April 29&30 May 1&2, 2010

New Hotel - Hilton Hartford

Transportation

Travel Options

• Car
• Bus
• Train
• Plane

The Hilton Hotel Hartford is less than 300 yards from both the Train & Bus Stations in Downtown Hartford. There is a free shuttle that runs thru downtown Hartford every 12 minutes. For more complete info, go to Star Shuttle
If it’s a nice day (And you don’t have too much stuff), you can walk it in less than 5 minutes. Also, there are over 30 restaurants within walking distance. There are several restaurants in the civic center which do not require going outdoors.

Car

If you are driving, The Hilton is attached to the Hartford Civic Center in downtown Hartford. It is essentially at the intersection of I-91 and I-84. Please check Mapquest or some other service for directions. If you are addicted to GPS, I also suggest you print a map of downtown Hartford. The Hotel is easy to get too, but Hartford does have a number of “One Way” streets. GPS sometimes does not account for these.

Parking

There is a reduced rate of $10 Per Day for all Swingin Into Spring attendees in the parking garage next to the hotel. This included unlimited “In & Out” privileges. You must have your parking ticket validated at the hotel, or you will be charged the standard rate of $18 Per Day.

Bus

You can see the Bus Station from the hotel, which services Peter Pan and Greyhound. There is also a "MegaBus" drop site about 2 blocks from the hotel, and that stop is also on the free Downtown Shuttle route. MegaBus offers fares as low as $17-30 Round Trip, from New York City & Boston. Double that for Philadelphia, Buffalo, Washington DC, Toronto, Syracuse, Rochester and other Northeast cities. Megabus

Train

The Train & Bus Stations are housed in one complex. AmTrak runs both local and express services up and down the East Coast. Technically, the train station is 100 feet (Or So) closer to the hotel. Amtrak

Air Travel

Fly into Bradley International Airport – Airport Code “BDL” (Hartford/Springfield)
NOTE: The Hotel does not have an Airport Shuttle, But the CT Transit Authority does. The drop off is about 100 yards from the Hotel. Cost is $1.25 Each Way. For more information, go to CTtransit and look under Routes/Schedules – Hartford - Local. The Bus Route is called the Bradley Flyer.

Dancers Helping Dancers

Also, I do have my “Dancers helping Dancers” program, where local dancers volunteer to help those of you flying in for the event. Here’s how it works;

1. You must have a cell phone
2. You need to send me your flight information by April 12th 2010
3. I ask for volunteers. People who are typically driving by the Airport area on their way to the event.
4. I provide both you and the volunteer each others phone numbers, and at that point, I step away from the process
5. You call your volunteer and provide flight information and make all the arrangements between the two of you.*

There are no guarantees I can get someone to pick you up, especially if you are coming in on a late flight, but I do my best to help out. There is always the CT Transit Bus for $1.25 each way, or cab service, and I am looking into a discount rate from one of the shuttle/limo services, but they won’t talk rates until about 3 months before the event.
Remember, if I do find you a ride … these good people are volunteers and they are doing this for the benefit of the dance community and to help you out. Be courteous and as helpful you can … Like staying in contact and calling the moment you touch down. It would be nice to offer them gas money … not much, the airport is only about 12 miles from Hartford, but at least make the gesture.