Venue

AMAST 2008 will be held at the Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science, which houses the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Travel

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Willard Airport (CMI) is the closest airport to the conference venue, located several miles from the Siebel Center. It is served by American Airlines, with flights from Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth, and Northwest Airlines, with flights from Detroit.

Alternatively, you can fly to Chicago O'Hare and rent a car to drive to Champaign-Urbana, which takes about 2.5 hours.

Information about getting to your hotel from the local airport is listed below with each hotel.

Lodging: Hotels

Hampton Inn
1200 W. University
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone number: +1-217-337-1100
Participants need to CALL the HOTEL directly, the conference code is AMA, the rate is $99.00 plus tax. (50 rooms are blocked)
Map from Hampton Inn to Siebel Center

Information on getting from the airport to the hotel can be found on the hotel website.

Illini Union Hotel
1401 W. Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone number: +1-217-333-1243
Participants need to call (only way to make a reservation) and mention the room block for AMAST, the rate is $94.00 plus tax. (15 rooms are blocked)
Map from Illini Union Hotel to Siebel Center

The Illini Union Hotel does not operate a shuttle to the airport. It is possible to take a bus which stops close to the Illini Union, the Number 27 Air Bus. Take this bus to the Transit Plaza West Side stop on Wright Street. Fare information can be found below with other details on bus service in Champaign-Urbana; the route timetable for the Number 27 can be found on the CUMTD website, for Saturday, Sunday, or weekdays. It is also possible to take a cab from the airport to the hotel; more details can be found below.

Lodging: Student Residence Halls

Cheaper accomodation, in a student resident hall, is also available.

Illinois Street Residence Halls
Townsend Hall
918 W. Illinois Street
Urbana, IL 61801
or
Wardall Hall
1012 W. Illinois Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Participants need to reserve online here, the rate for a single room is $39.45, the rate for shared room is$25.65 per person. They take all major credit cards. (20 rooms are blocked, probably more available though)
Map from Illinios Street Residence Halls to Siebel Center

Directions for reaching the residence halls are similar to those for reaching the Illini Union Hotel. The residence halls are slightly further east of the bus stop, so it may make more sense to take a cab, depending on the amount of luggage you are bringing.

Taxi Services

Several local taxi companies can be used to get to and from the airport and to get around Champaign-Urbana. These include:

  • Yellow Cab, +1-217-351-0971
  • Checker Cab, +1-217-355-3553
  • Orange Taxi, +1-217-367-8888

There are also shuttle services, such as Lex Express, which are designed for groups. Note that it is not always cheaper to use such a service, and it can be slower, so it is best to ask for an estimate first.

Bus Service

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (CUMTD) operates a number of busses that run close to campus. Bus fare is $1.00 or one token; you can prepurchase 6 tokens for $5.00 on any bus before 7:00 p.m. (19:00). More information about routes can be found at the CUMTD website. Note that we are currently on summer schedule since most of the students are not on campus, so some bus lines are not active, and others are running on reduced schedules.

Dining

Many of the restaurants close to campus are located on Green Street, starting at Wright street and going west. A Google Map with several choices is available at this address. Note that the map also includes restaurants in downtown Champaign and downtown Urbana; both are within walking distance of campus, and both have many restaurants not listed here.