Note: Reservation group codes are also found on the Accommodations page.
Hotels
Because there is no single hotel in downtown Durham large enough to hold the entire group, room blocks have been secured at six hotels within a reasonable walking distance to the dance venues. All are lovely properties. Each has a distinct set of amenities. This guide should help you select the hotel that is right for you.
The two principal hotels are the Durham Marriott City Center and the 21c Museum Hotel. In each of these hotels, more than half of the rooms have been booked, and it will feel like the IAGSDC has taken over these places.
Amenities available at all the hotels:
- Complimentary WiFi
- On-site fitness center
- No extra charge for additional occupants up to the maximum permitted for the room type
Durham Marriott City Center
201 Foster Street, Durham NC 27701
Phone: 919-768-6000
$149/night | 1 king bed or 2 double beds
- Directly connected to the convention center, where most of the dancing will take place
- Complimentary coffee available in the lobby
- No club floor, but those who would, at other properties, be upgraded to a club floor room based on Marriott status get complimentary access to the M Club room. Others may purchase M Club access.
- Valet parking (~$25/night)
- Lobby restaurant and bar
- Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program
- No pets permitted
21c Museum Hotel
111 Corcoran Street, Durham NC 27701
Phone: 919-956-6700
$159/night | 1 king bed or 2 queen beds
- 3 minute walk to the convention center
- In-room coffee maker
- Lobby is an art gallery
- Valet parking (~$25/night)
- Lobby restaurant and bar
- Spa, sauna, and steam room
- Suites available at the following rates:
- Deluxe Suite | $279/night
- Luxury Suite | $339/night
- Terrace Suite | $409/night
- 21c Suite | $809/night
- Accor Live Limitless (ALL) loyalty program. Accor is a European company, and most of its properties are overseas. The main North American chains in the group are the 21c Museum Hotels and Fairmont Hotels.
- Allows pets up to 50 pounds. A one-time per stay pet cleaning fee of $75 will be charged to the reservation. A pet waiver form must be completed and signed at check-in.
Unscripted Hotel
202 North Corcoran Street, Durham NC 27701
$159/night | 1 king bed or 2 queen beds
- 3 minute walk to the convention center
- In-room coffee maker
- Complimentary Coffee
- Luxe Kimono Style Bath Robes
- Complimentary welcome drink (up to $13 value)
- Complimentary garaged parking
- Lobby bar
- Rooftop pool & poolside bar/restaurant
- World of Hyatt loyalty program
- Dogs weighing less than 40 pounds are welcome for a fee of $45 per night. Pets may not be left unattended at any time.
The Durham Hotel
315 East Chapel Hill Street, Durham NC 27701
Phone: 919-768-8830
$189/night | 1 king bed or 2 double beds
- 3 minute walk to the convention center
- In-room coffee maker & Counter Culture Coffee Program. You select the type of coffee and the time; fresh ground coffee will be delivered to your room in the morning.
- Bathrobes & slippers
- Complimentary bottled water
- Burt’s Bees product gift
- Valet parking ($20/night)
- Rooftop restaurant & bar
- Lobby restaurant & bar
- Complimentary coffee in lobby
- Service animals only
Aloft Durham Downtown
345 Blackwell Street, Durham NC 27701
Phone: 919-402-5656
$149/night | 1 king bed or 2 queen beds
- 8-10 minute walk to the convention center
- Complimentary bottled water
- In-room coffee maker
- Mini-fridge in room
- Roof-top pool
- On-site parking (~$15/night)
- Lobby restaurant/bar
- Lobby market where you can purchase a grab-and-go breakfast
- Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program
- Allows up to 2 pets per room; max. pet weight is 50 lb. Charges a $50 non-refundable pet fee per night. $150.00 max per stay.
Residence Inn by Marriott (McPherson/Duke Univ. Medical Center Area)
1108 West Main Street, Durham NC 27701
Phone: 919-680-4440
$149/night | king studio
- 14 minute walk to the convention center
- Maximum occupancy for king studio is 3 people
- Complimentary shuttle service within 3 miles of hotel (e.g., to/from dance venues) operates 7am to 7pm
- Studio suites have 1 king bed and a small sofa-bed
- In-room coffee maker
- Full kitchen
- Complimentary full American breakfast
- On-site Parking (~$12/night)
- Lobby restaurant/bar
- Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program
- Up to 2 pets 100 lbs. or less welcome with $100 non-refundable fee per pet per stay
Airbnb / Vrbo
If the room blocks fill up or you otherwise prefer an AirBnB or Vrbo experience, there are a number of those properties near our dance venues. To help you judge distances from the dance venues, know that everything inside the Downtown Loop (consisting of parts of Morgan St., Great Jones St., Ramseur St., Roxboro St., and Liberty St.) is within a 10 minute walk of the Convention Center.
Also, there are a number of condos available thru AirBnB and Vrbo in Pearl Mill Flats. This complex was originally built as apartments. Then, for a time, it functioned as an extended-stay hotel for folks enrolled at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center. More recently, it has been converted into condominiums. While the furnishings and interior condition of the individual units depend on the owner, the complex itself is quite nice and features an outdoor salt-water pool. Pearl Mill Flats is a 15 minute walk or a 5 minute drive to the Convention Center. You can recognize Pearl Mill Flats because this tower often appears in the photos of the property.
Camping
The nearest state parks to downtown Durham, Eno River State Park, and Umstead State Park have campsites available but are not recommended for convention attendees, mainly because their gates are locked at 9 pm. (However, these are great places for hiking before or after convention if the weather is good.)
The nearest facility with 24 hour access to camping areas is Falls Lake State Recreation Area (FLSRA). FLSRA is located about 15 miles east of downtown Durham and is about a 20-25 minute drive from the dance venues. FLSRA has over 300 campsites for tent, trailer, or RV camping, both with and without electricity. For more info on FLSRA and to reserve campsites, visit: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/falls-lake-state-recreation-area. FLSRA is quite popular in the summer, so it is recommended that campers reserve their campsites early.
FAQs
Q: So how do I pick a hotel?
Review the hotel information and decide on the amenities that are most important to you.
For example, if you want to be closest to the dancing choose the Marriott. However, if you will be 3 or 4 sharing a room, and you aren’t either all very petite or used to sleeping snuggled together, you might prefer the 21c, Unscripted, or Aloft, which all have rooms with 2 queen beds instead of 2 double beds. If you really want to be able to cool off in a pool, choose the Unscripted or the Aloft. If you have dietary restrictions or just prefer to cook your own food, the Residence Inn might be best for you. If you are driving and will be in town before or after convention, you may want to book a room at the Unscripted to take advantage of the complimentary parking.
Q: My preferred hotel’s room block is full. Will it be expanded?
We will make every effort to increase our room blocks once they fill up. However, we have already reserved well over half of all the rooms at the Marriott and the 21c, so our ability to expand those blocks is limited. Therefore, we recommend booking a room at one of our other hotels. We will be carefully tracking our room blocks and do our best to accommodate folks at one of their preferred hotels.
Q: My preferred hotel only has rooms available for some of the nights I will be in Durham. What should I do?
Book the nights that are available using our booking link. Then email us at hotels@carolinatwirl2024.com to let us know the additional nights you want to book. Include your reservation information. We will do our best to adjust your reservation to cover all the nights you want.
Q: I can book a room at one of the convention hotels at a lower rate on Expedia or Hotels.com. Should I book it?
Our contracts with all the hotels except The Unscripted, guarantee us the lowest rate available to the general public. So, if you happen to find a lower rate at any of the other hotels, feel free to book it, but please document the lower rate and send us the information. With that rate documentation we will get credit for your room and may be able to secure a discount for others
Q: I can book a room at the Marriott or the 21c at a discounted rate because of my employer or membership in an organization that has a contract with those chains. Should I book it?
Conventions normally want everyone to book at their group rates so they can be sure to meet their room commitment. Therefore, please use our group rate as long as rooms are available in our room block. However, once our room blocks fill up, feel free to book a room however you can. Please let us know if you do so, so we can track our numbers.
Q: I can book a room at one of the hotels using loyalty points. Should I book it?
Conventions normally want everyone to book at their group rates so they can be sure to meet their room commitment. Therefore, please use our group rate as long as rooms are available in our room block. However, once our room blocks fill up, feel free to book a room however you can. Please let us know if you do so, so we can track our numbers.
Q: I am driving. What are the options for parking?
While most of the hotels offer parking for a fee, another option is to use a municipal parking garage. There are three city-run garages within a few blocks of the convention center. The daily rate maxes out at $24.75, but there is no charge for parking in city-run garages on the 4th of July or on weekends.