The North American British Music Studies Association

The North American British Music Studies Association

2014 Biennial Conference Local Arrangements

Welcome

The Department of Music
at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is delighted to host the 2014
conference of the North American British Music Studies Association. As a member
of the faculty at UNLV and local arrangements liaison for the conference, I
look forward to welcoming NABMSA’s members and friends to our campus this
summer.

The information that
follows may help you plan your visit and ensure that you enjoy your time in Las
Vegas. In addition, you should also read UNLV’s very helpful Guest Arrival Information.

Anthony Barone

Off-campus
Lodging

For attendees who elect to stay off-campus, three hotel
options near campus are especially convenient and recommended.

(1)
Hyatt Place
4520
Paradise Road
Las Vegas,Nevada,USA,89169
Tel: +1 702-369-3366
Fax: +1 702-369-0009

A block of twenty rooms will be held for the nights of July 31 through August 2 for NABMSA attendees; reservations can be made at the special rate of $92 per night. Instructions for making reservations can be found here.

This hotel is on the west side of the UNLV campus, an
approximately 25–30 minute walk to the Music building (HFA). A
25–30 minute walk across campus in summer is challenging; car
transportation may be advisable. The hotel is a very standard mid-range hotel,
frequently used by campus visitors. It is convenient not only to campus, but to
several restaurants, including the facilities of the Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino, which are a block away.

(2) Alexis
Park
375
E. Harmon Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89169
Reservations: 800-582-2228
Hotel Direct: 702-796-3300
Fax: 702-796-4334

This hotel is on the west side of the UNLV campus,
approximately a 30–35 minute walk to the Music building. A 30–35
minute walk across campus in summer is very challenging; car transportation may
be advisable. The hotel is apparently entirely non-smoking, which may be an
important consideration for some attendees (smoking is prevalent in public,
non-dining areas of many casino hotels in Las Vegas; higher-end hotels will
have better ventilation systems that minimize the impact of smoking;
non-smoking rooms are, of course, available everywhere). The hotel is a
resort-style hotel, with buildings scattered over a large property and several
pool areas. It is convenient not only to campus, but to several restaurants,
including the facilities of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which are a block
away.

(3) BlueGreen Club 36
372 East Tropicana Avenue

Las Vegas, NV89169 

Reservations: 702-856-2900

This hotel is to the west of the UNLV campus, and is quite a
long distance away by foot. The hotel is adjacent to several shopping and food conveniences.
It is an all-suites hotel, and rooms typically have a master bedroom, kitchen,
laundry, living room, and other amenities. They are reportedly very
comfortable, and easily shared. The hotel is very nearby to, and indeed faces McCarran Airport. Its location is somewhat isolated; car or
taxi transportation is recommended.

Other
Hotels

– In the vicinity of Hyatt Place and Alexis Park is the
enormous Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Some attendees who wish to have a more
Vegas resort-style stay might be interested in this option (it will be filled
with partying young people on a weekend). Rates here may be considerably higher
than at the three recommended hotels; weekend rates especially may be very high
(deals can be found, however, depending on the dates). It is the largest and
best known of the casino properties near UNLV. The hotel has several
restaurants and other amenities that may be of interest to attendees.

Las Vegas has hundreds of hotels and motels from which to choose,
and the scope of the options lies beyond this document. Attendees may consult
travel Web sites and guide books for information about hotels, which offer
experiences and prices that range from the most frugal to the most extravagant.

On-campus Lodging

Attendees staying on-campus will check in at the Conference Housing Desk located in Tonopah Hall. The Conference Housing staff will then direct you to your lodging in nearby Boyd Hall. (Boyd Hall is an approximately five-minute walk from Tonopah Hall.) The Conference Housing desk is open from 8:00 AM until 11:00 OM.

If you arrive at Tonopah Hall after 11:00 PM, call the desk phone number posted at the entrance door to ask a staff member to let you in. The Conference Housing Desk is staffed twenty-four hours.

Guests are not required to stop at the Conference Housing Desk or perform any other action to check out; check-out is automatic upon the expiration of your stay.

Visiting Las Vegas in Summer

Visitors from warm, humid regions may find the hot, dry
conditions of Las Vegas less oppressive than the summer weather they normally
experience. All visitors, especially those from cooler regions, may be
surprised by the extreme heat, however. You should take sensible precautions to
ensure your comfort and safety.

Summer temperatures typically range from 100 to 115°F in
July and August throughout the desert Southwest. Stay comfortable by taking certain
steps:

UNLV is an urban campus, and visitors should exercise the vigilance and caution appropriate in any large city. Walking at night is best done in groups and in well-lit areas. Always be aware of your surroundings and plan your travel—whether by taxi, bus, or foot—with safety in mind. Be especially alert when crossing wide streets such as Maryland Parkway: Las Vegas is not an especially pedestrian-friendly city, and some drivers can be insensitive, unaware, or aggressive.

Flying to Las Vegas

Attendees arriving by air are advised to consult up-to-date information about security or immigration policies and procedures at: www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/.

Maccarran Airport is in the center of the city, and convenient to UNLV. Walking from the airport to UNLV, however, is not recommended. For some visitors, taking a public bus after a long flight is neither appealing nor convenient. A taxi from the airport to the residence hall area of the campus will cost between $14 and $17 on average, and the trip should take 8–12 minutes. Taxi stands are located outside the arrival areas of Maccarran terminals and clearly marked. If you are going to the residence hall, you may tell your driver to enter the campus from Maryland Parkway onto University Road (normally a left turn if coming from the airport); Tonopah Hall is to the right of the second intersection.

Getting Around

As in most cities in the Southwest and on the West Coast, it
is most efficient to get around by car. There is, however, a large and well-run
public bus system that can be used to travel between McCarran
Airport and UNLV, and between UNLV and Las Vegas Boulevard (the ‘Strip’).

Public
Bus Transportation

Bus routes: two public bus routes may be of particular use
to attendees (see
http://www.rtcsnv.com/transit/routes-maps-schedules/transit-guide/).

Bus no. 109: transportation
between McCarran Airport and UNLV

Bus no. 202: transportation
along Flamingo Boulevard to and from Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo
Rd/Maryland Parkway intersection (near the UNLV Music building).

For other purposes buses may be inconvenient. Attendees
staying off campus are strongly advised to rent cars or to plan to use taxis
for transportation; walking long distances during summer is not advised.
Shuttle buses provide convenient transportation between McCarran
Airport and the convenient McCarran Rent-A-Car Center.

Parking on the UNLV campus is inexpensive. If you are using
a car during the conference, it is best to purchase a weekly student parking
pass for $7 (see http://www.unlv.edu/parking for
more information). Parking at all major hotels on the Strip and in most other
locations is, to the amazement of many visitors, free.

Distances between the large hotels on the Strip are visually
deceptive; the properties are very large, and crossing from one hotel to the
next can be a fifteen-minute or even longer hike. If you visit the Strip, be
prepared for some exertion.

Calling Taxis from Campus Locations

If you are staying on campus, you may give a taxi dispatcher the specific address of the building you are in or the cross streets at which you are located. However, some cab companies will only pick up passengers at the Student Union because their drivers cannot reliably find other locations. Staff at the Student Union Information Desk can also assist you when you require a taxi.

Returning to McCarran International Airport by Taxi

If you are returning to McCarran by taxi for an early morning flight, you should call a taxi company the evening before departure to schedule your morning pickup. You should in any event reserve a taxi several hours before a scheduled airport departure, unless you are staying at a major hotel where taxis are plentiful. It is not possible to hail a taxi on the street in Las Vegas, and calling for a taxi with short notice is risky. In the case of an early morning reservation, taxi companies generally call you about thirty minutes before your scheduled pickup to make sure you are ready.

In general, you should arrive at McCarran at least seventy minutes prior to a domestic departure (earlier for international departures); consult your airline or McCarran International Airport for more information. It will take a taxi between eight and twelve minutes for the door-to-door trip from campus (times from hotels will vary). (A taxi company I use frequently is Desert Cab (https://desertcabinc.com/), but there are many others from which to choose.)

Security lines in McCarran’s Terminal 1 seem to move more efficiently than those in the newer Terminal 3. If your flight departs from Terminal 3, you are likely to have a longer security wait and a longer distance to walk to get to your departure gate. If you are leaving from Terminal 3, then, it is wise to budget extra time. (I have almost no experience of the wait times in Terminal 2.)

Breakfast
and Lunch During the Conference

Breakfast and lunch options near the UNLV campus will be
described in a separate document.

Enjoying
the Vegas Strip

You may want to spend some of your free time visiting the
attractions on Las Vegas Boulevard, where you will find a vast range of
entertainments, both adult- and family-oriented. Consult tourist Web sites and
guide books for detailed information about the Strip and other Las Vegas
tourist attractions, but I will offer a few recommendations based on personal
experience that you may find helpful. Some of these can, for example, be
visited on Sunday morning after the conference if you have time prior to your
departure.

Entertainment,
Museums, and Other Attractions

Dining
and Cocktails on and off the Strip

On evenings when no conference events are planned, you may
want to sample Las Vegas’s excellent restaurants and lounges. Of the hundreds
of options available, a few to consider are:

Locations on the Strip can be reached by car, bus, and
monorail; locations off the Strip are best reached by taxi or rental car.

Every major hotel in Las Vegas houses one or more
world-class restaurants—consult individual hotel Web sites for further
information. Note that dining on the Strip can be quite expensive; excellent
inexpensive options abound off the Strip. Good ethnic cuisines of almost any
kind can be found in Las Vegas.

Smoking
Regulations

There is no smoking permitted in UNLV facilities.

Smoking remains permitted in casinos and bars in Las Vegas,
but not in spaces where food is served. Most restaurants are therefore
smoke-free. When visiting casino hotels, visitors may need to walk through smoking
areas for registration or other purposes. Smoke-free hotel rooms are available
everywhere, and indeed smoke-free hotels can be found.

Groceries
and Pharmaceuticals

There is a grocery store and a pharmacy within walking
distance of UNLV; these and most other grocery stores and many pharmacies
throughout Las Vegas are open 24 hours. There are numerous convenience stores
(Seven Eleven, etc.) near UNLV where you can purchase sundries.