We welcome you to the city and University of Denver! Some information which we hope will be useful for your travel and stay is collected on this page. Do not hesitate to ask the local organizer any question you may have regarding your visit!
You may jump to one of the sections of this page:
Conference Location on Campus
Olin Hall
The conference will be held in Room 105 in Olin Hall. The lecture room will accomodate electronic presentation, and we will provide a laptop, so all the speakers need is to bring a USB drive with your talk in PDF format. Even better, speakers are invited to upload their slides on this web site (follow Schedule and click on your talk, then fill in the form). If you do so before the conference, then your slides will be available for your talk without you having to bring anything, and moreover we will make your slides public after the conference. The deadline to upload you slides, or replace them as many times as you want, is the time of your talk!
Refreshments will be served during the conference and a complimentary reception will be held in the Atrium of the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality on Saturday November 1st at 6pm. No lunch or dinner services are provided; instead local restaurents around the campus, downtown, on Colorado Boulevard or in Denver Tech area, as described below, will offer many options.
Around campus in particular, most restaurents are located near Evans Avenue, north of Olin Hall, both east and west of the campus.
Campus Maps
Our campus website offers this map: http://www.du.edu/utilities/maps.html. You may print it using this PDF file. Moreover, Konrad Aguilar provided us with this nice map of local restaurants, which will be included in your welcome package.
We also provide you with a Parking map (PDF). If you obtain a permit from us, then you will park in lot H1 on this map.
Hotels
The closest hotel to the campus, within walking distance (1.4 miles or so to the lecture room, almost half an hour walk), and near various restaurent, is La Quinta Inn Denver Cherry Creek, located at 1975 South Colorado Boulevard, Denver CO 80222 (Phone: 303-758-8886). If you seek for a nice, somewhat long walk --- simply follow Evans Avenue straight east to go to the hotel from campus --- this may be an option; moreover the bus route 21 can take you in a few minutes between the hotel and the campus --- though the schedule for this route is a bit sparse on weekends. You can also take the light rail for one station, from University of Denver to Colorado Station, which implies a bit of walk, but is a nicer alternative than the bus. Yet, read on if you think of using public transportation, as there are many alternatives and the public transit system, more particularly the light rail, is very convenient around the University.
As described on this page, it is very easy to go from the university of Denver to either downtown Denver or an area called Denver Tech, and both offer a great variety of hotels and restaurents, with variable rates and quality: you may wish to explore some of these options as well. While not within walking distance, these two areas are about twenty minutes to half an hour from the campus in public transporation or car (and public transportation is easy, cheap and direct).
The University of Denver maintains a list of nice hotels which may be used by visitors at http://www.du.edu/communityvisitors/visitors/hotels.html. These hotels may honor a special DU rate if you ask.
General Location
The University of Denver is located in the southern part of the city of Denver, and is served by various public transportation options and an interstate access as discussed below in this page. It is very easy to access two regions in the greater Denver Area from the University, and these two regions count many hotels and restaurants, among other amenities. We recommend that you choose a hotel in one of these two broadly defined locations using standards online tool, with the possible exception of the La Quinta hotel proposed in the Hotels section which is within fifteen to twenty minutes walk from campus.
Downtown Denver is easily accessed, in about twenty minutes, by car or light rail, from the University. It has a number of appropriate venues for lunch, dinner and to spend the night. Sixteen street is a downtown walk-only street with a one-mile long mall ending at the City Hall and State Legislature building, and starting at LoDo, the older more "historical" downtown of Denver. Two free buses make the round along this street, so it is very easy to move around in most weather. A grocery store can be found near the Colfax at Auraria light-rail station.
Denver Tech is a newer, semi-urban and semi-suburban area south of Denver, and also within twenty of so minutes from the University in car or light rail. Many hotels are spread around the light rail station for very easy access: around belleview, in particular, as well as some cheaper options near Arapahoe. There are also quite a few lunch and dinner options, especially around Arapahoe light rail station. Park Meadows, a shopping center, can be found at the County Line station. A grocery store, King soopers, can be found at the Southmoor station.
There are of course other possible areas to stay at, though the two proposed general regions are most convenient thanks to the light rail, and the I-25 interstate access.
Public Transit
Light Rail Station, University of Denver (North of Campus)
The urban area of Denver-Boulder-Aurora is well served with a reasonable public transportation system called RTD. As discussed in the Airport section, you may use their service for traveling to and from the airport at reduced cost. They also provide very useful service from and to the University of Denver.
The light-rail stops on the north side of our campus, offering direct and quick access to downtown (around fifteen minutes) and several other hotels on the line, especially in the Denver Tech area. Please consult the system map and note that lines E,F and H serve our campus on the light rail. A ride costs $2.25, and tickets may be purchased at any station with cash, debit or credit card.
Last, there are two buses stopping by our campus. Route 24 goes along University boulevard (north/south) and stops by the light rail station of the University. It can take you to such attractions as the botanical garden, the zoo, several very nice parks, and Cherry Creek, a popular shopping destination. Route 21 goes along Evans Avenue (east/west). It is useful if you do not wish to walk to Colorado Boulevard, a large corridor of the city east of campus and about fifteen minutes walk, with many lunch options.
The fair for all transit between downtown and the university of Denver is $2.25. If you purchase a booklet of 10 tickets (local), then each ticket cost you $2. Such booklets may be purchased at King Soopers, and the Union Station and Civic Center Stations Downtown.
Weather
Denver is the mile-high city: the city Hall has a mark indicating the altitude of the location as 5280 feet, or 1 mile. We are near the front range of Rocky ountains, clearly visible in the west direction. Yet the city is itself really on the edge of the great plains.
This geography implies some strange weather patterns. As a sort of mountain climate, Denver knows extreme weather and temperature changes, even with a day, and certainly day to day. As this page is being written in May 2014, temperature went from eighties (F) to thirties (F) in one day, from blue skies to snow. Within a single day, temperature variations of thirth degrees Farenheit are common.
With this in mind, November averages are in the low fifties (high) to low thirties (low). The city is often windy. However, the sun here is very strong: high UV indices are the norm, and you may feel warmer here than you would at the same temperature closer to sea level. On sunny days, sun protection is recommended. In November, tornadoes are unlikely (they are in Denver anyway, though possible); if we avoid a snow storm then the weather will likely be mild and agreeable.
The actual atmospheric pressure at Denver is about 75% of sea level pressure and the air is very dry. To compensate, make sure to drink a lot, and expect to be a bit more easily out of breadth than you would expect when exercising.
Airport
Denver is well served by a large international airport, DEN (locally known as DIA, or Denver International Airport). In addition to many of the regular airlines, DEN is a hub for Frontier Airlines, a Denver-based affordable airline, as well as Southwest Airlines. We hope that flying to Denver will be easy and cheap for most of you.
The local public transit, called RTD for Regional Transportation District, offers convenient buses between DIA and downtown (route AF) and between DIA and the Denver Tech area (route AT). In general, consult skyride for more information.
The cost for one ride for the AF route is $10 and the cost for the AT route is $13 per ride. It is possible to travel with some luggage, which can be stowed in the luggage compartment of the bus, and this option is the cheapest. It takes about one hour to ride the bus to its end. Most suggested hotels lie within close range of the arriving point of these two buses. As a local, this is my favorite mean of getting to and from the airport (I leave near the end of the AT line!).
The airport is, of course, served by taxis and shuttles. Shuttles offer a cheaper door-to-door service than taxi, but will usually transport several passenger groups to various locations, so they may take a bit longer. Shuttle are more expensive than RTD buses. Some numbers of shuttle services are:
- Super Shuttle (303) 370-1300, or approach the counter at the airport. Cost around $25.
- ABC Shuttle Service costs $15. (800) 288-0668
- Denver Express Shuttle costs $22. (303) 342-3424
We warn the visitor that some independent shuttle drivers are present in the airport, and will cost much more than regular shuttle services. We discourage you to use these shuttles.
In general, as it most reasonable airports, one can simply follow signs to the taxi or shuttle lane outside the main terminal, and catch a ride without any need for reservations. Taxis will cost around $80 or so from the airport, with tip. You may request a flat fare from the airport. Two companies of taxis have proven reliable, and usually know their way around: yellow cab (303)777-7777 and metro cab (303) 333-3333.
Car
The author of this site actually uses public transportation, never a car, around Denver, so my advice in this realm is of limited use. However, accessing the University of Denver in car should be very easy, as our university lies immediately south of an exit on the I-25 interstate. The exit is happily named University of Denver. You can also ride from downtown Denver south to the University.
More precisely, from city hall (as a downtown landmark), you may follow Broadway south until you reach an entrance to the I-25 which you will ride southbound until the University. This ride should take less than twenty minutes. Alternatively, you may follow Speer boulevard and turn southward on University boulevard, following this street until our campus.
From Denver Tech area, you may access the I-25 by following one of the main avenues of the south suburbs of Denver (Hampden, Belleview, Orchard, Arapahoe, Dry Creek, County Line); just make sure you know whether you are east of west of the highway when you start! If you access the I-25 from any of the above mentioned avenues, then you will want to go north until the University of Denver exit on the I-25.
The conference room and parking lot for WCOAS are all located on or near south High street. If you are on University boulevard, you may cross the campus to south High street by riding Evans Avenue (westbound).
If a GPS is too expensive with the rental car, or you want to have some fun navigating Denver, here is a useful trick: the Rocky mountains are west.
