Send enquiries to: Chris Meek (meek@microsoft.com)
(1) Hard-copy receipts are not provided. Please use your emailed receipt if you registered on-line.
(2) No refunds are available.
(3) Bring your on-line userid and password if you want to buy extra banquet tickets, proceedings, or copies of tutorial notes by credit card.
(1) The registration desk is located in Alpine Meadows, just outside
the "Castle" part of the ballroom.
(2) To avoid long lines, please come to the registration desk when you
arrive in Banff.
The registration desk will be open from 07:30 until 19:00 on July 8,
from 8:00 until 17:00 on July 9, and from 08:00 until 11:30 on
July 10.
(1) On July 7, July 9, and July 11 there are no UAI evening events, although the poster session on July 9 will run into the early evening.
(2) On July 8, there is a UAI reception in Glacier and Alpine Meadows from 18:30 to 23:00. This reception is catered and has a cash bar (but you will get two free drink tickets to start the evening off). The food will be "finger food" but it is intended to be substantial enough that it can serve as a light meal.
(3) On July 10 there is the UAI banquet in Summit, starting at 19:30.
All UAI activities take place in the Banff Park Lodge. Most of the activities will take place upstairs in or beside the ballroom. To get to the ballroom go up the main staircase, turn left and walk as far as you can (through some doors).
Important places to know UPSTAIRS:
Alpine Meadows is the open area just outside the ballroom (but inside the doors. Registration and all breakfasts take place here.
Castle, Assiniboine, and Summit are the names of the three parts of the ballroom. UAI technical sessions are in Summit+Assiniboine, the poster sessions are in Castle. On July 8, the UAI tutorials are in Summit.
Glacier and Chinook are closer to the stairs (Chinook is the restaurant directly across from the top of the stairs). These areas are used for lunch ** BUT NOT BREAKFAST **. Glacier is also used for coffee breaks and the reception July 8.
Chinook-Hall is the open area to the right of the top of the stairs. It is used for coffee breaks.
Important places to know on the GROUND floor:
The Den is down the hallway going left from the lobby. It houses the internet cafe.
Black Bear is the next room after the Den going down the hallway. It is a breakout room July 9-11. There is wireless internet access and access to the outdoor patio from Black Bear.
Aspen and Cedar are two smaller meeting rooms that are down the hall in the opposite direction, i.e. to the right of the hotel lobby. They are small breakout rooms July 9-11, great for brainstorming. There is wireless internet access and access to the outdoor patio from Aspen and Cedar.
A map of the hotel showing all the rooms can be found here:
http://www.banffparklodge.com/con_facilities.html
(1) Banff Park Lodge has no high-speed internet access in its bedrooms (except in executive suites). There is modem access.
(2) We will provide high-quality wireless internet access in Black Bear, Aspen, and Cedar throughout the entire conference period.
(3) There will be a high-speed internet cafe, donated by Sun Microsystems of Canada, with 15 workstations for your use plus about 10 high-speed cables you can plug into your laptop. This is in the Den.
Breakout Rooms (July 9-11: Black Bear, Aspen, and Cedar)
Breakout rooms are pleasant, quiet places with tables and whiteboards and wireless internet access where people can work away from the hubbub of the main events.
All the breakout rooms are on the ground floor of the hotel.
Your UAI registration fee includes a continental breakfast. Half an hour before the start of each day's events coffee, tea, juice, muffins, croissants, danishes, and fruit will be set out in Alpine Meadows. These items will remain out until the end of the first coffee break (fresh coffee will be provided for the coffee break).
Pick up whatever food and beverage you want and take it to the room where your morning event will take place.
Very important note:
** DO NOT ** take breakfast from the hotel's public buffet outside the Chinook restaurant. This is for paying customers, it is not free.
It is unfortunate that you must walk past it to get to the COLT breakfast buffet in Alpine Meadows, but please do not confuse it with our buffet.
A coffee break will be held mid-morning and mid-afternoon each day.
On days with poster sessions the coffee will be served in Alpine Meadows, on other days it will be in Glacier and Chinook-Hall.
(1) July 9-11 a buffet lunch will be served at the entrance to Chinook restaurant, and you can sit in either Chinook or Glacier.
(2) Some people have expressed dietary restrictions or preferences. If it is not obvious which things in the buffet meet your needs, consult Robert Baettig, the catering manager. He will be happy to help you, and if your needs are very special he will have a specially prepared meal waiting for you in the wings. We have passed on all the information you gave us (via on-line registration) to the hotel. If you would like to explain your needs further, please contact Banff Park Lodge directly as soon as possible.
(1) see http://www.aicml.cs.ualberta.ca/banff04/pages/transport.php
(2) If you are driving from the Calgary airport, the instructions on
http://www.banffparklodge.com/howtogethere.html
are very good, with the following additional notes:
-- plan on the drive between Calgary airport and Banff taking
two hours.
-- speed signs in Canada are in kilometers/hour.
-- when you are exiting the airport, follow the signs for
"City Center".
-- 16th Avenue is the name inside Calgary for Highway #1.
Some signs in Calgary say "16th Avenue", some say Highway #1.
Watch for both.
You want to go west on Highway #1/16th Avenue.
Signs for Highway #1 are fairly small, with a 1 inside
a maple leaf.
-- You do *NOT* want to turn onto the route called
"Banff Trail".
This is highway 1A, the old road to Banff.
It is a lovely drive but slow and meandering,
and without instructions.
We recommend you stick to Highway #1.
-- There are two exits off of Highway #1 that take you into Banff.
The first one is marked "Minnewanka Loop/Tunnel Mountain".
This takes you onto Banff Avenue, the main street in Banff.
This is a good choice if you are staying at Inns of Banff
or another hotel on Banff Avenue, but it is not a good choice
if you want to drive directly to the conference hotel,
Banff Park Lodge.
To get to Banff Park Lodge take the second Banff exit off of
Highway #1. It is marked as "Mount Norquay" on a big brown
sign and a few yards later as "Banff" on a green sign.
This leads directly to the hotel.
(3) Banff is in a national park. The park entrance fee is
CAD$7 per adult per day or CAD$45 per adult for a 12 month pass.
Credit cards are accepted. For more information see
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/index_e.asp
The average daily temperature in Banff in July swings from a low of 7C (45F) to a high of 25C (82F). Evenings are always cool.
For more details see