We'd like to thank our sponsors:

Linux - The Operating System of the 21st Century ^TM

Directions to SVLUG General Meetings at Westin Santa Clara Hotel / Santa Clara Convention Center

These directions are for SVLUG meetings held at

Westin Santa Clara Hotel / Santa Clara Convention Center
5101 Great America Parkway @ W. Tasman Drive
Santa Clara, CA 94054

Upon arrival:

• Please allow for extra time, to compensate for everyone being unfamiliar with the site. We'd suggest 6:30 pm, if possible. There should be signs at the hotel. (There's an entrance directly to the ballroom vicinity from the hotel lobby.)
• There is complimentary parking in the parking structure off Great America Parkway.

By car:

From CA-237:

• Exit onto Great America Parkway (southbound), proceeding about three blocks (0.8 miles), just past a creek to Bunker Hill Lane.
• Turn left at Bunker Hill Lane into the parking structure.

From US-101:

• Exit onto Great America Parkway northbound (southbound being the Bowers Ave. direction), proceeding a bit over five blocks (1.2 miles) to just past the intersection with W. Tasman Drive.
• Turn right at Bunker Hill Lane into the parking structure.

From I-880:

• Either change to CA-237 in Milpitas and proceed as above, or exit westbound onto Tasman Drive, proceeding 3.6 miles to turn right (north) onto Great America Parkway.
• Go 0.1 mile to turn right at Bunker Hill Lane into the parking structure.

Parking Details:


Drive straight ahead into the parking structure. (Outside the parking structure, parking is for hotel guests only, the exception being 28 spaces west of the Convention Center main entrance.) Then, either:

• Following the "Convention Center" signs, go up two ramps to Level 3, bearing right at the top.
• Park in section A, B, or C, near the sign saying "Convention Center Entrance".
• Walk under that sign, then across the overland walkway to the Convention Center.
• Enter the first door on your left, marked "Convention Center Entrance". Walk ahead, take the escalator (or elevator), to street level, and follow signs to Ballrooms C & D.

Or:

• Following the "Hotel" sign, enter the parking structure's Level 1. Park as close as you can. (Level is often congested, being primary hotel parking.)
• Walk back towards the garage entrance. Left, you'll see a small entryway labelled "To Hotel". Walk through it, following the marked walkway 300 feet, bearing left around the hotel to its northwest entrance.
• Walk through the lobby. On the far side is a glass door to the Convention Center and its ballrooms. Ballrooms C & D are immediately on the left.

By VTA Light Rail:

• Take a Mountain View / Baypointe (aka Tasman West) light rail train to Great America station.
• The Convention Center main entrance is on the north side of W. Tasman Drive.

By CalTrain:

• Disembark at Mountain View station, aka "Downtown Mountain View Transit Center", where Castro Street / Moffett Blvd. intersects Central Expressway.
• Transfer to the VTA light rail line, and then proceed as described above.

By VTA Bus:

Any of these bus lines stops at VTA's Old Ironsides light rail station, just west of where W. Tasman Drive / Great America Parkway intersect:

• Route 55 — De Anza College to Great America
• Route 57 — West Valley College to Great America
• Route 59 — Great America to Great Mall / Main Transit Center (last return bus leaves 6:34 pm)
• Route 60 — Los Gatos to Great America
• Route 140 — from Sunnyvale Caltrain Station (last return bus leaves 6:28 pm)

By Amtrak or ACE train:

• Disembark at Santa Clara / Great America station.
• Walk west 0.6 miles along W. Tasman Drive (the road overhead) to the Convention Center main entrance.
• Note: Amtrak's last return trains are 8:29 pm westbound, 7:52 pm eastbound. ACE shuts down even earlier, and is probably not a practical option.

Further Transit Info: Please see transit.511.org.

Note regarding evening events: The Convention Center staff have a nasty habit of closing internal doors within the building, around 9 pm, preventing egress through the escalator to upstairs and the overland walkway to the parking garage. Evidently, their intent is that everyone should exit through the Westin Hotel lobby, only. Our organisers should discuss the matter with them, at the start of the event, to prevent this. If it turns out that the doors get locked anyway, be prepared to use the house telephones to request corrective action.