Getting around

Accommodation

All regular sessions of the Haptics Symposium will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Houston Downtown.

See the venue page for reservation information.

Want to share a room and save money on the hotel? Use our roomate finder.

UPDATE:

We have obtained a discounted rate for conference attendees at the Hilton Houston Plaza/Medical Center, at $189/night. Participants are invited to reserve as soon as possible, given the limited number of rooms available. Registration is possible through this link, specifying the Group Code IHS. Also phone reservations are possible calling 1-713-313-4000 and specifying that you are attending the 2014 Haptics Symposium. The deadline for reservations is 2/6/2014, but rooms will sell out much sooner. Please inform the localarrangements [at] hapticssymposium [dot] org (local arrangements chair) if you are unable to place your booking through the website.

DoubleTree rooms at the discounted rate are now sold out. Also additional rooms at the DoubleTree are selling out quickly and at a very high rate ($300/night), and so are rooms in neighboring hotels in the Downtown district, given the cuncurrent presence of several conventions.

Please consider also that the DoubleTree is conveniently located only 7-10 minutes walk from the METRORail stop "Main Street Square".

The METRORail is Houston's light rail line running north-south, connecting downtown to areas such as the Texas Medical Center (TMC) where more accomodation options can be found. You can find below maps that show how to reach the DoubleTree from the METRORail stop, and a map of METRORail stops that can be useful to plan your visit. In particular, there is a great resource HERE with info on what is nearby each METRORail stop, including lodging, dining, and entertainment option. 

If your interest is to book an hotel within walking distance from the DoubleTree, we recommend to check the Best Western Plus Downtown hotel, it is located only 6-8 minutes walk from the Doubletree, and has acceptable fares (around $190/night, selling out soon).

Visitors can also consider the option of reserving a hotel in an area not served by public transportation and getting to the DoubleTree by taxi, or rental car. Rental cars are usually cheap in Houston ($40-80/day) if reserved in advance and picked up and dropped off at the airport. Info about parking in the Downtown area can be found here, and a complete list of parking rates here. The nearest parking with day-parking capabilities is the 1100 Smith Garage ($30/day); cheaper options are the 1600 Smith Garage ($25/day) and the Metropolitan Garage ($25/day).

Airport from/to conference site

Numerous transportation options from Houston's airports (IAH and HOU) are available. Note that as member of the Haptics Symposium community, you will benefit from special discount if you choose to use the services of Supershuttle.

Getting Equipment to the Conference

You can find relevant information here.

Dining in Houston

Houston is a food lover's city. You will find many great places both within the downtown area and in nearby neighborhoods just a short cab ride away. Here is a link to the list of top 100 restaurants of 2013. Going fancy? Try Uchi, Oxheart, The Pass, or da Marco. For great food without the high prices, consider Batanga, Hearsay Gastro Lounge, Underbelly, or Indika. For truly Texas flavors, go to Irma's downtown, or Hugo's on Westheimer. And don't forget Texas BBQ! Here is a link to Yelp reviews of downtown eateries.