October 23rd - 25th, 2015

Convention Location
Doubletree Inn
6505 North Interstate Highway 35
Austin, TX 78752
(512) 454-3737

Show Location
Palmer Events Center
900 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX  78704-1169
(512) 472-5111

BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!

As you may know, the Austin Gem and Mineral Society will host the SCFMS/AFMS convention on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of October, 2015. Since the Formula-1 races occur this same weekend, hotel space is at a premium and will be scarce during this time.

AGMS has a contract with the Doubletree Inn at 6505 IH35-north, for 25 rooms for our convention. The hotel is giving us a rate of $139 per night for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. You can contact the Doubletree Inn directly by phone at (512) 454-3737. If you contact them directly be sure to mention it’s for the Austin Gem and Mineral Show in order to get this rate. Carleen Paz is the name of the contact person at the Doubletree Inn

We have searched the Austin area for other hotels and found more possibilities:
Hyatt Place for $139                               7522 North IH-35     (near Hwy. 183 & IH-35)
Country Inn and Suites for $149         7400 North IH-35     (near Hwy. 183 & IH-35)
Embassy Suites Hotel for $179           5901 North IH-35     (near Hwy. 290 & north IH-35)
To get these rates, you must reserve your room on the web site tripadvisor.com rather than directly.
TripAdvisor will not allow AGMS to reserve these rooms, so we recommend making reservations as soon as possible, since all available space is being booked up fast. We suggest making them before March 15 (the Ides of March), as TripAdvisor informs us the rates may go up after April 1, depending on the percentage of hotel rooms booked for F-1 week.

As you make your plans, please note that most of the events will be held at the Palmer Events Center. The only exceptions are the URC meeting and Wednesday Evening Social, which will be held at the AGMS clubhouse, 6719 Burnet Lane in Austin.

As we find additional possible accommodations, we will let everyone know.

Sincerely,
Austin Gem and Mineral Society

ANOTHER PLACE TO STAY NEAR AUSTIN

For visitors to the AFMS show in October, we have found another lodging in the Austin area if you don’t mind a little driving. It’s called the Mountain View Lodge near Wimberley. The only disadvantage is that it’s about a thirty mile commute to the show. Wimberley is about 30 miles southwest of Austin, but the roads are quite scenic. There are some advantages to offset the commute; we checked their rates and they are somewhat lower than most of the places around Austin. As of this writing (end of March) they are wide open for our show weekend; they have no reservations yet for that time, so it’s first come, first served. You can find more information, including rates, at their website www.mountainviewlodge.com and their phone number is (512) 847 2992. Also, you will find numerous restaurants in the area.

As we find more places to stay we will try to keep everyone informed.

Convention and Show Information

Links for More Information