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NSPE 2008 Annual Conference
Portland, Oregon
July 24–27
Hilton Portland & Executive Tower Hotel
The Hilton Portland & Executive Tower hotel is located in the heart of Portland, Oregon's city center, providing you with endless possibilities for entertainment, culture and dining.
Entertainment
- Rose Garden Arena—Home of the Portland Trailblazers basketball team
- Oregon Zoo—with over 1,000 mammals, birds, and reptiles, as well as the Washington Park & Zoo Railway
- Oregon Museum of Science and Industry—providing hours of entertainment for the young and young at heart with an IMAX theater, laser light shows, tours of the U.S.S. Blueback submarine and much more
- Shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, Nike Town, Nordstrom, and Macy's
Culture
Dining
The Hilton Portland & Executive Tower Hotel is proud to be a Green Seal Certified hotel. To earn this prestigious certification, it must adhere to rigorous environmental leadership standards and participate in sustainability programs such as recycling, waste minimization, reduced energy use, and green purchasing.
Hotel Room Types/Rates
Guest rooms and suites offer individual climate control, two-line telephones with voice mail, and high-speed and wireless Internet access, as well as cable, movie, and WebTV access.
The NSPE 2008 Annual Conference rate is $149 for single/double occupancy. Hotel state and local taxes are currently 12.5 percent (subject to change). All reservations require a one-night's deposit or credit card number. Check-in is at 4:00 p.m.; check-out is at noon. The NSPE 2008 Annual Conference room block will be available until June 30. Reservations cannot be guaranteed after the cutoff date. Plan ahead to take advantage of this great rate!
Hotel Reservations
Make hotel reservations for the NSPE 2008 Annual Conference when you:
- Call Hilton Reservations: 1-800-774-1500;
- Call Hilton Portland & Executive Towers: 503-226-1611; or
- Make reservations online at http://www.portland.hilton.com/. When making reservations online, make sure to enter in the three digit code: NSP in order to obtain the NSPE 2008 Annual Conference rate ($149).
Remember, after June 30th, room rates cannot be guaranteed for the NSPE 2008 Annual Conference.
Portland International Airport and Ground Transportation
The Hilton Portland & Executive Tower Hotel is approximately 30–45 minutes from Portland International Airport (PDX). Portland International Airport is served by all major airlines. Ground transportation to downtown hotels is available by light rail ($2 one way), taxi ($35 one way), airport-accessible van, limousine, shuttle, and shared van.
Ground Transportation
The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is TriMet's light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area. The MAX Red Line operates between downtown Portland and Portland International Airport, with no transfers required. MAX is an economic and comfortable means of transportation from the Portland airport to downtown Portland (trip takes approximately 40 minutes and costs approximately $2). MAX operates every day of the year beginning around 5 a.m.
Rental Cars
Portland International Airport has contracted with eight rental car companies to provide a wide selection of vehicle rental opportunities to customers. All the companies provide courtesy shuttle service to their facilities and have service counters located at the terminal and off-site.
Parking
The valet parking fee is $25 daily; self-parking ($18 per day with in/out privileges) is also available.
Weather
The weather in Portland is generally terrific during the summer months. Portland's weather belies the stereotype of the rainy Pacific Northwest. Its average annual rainfall is less than that of Atlanta, Birmingham, Houston, Indianapolis, and Seattle — on average, 36.3 inches per year. But the precipitation keeps Portland impossibly green and helps enforce a casual, comfortable dress code. (What else would you expect in the home of Pendleton, Nike, and Columbia Sportswear?) Summer temperatures usually range from 80 degrees during the day to 57 degrees in the evening. A sweater or jacket may be needed for evening outings.
Attire
Resort casual is accepted dress for Portland business meetings; however, for the NSPE 2008 Installation Luncheon, business attire is recommended.
Additional Information About Portland
Portland, known as the "City of Roses," is a favorite West Coast destination. Portland is situated approximately 70 miles from the Pacific Ocean where the Columbia River meets the Willamette River. Nature in Oregon is wonderful. Oregon is a land of widely different ecosystems, from moist, cool, coastal rain forests to the dry high desert of the east, with plenty of volcanic features, rivers, and valleys thrown into the mix to make any outdoor-lover happy. Oregon has beautiful forests, Mount Hood, the Columbia River Gorge,waterfalls, lakes, and coastal beaches. Plan your travel and include extra days before and after the annual conference to see the local beauty and attractions in Oregon.
- Mount Hood — Located about 50 miles east-southeast of the city of Portland, Mount Hood's snow-covered peak rises 11,249 feet, and it is home to 12 glaciers. It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth-highest in the Cascade Range. Mount Hood is considered to be the Oregon volcano most likely to erupt.
- Oregon Coast — Lush evergreen forests, picturesque coastal scenery, rugged seaside cliffs, impressive sand dunes, and vast sandy beaches await you along the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, U.S. Highway 101. The Oregon coast has fully developed resort communities with every possible amenity and quiet coastal towns, where the loudest sounds you'll hear are waves on the shoreline and seagulls overhead.
- Oregon Wine Country — Unique growing conditions and favorable clay-loam soils have fostered Oregon's rapid emergence as one of the world's finest wine-growing regions.
Economical Four-Day "Get to Know Portland Area >> |
