ARC NASA Exchange Lodge

Important Note:

Beginning in late June of 2009, buildings 583A and 583B - representing most of the available Lodge rooms - will be filled with a couple hundred summer students from the Space Studies Program of the International Space University.  The students will be here through late August.  During that period, the rooms in the Lodge will be extremely limited if they are available at all.  Check the Lodge website or contact the front desk for details as the summer gets closer, and be prepared to make reserveations well in advance or make other plans.

Incidentally, there are still people looking at the question of how to house the NASA interns who will be here during the summer of 2009.   If you have ideas on the subject, feel free to share with the class.

Description

The NASA Exchange Lodge is fairly unique among NASA centers, in that it provides on-site housing inside the main gate.  It's conveniently located, relatively inexpensive (hotels and apartments in silicon valley are notoriously pricey), and gives residents access to a number of facilities.  Although most residents stay in buildings 583A and 583B, check in, check out, and mail pickup is done at the front desk in building 19.  Incidentally, the front desk is staffed 24/7, and if you have a reservation you can check in at any time.  Without a reservation, you need to check in during normal business hours.

The rooms are laid out like hotel rooms.  Each has two beds, three closets, several drawers, a tub/shower combination, an alarm clock, etc., pretty much what you'd expect.  Each room also has a refrigerator (not just a baby one like in your dorm room, either) and a microwave.  There are no irons or ironing boards in the rooms, but there's one in the kitchen of each building.

There are no phones in the rooms.  Now that everyone and their brother has a cell phone superglued to their ear that's usually not a problem, but it's good to know.  The rooms are wired for cable, but televisions are not yet present in all rooms (as of Fall 2008); they are being added as time goes on.

The rooms themselves do not have cookware, a stove, or much in the way of counter space.  However, buildings 583A and 583B each have a kitchen located on the second floor.  There are also free laundry machines nearby, and easy access to several athletic fields.

Like most of NASA Ames/Moffett Field, buildings 583A and 583B are equipped with wireless internet.  As of June 2008, there have been some difficulties connecting due to low signal strength, but there are plans to add more routers in the near future.  Internet access requires an account ID and password, which can be requested at the front desk.  You must go in person to retrieve the password. 

There is a boardwalk area adjacent both buildings with tables and charcoal grills.  The weather being what it is around here (usually sunny and warm, cooler at night with a slight chance of earthquakes), that can be a good place to hang out, meet your neighbors, etc.  There are also bicycle racks near both buildings.  Parking or chaining bikes on the sidewalk along the building, in or near the stairwells, and pretty much anywhere else they'd get in someone's way is prohibited.

The Lodge buildings are under a noise curfew.  From 10 PM at night until 7 AM in the morning, you're supposed to avoid making so much noise that you annoy your neighbors.  This is pretty standard, but it's worth remembering.

Main Web Site

http://naccenter.arc.nasa.gov/lodging.html

(However, some parts of the web site are not accessible from outside the ARC/Moffett Field network, even if you're using the ARC wireless system.)

Location

Front desk:  Bldg 19

Additional rooms:  Bldgs 583A and 583B

Ames-Moffett Field Map

All three buildings are also shown on the Stuff Near Ames Google Map.

Drive Time

not applicable

Public Transit

not applicable

Hours

open 24 hours (with your key)

The front desk is open 24 hours, but you need a reservation to check in after normal business hours.

Cost

$38/night (single occupancy)

Some intern programs include housing.