Stanford Guest House FAQs
Staying at the Stanford Guest House
SLAC Location
Features and Amenities
Sustainability
Other Stanford Guest House FAQs
Staying at the Stanford Guest House
Is the Guest House a hotel?
The Guest House is much like a hotel however it is owned and operated by Stanford University for the express use of our visitors. All of our employees work for the university and our amenities are tailored to meet the needs of the Stanford community.
As part of Stanford, we are able to offer nightly rates below the market value and without the addition of any local transient occupancy taxes. We periodically review what we are charging to ensure we are providing a high value to the university. We save Stanford departments and their visitors millions of dollars each year by providing an affordable alternative to local hotels.
Who can stay at the Guest House?
We welcome guests of Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Stanford Medicine. Guests require both an affiliation to one of these organizations and an educational purpose for their visit. Some examples of qualified stays include the following:
- Invited guests of a university department
- Registered attendees of a university conference or event
- Visiting family members of a university student
- Stanford staff, faculty, students, or alumni on university business
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
- Laboratory users with scheduled experiment or approved research
- Invited guests of a laboratory directorate
- Registered attendees of a laboratory conference or event
- SLAC staff, faculty, or students on laboratory business
- Patients or patient family members of Stanford Health Care
- Patients or patient family members of Stanford Children's Health
- Invited guests of Stanford Medicine
- Stanford Medicine staff, faculty, students, or physicians on hospital business
Visitors on personal business or business unrelated to Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, or Stanford Medicine do not qualify to stay at the Guest House.
Can children and families stay at the Guest House?
Children and families are welcome at the Guest House. Minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Are animals allowed at the Guest House?
We do not allow pets at the Guest House. Pets are prohibited on the grounds of the SLAC Laboratory even when contained within a personal vehicle. Service animals, as defined by the ADA are welcome but must remain under their owner’s control at all times.
SLAC Location
Is the Guest House on the Stanford campus?
The Guest House is located on the Stanford campus within the grounds of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Our corner of the campus feels worlds away from the urban setting of the university. The Guest House is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and visitors often spot deer or other wildlife on the property. This pastoral environment is the perfect place to relax after a busy day at Stanford.
Stanford has one of the largest campuses in the nation spanning over 8,000 acres in two counties. The expansive campus map includes the university, two hospitals, a shopping center, a golf course, an arts district, and a stadium. Most campus destinations are not walkable from any local accommodations including the Guest House. We recommend all guests take advantage of our selection of complimentary transportation options.
Why do I have to go through security to get to the Guest House?
The Guest House is located on the grounds of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The laboratory is operated by Stanford on behalf of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE does not conduct classified research at SLAC, but all federal research sites are provided with security personnel out of an abundance of caution.
SLAC site security at the main gate has a list of Guest House guests. Upon arrival, visitors can provide security with the name of a current guest to gain access to SLAC and directions to the Guest House. Drivers entering SLAC may be required to produce a valid driver’s license in order to bring their vehicle into the laboratory.
The Guest House front desk can provide passes to expedite this process during business hours. Whenever the right lane of traffic next to the SLAC main gate is open, guests can show their valid Guest House pass to travel into SLAC without stopping at the gate. For the safety of everyone at the lab, please adhere to all instructions from SLAC security personnel.
Features and Amenities
What amenities does the Guest House offer?
The Guest House has 112 rooms with queen beds and private bathrooms. Our rooms are economically designed at 175 square feet for one bed and 275 square feet for two beds. Each room includes a hairdryer, iron, ironing board and a LCD TV with HBO and DIRECTV programming.
Our rates include housekeeping service, vehicle parking, and Stanford’s wireless network. The 24-hour front desk provides registration and concierge services. We also offer complimentary shuttle service to select locations within Stanford, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Children’s Health. Complimentary Continental Breakfast is served daily from 6:30am-9:30am in our first floor lounge. Enjoy an assortment of fresh muffins, bagels, pastries, fruit, yogurt, cereals, juices, coffee, and tea.
The Guest House features a business center, laundry room, TV lounge, and a fitness center overlooking the Stanford campus. The artwork in our hallways highlights some of the unique architecture and landscapes found around the university.
Is there parking at the Guest House?
The Guest House provides complimentary parking to all of its registered guests. We have a small number of parking spaces in front of the Guest House and guests are also welcome to park in any unmarked space around the SLAC Laboratory.
Sustainability
What does the Guest House do to embrace sustainability?
Staying at the Stanford Guest House allows guests to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by taking the zero-emissions electric Marguerite shuttle to campus. Guest rooms feature low volume water fixtures and guests are encouraged to take shorter showers and reuse towels. We try to reduce our waste through recycling and composting. All kitchenette service-ware is fully compostable. In addition, we partner with Clean the World® to recycle unused portions of soap and hygiene products which are donated to people in need and help prevent millions of hygiene-related deaths each year.
Stanford Guest House housekeeping teams use Stanford’s powerful and green cleaning standard, Cardinal Clean, to effectively clean and sanitize guest rooms and common areas. Learn more about this award-winning, sustainable system and how it is used broadly across student residences and other buildings on campus.
Other Stanford Guest House FAQs
Why is the Guest House always sold out when I need a room?
Guest House rooms are in high demand over peak periods. We are able to accommodate most reservation requests but unfortunately the Guest House can sell out quickly during large campus events or conferences. For your convenience, our rooms can be reserved up to six months in advance and should be booked as soon as possible to ensure space is available. Reserved rooms can be cancelled up to 24 hours before arrival without penalty.
We do our best to fill the rooms we have but we do not oversell the Guest House. Hotels typically sell more rooms than they have available and just relocate any extra arrivals. At the Guest House, we only reserve the rooms we have. We consider our reservations a promise to members of the Stanford community that they have a home on campus.
If we do happen to be sold out for all or part of the time you will be at Stanford, we recommend you arrange alternate accommodations at one of the other hotels in the area and place yourself on the Guest House waitlist.
Where am I on the Guest House waitlist?
The Guest House waitlist is not actually a list and is NOT maintained on a first-come, first-served basis. Our waitlist is a database of all of the people currently requesting reservations that we are unable to accommodate. Whenever a reservation is cancelled by another guest, we search the database for a request that best matches our new availability.
Waitlist requests that are made first are not necessarily the first to be offered an available room. Priority is given to SLAC Users, guests already staying over surrounding dates, room type matches, and length of stay matches. If two reservation requests are otherwise equal, we will attempt to reserve the oldest one first.
Guest House staff will reach out to waitlisted guests and allow them a limited time to confirm a reservation with us. If the guest declines to confirm a reservation or fails to respond, we will contact the next guest in the database. This continues until we no longer have additional rooms to sell.
We unfortunately cannot predict when a reservation might be cancelled nor can we provide an order for the waitlist. What we can do is guarantee our waitlist is managed carefully to maximize the number of guests we can accommodate.
Can Guest House employees accept tips?
Guest House employees are not permitted to accept tips. As employees of Stanford, a tax-exempt non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, our staff cannot accept gratuities for performing their work. Guests are encouraged to provide positive feedback on behalf of an employee in lieu of tipping.
Why doesn’t the Guest House have my mail?
The Guest House shares an address with the SLAC Laboratory and does not receive any mail or packages directly. All deliveries are first received at the lab before being processed and redelivered to the Guest House. When tracking a package, it may show as delivered days before we have it at the Guest House.
SLAC does not receive any deliveries on weekends or university holidays and does not deliver any packages received in the afternoon. This can significantly delay the arrival of any urgent or overnight shipments. When mailing to a guest use the format below to avoid the item being routed to the wrong department at SLAC.
Due to space limitations, we are unable to receive packages in advance of a guest’s arrival. Packages arriving before a guest may be returned to the sender or accessed a storage fee.
Is smoking permitted at the Guest House?
The Guest House is a smoke-free environment. All smoking, including but not limited to tobacco products and the use of electronic smoking devices, is prohibited. For the convenience of our guests who wish to smoke, we have designated two areas nearby the Guest House where smoking is permitted.