Stanford Guest House
The Stanford Guest House is located on SLAC’s campus and is just a quick walk away to the SSI venue. Guests will have access to free wireless Internet, daily continental breakfast, laundry facilities, free parking, and smoke-free environment. Please refer to the Guest House's transportation page for shuttle services. A block of standard rooms, with one queen bed per room, have been reserved for SSI-2026. Please book early through online-reservation form with reservation code SUMMER (expires Jun/25/2026) for SLAC room rate ($183/night). For participants knowing each other, you may also consider sharing a Deluxe room between two people if it is available (there is no guaranteed block reservation). For this Deluxe Room option, please try the general online booking for room rates and availability, or contact Guest House Front Desk (open 24 hours) directly at +1-650-926-2800.
The SLAC cafeteria (SLACafé) is located on the 2nd floor of the new Science User Support Building (SUSB #53). It is open for breakfast and lunch on weekdays only. There is a VERVE located adjacent to the Guest House open during weekdays. Various dining facilities are available on Stanford campus (see Stanford Dining but be aware summer openings are quite different from term times via the SLAC Line of the complimentary Marguerite shuttle services. You can also try online dinner services delivery by e.g. Uber Eats or Door Dash. In case you missed regular dinner hours, there is a small Sharon Height Shopping Center (a 24-hour Safeway supermarket) within walking distance from SLAC.
Stanford Campus Housing
Some Stanford Non-Student Summer Housing are also available for Stanford-affiliated visitors during the summer, with dorm to apartment styled single occupancy rooms. Availability may be limited and typically has a 3-day minimum requirement. Check SLAC Line shuttle schedule to plan for daily commute time.
Off Campus Accommodations
Among the many ways for looking for local lodging near Stanford, some possible options that may be worth noting:
- Cardinal Hotel: Located at downtown Palo Alto close to Cal-Train station and Marguerite shuttle hub. Easy walking to many restaurants and bars. May be one of the best options in case you don't have a car. For those with a rental car, this is among the very few places you have to check the parking instructions on their web page due to its downtown location. There can be large rate differences from rooms with shared hallway bath to suites so that attention is needed on selected room type.
- If budget is the dominant concern, there are motel options or room in private residences where rates can be down to <$100/night level at times, depending on time of year. There are more low cost choices if search radius is enlarged to 6-7 miles (10km), especially towards Redwood City, but one needs to be sure of the transportation consequences. Using online apps such as booking.com in "show in map" mode can help navigating the location choices.
- An increasingly popular option is the online privately hosted room rental offerings on e.g. Airbnb which quite a few SSI participants and SLAC visitors have taken advantage of, which can be closer to SLAC than most hotels.
If you don't want to get a rental car while staying off campus, may be worth checking with people you know staying at the nearby hotel with a rental car you can share. Marguerite shuttles may be another option but you need to pay attention to the route and schedule for the overall time as it will have stops on the way and most likely takes one shuttle change to get to SLAC.
NOTE: This is information only, not an endorsement of any company or service.
