Accomodations

Welcome to the University of Texas at Austin!  The state capitol is the center of Texas hipness, with enough odd corners to appeal to even the most off-beat of tastes, but Austin also provides the amenities of an established urban location.  Mixing underground beats with uptown culture, Austin fits right in with the theme of the American Studies Conference at UT.

Travel

If flying into Austin-Bergstrom Airport, you have several options to get into the heart of town.

Airport Flyer Shuttle service:  A bus service run by Austin’s Capital Metro System has a regular shuttle bus from the Airport to various locations in town, including a stop on the north side of campus.  The shuttle costs $0.50.  You can look at a schedule online at http://capmetro.org/riding/routes_100.asp.
Info for ground transportation, such as cabs, hired vehicles, and rental cars, can be found here. You can rent a car in advance to be picked up at the airport, or rent one at the counter when you arrive.

If you are driving into Austin and want better directions or tips than what mapquest can provide, don’t hesitate to email us!

Accommodations

Some members of the AMS community have graciously offered their homes and/or apartments to host student presenters. If interested, please make arrangements with us directly (our emails are below).

Individuals attending the conference will be responsible for arranging and paying for their own accommodations if they decline to stay with a student host.  Below are a couple of suggestions for those who are unfamiliar with Austin and Central Texas.

Disclaimer: Neither UT nor AMS are affiliated with nor responsible for these hotels, they are merely recommendations. Visit the Austin 360 hotlink or yelp.com for more general searches on the city.

Austin Folk House:
www.austinfolkhouse.com
Located on 22nd St. right across Guadalupe from campus.  Very charming, very local, bed-and-breakfast feel.  There is a 2-night minimum.  Read reviews on yelp.com.

Star of Texas Inn:
http://staroftexasinn.com
Owned by the same people as the Austin Folk House, and with a similar feel and price. It's actually just a little bit farther down 22nd street from the AFH.  Also on yelp.com.

Carrington's Bluff:
www.carringtonsbluff.com
An Austin Historical building and "writer's cottage."   Located on David St, close to the intersection of MLK and Lamar, within walking distance of campus.

Holiday Inn Downtown: 
Rates subject to change, but are easy to bid for on Priceline. 

A note on using priceline.com: you can place bids on accommodations that may get you significant discounts on high-end hotels.  For example, a room at the Hilton Austin that would normally go for $269/night went for $70 on priceline.com!  While there is no guarantee that you can save such giant amounts of money, it’s certainly worth a look.

Food:

There will be a light breakfast served that morning in the Lonestar Room where Registration and Check-In will take place. However, presenters will be on their own for lunchtime and dinner.  Fortunately, the Union has tons of both chain and independent restaurants.  Alternatively, stroll across Guadalupe and find pizza, Thai, sandwich and pita fare, and Mexican food, as well as coffee and whatever revolving door of funky Austin victuals are available.  Such mainstays as Kerbey Lane café, Austin’s Pizza, the Hole in the Wall, and Madam Mam’s are always a good bet.

If you’re more enterprising, see if your student host or other friendly UT students will take you out a little farther to some Austin legends, such as Stubb’s, County Line, Chuy’s, Shady Grove, or for those with the itch to travel, the Salt Lick.  There are plenty of great places to eat that are not as well-known, and chances are that UT students will be happy to take you there!

We hope you enjoy your time here in Austin.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or need assistance planning your trip!

Jeannette and Andrew
andrewfriendenthal@gmail.com
jvaught@mail.utexas.edu

Hospitality Coordinators