on Thursday, August 28)
Housing Form
The housing fee indicated below is per person.
EACH person requiring housing must complete the
Housing Form and send it to Asilomar with payment. If you select a double, triple or quad that means that you intend to share the room but DOES NOT automatically register that person for your room. Anyone sharing your room (including those registering as "Guests") MUST also register
for housing. Youths must be in a triple or quad to get the reduced rate. Please be sure that you and your roommate(s) list eachother on the registration form. If you do not request a specific roommate, one will be selected for you based on gender and room request.
UPDATE July 3 - ONLY STANDARD SINGLE/DOUBLE ROOMS ARE
AVAILABLE. ALL OTHER ROOMS ARE SOLD OUT
Room Type |
Single |
Double |
Triple |
Quad |
Youth (3-12 Years Old) |
Historic Asilomar |
$883 |
$584 |
$499 |
N/A |
$374 |
Standard Asilomar |
$997 |
$641 |
$537 |
$485 |
$374 |
Every attempt will be made to honor your housing request. Due to Asilomar room
inventory, it may be necessary to move you to a different rooming category. You will be charged accordingly.
For any questions regarding housing, please contact
Vivian Garcia at 831/642-4213 or via e-mail at
Garcia-Vivian@aramark.com.
Room
Types
Asilomar Conference Grounds has two types of rooms,
Historic and Asilomar rooms. Historic rooms are a bit smaller and
will only accommodate a maximum of three people.
Standard Asilomar rooms can accommodate up to four people.
For more complete room descriptions, please visit:
http://www.visitasilomar.com/accommodations.aspx
Housing Cancellations
Asilomar Conference Grounds will provide you with a full
refund, minus a $100 administrative fee per person if you cancel
by June 24, 2014. No refunds can be made for
cancellations received on or after June 25, 2014.
Check-in
Check-in begins at 4:00 pm on Sunday, August 24 in the Administration Building.
Guests must be checked out of their rooms by 11:00 am on
Thursday, August 28, 2014.
Guests
Guests are those who will not be participating in the conference but want to attend a meal or meals. Guests who will be staying at Asilomar also need to register for
housing which includes all meals with the exception of the wine and cheese reception and banquet. They can purchase those tickets individually, in advance, through the registration form. All Guests should complete their own registration form. Guests NOT staying at Asilomar but who would like to participate in meals
and other social events should also register separately. Please note, Guests will not be permitted in any
scientific sessions including the poster sessions.
Meals
If you plan to attend the conference but will not be staying at Asilomar, you must purchase a meal plan for
$350. The meal plan includes dinner on
Sunday, August 24 through Lunch on Thursday, August 28.
Please indicate your meal preference for the banquet on the registration form. On
Thursday, August 28, box lunches will be available for those who reserve them in advance. Please indicate on the registration if you would like a box lunch instead of eating in the dining hall.
Telephone and Mail
There are no phones in the rooms. The address and phone
number is c/o 15th
International Xenopus Conference, Asilomar Conference Center, PO Box 537, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, Phone (831) 372-8016, Fax: (831) 372-7227.
Roommate Bulletin Board
An
electronic bulletin board is available
to facilitate finding a roommate. Registrants can post messages regarding what type of roommate they are looking for (male or female to share a double, triple or quad) and the participants will respond directly to the registrant.
If an attendee would like to bring a guest, they guest MUST fill in a housing reservation form and indicate their roommate on the form. Please be sure that both people indicate each other as roommates. The guest does not need to pay a meeting registration fee if they are not attending the meeting.
Roommate Bulletin Board
Ground Transportation
No matter where you're coming from,
it's easy to get to Asilomar from area highways, as well as
numerous airports. The Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) is
just 8 miles from Asilomar, while Mineta San Jose
International (SJC) is 80 miles to the North and San
Francisco International Airport (SFO) is 110 miles to the
North. The airports in San Jose and San Francisco are also
served by the
Monterey Airbus, an airport shuttle service that can
bring travelers right to our door.
Letters of Invitation
For security purposes, letters of invitation can only be sent to individuals that have registered for the meeting. After you have registered, you will be given a link to generate a letter of invitation. If you have any questions, please contact
sbrown@genetics-gsa.org.
Visa & Passport Information
As part of security procedures, applications for visas are sent to the U.S. State Department for a security review. For further information, visit the State Department Web site at http://travel.state.gov/visa. You can also visit the "International Visitors Office" Web site at http://www.nationalacademies.org/visas.
International Visitors
Visitors traveling to the United States from all countries (including the visa waiver countries) are required to register personal details online at least three (3) days in advance of travel. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), is a free, automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States. It collects the same information as the paper I-94W form you usually complete enroute to the United States. ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel. An ESTA authorization generally will be valid for up to two years. DHS recommends that travelers submit an ESTA application as soon as they begin travel plans. Click here for further details.
VISAS
Meeting attendees are advised to apply for a visa as early as possible (at least three months before visa is needed). Registration refunds will not be issued for denied visas. As part of security procedures, applications for visas are sent to the U.S. State Department for a security review. For further information, visit the State Department Web site. We advise scientists traveling to the United States to apply for a visa as early as possible (at least six months before the visa is needed). Please check with your local U.S. consulate or embassy to find out the earliest that you may apply for a visa. For further information and a list of your local US embassy (or consulate), please click here.
To assist you with the Visa application process:
- Apply for visa at least six (6) months in advance. For countries that are on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, the State Department suggests applying for a visa six (6) to eight (8) months in advance.
- Provide your entire trip itinerary, including travel to any countries other than the United States, at the time of visa application.
- If completion of travel plans is contingent upon early approval of the visa application, specify this at the time of the application.
- Provide proof of scientific status. For example, proof that you submitted an abstract for the meeting. Do not wait until you receive notification that your abstract has been accepted before applying for a visa. It is very rare that an abstract is denied. If your abstract followed the rules and guidelines, it will be programmed.
- Provide meeting Web site and copy of your letter of invitation.
- Provide evidence that you are intending to return to your country of residence. This includes such things as:
- family ties in current country of residence
- property ownership
- bank account
- an employment contract or statement from employer showing that position will continue after the dates of the meeting
- Requirements vary by passport-issuing country and citizenship (not merely residency).
- Click HERE to download a “step by step” outline of today’s U.S. visa procedures.
NOTE: Some consulates may have backlogs in scheduling visa interviews so applicants should first contact the consulate to determine what wait times for interviews are. Click
here for visa wait times.
VISA Problems
For applications that have not been approved 30 days after the interview you should complete an online questionnaire. You will be asked to name the meeting (Mouse Molecular Genetics) and explain the purpose of your visit. Click
here for visa wait times.
Visa Waiver Program (VWP): The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. To learn more about the VISA Waiver Program,
click here.
USA Visa Policy Resources – click here.
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