What
if my plans change after making a reservation?
Reserve
with confidence as there are no problems if your plans change
and you need to cancel or change your dates. Your deposit
will be refunded in full provided you have let us
know not later than two days before the date you were due
to arrive.
How
do I get to you from Heathrow Airport?
1.)
By Fast Train - Take the non-stop Heathrow Express
train straight into Paddington Station, leaves every 15
minutes (journey time approximately 15 minutes) and costs
£14.50. Children £7. From Paddington Station
take a 15 – 20 minute taxi ride to the hotel - approximately
£10.
2.) By Taxi (Black-cab) - There are always plenty
of taxis lining up waiting for customers, takes about 50
minutes depending on traffic delays, i.e. costs a bit more
in the morning and evening peak periods. Costs about £65.
3.) By Private Hire Car (Minicab) – We can
make arrangements to meet you with a personalised sign at
the Arrivals Hall at the airport, help you with your luggage
and bring you straight to the hotel by private car. The
price depends on the number of persons and the amount of
luggage and we can quote you the amount if you email us
and advise. For example, from Heathrow - 2 persons with
2 cases and hand luggage would be £50 (From Gatwick,
Stansted and Luton - £25 extra)
4.) By Tube - Take the Tube direct to Russell Square
station, leaves about every 5 -10 minutes. Costs £4.00
(Children 5-16 yrs - £2) and takes about 55 minutes.
How do I get to you from Gatwick Airport?
By
Rail - Take the Gatwick Express train direct from the
airport to Victoria Station. It leaves about every 15 minutes
and costs £15.90. The trip takes about 30 minutes
to reach Victoria Station and then takes another 20 minutes
by tube to Euston on the Victoria Line (cost £1.60)
or by taxi (about £6).
OR
2.)Take the Thameslink train direct from Gatwick to Kings
Cross Station (£9.80). Then a 10 minute walk from
the station to the hotel or take a taxi (about £4).
By Private Hire Car (Minicab) – See above.
How
do I get to you from Stansted Airport?
By
Rail - From the airport every 15 minutes from 0800 to
1700 weekdays and every 30 minutes early morning, evening
weekdays and weekends. Ask for a ticket to Euston and change
trains at Tottenham Hale onto the Tube (Victoria Line) and
get off the train 5 stops later at Euston. Journey time
- approx. 1 hour. Cost - £14.50.
By Private Hire Car (Minicab) – See above
How
do I get to you from Luton Airport?
By Rail – Luton Flyer to Kings Cross. Cost
£11.20. Takes approx. 50 minutes and then a 10 min.
walk or a taxi.
By Private Hire Car (Minicab) – See above
How do I find you after leaving the tube?
Print
out a copy of our local map and take it
with you. You can see that Russell Square tube station,
and Euston and Kings Cross/St.Pancras main line and tube
stations are each within easy walking distance of the George.
What
do I get with my "English Breakfast"?
Our
policy is to try to make sure you start the day with a satisfying
breakfast and you can have a choice of various cereals,
choice of fruit juices, tea and coffee, toast, choice of
jams, marmalade and honey, eggs (fried, scrambled, poached
or boiled), grilled bacon, sausages, tomatoes, baked beans.
If you're still hungry when you're finished have more of
whatever you want.
Where can I get information about
travelling around London?
London
Buses and Tubes - Tube and bus fares are based
on a six-zone system. Check http://www.tfl.gov.uk
for full details, tube maps, bus maps, journey planners
and the latest prices. Tube and bus maps and other information
are also available free at our reception desk.
Travelcards – It usually saves money
to purchase a daily or weekly Travelcard which allows unlimited
travel in Greater London on the rail network, buses, Underground
and the Docklands Light Railway. You can then travel on
any combination of tube, train, bus and DLR within
your selected zones as many times as you wish, for as long
as your card is valid. The standard card for central London
covers zones 1 and 2 and this should be quite sufficient
for the general tourist. With a Travel Card you can just
get on and off trains and buses in the zone you've chosen
as often as you like at no extra cost. They also entitle
you to 1/3rd off the cost of travel on scheduled Riverboat
service.
It's a considerably cheaper way to get around if you are
intending to do any more than two journeys in a day. The
Travelcard, although also valid for use on buses, can only
be bought at Underground and railway stations, and at selected
newsagents.
An on-the-spot fine for not having the correct ticket on
a bus or train is £10 so make sure you don't stray
outside the zones that your Travelcard covers.
Taxis - Black-cab drivers tend to know
central London very well and can be hailed in the street
when the yellow Taxi sign on the roof is lit. Once they
have stopped for you taxis are obliged to take you anywhere
you want to go within 6 miles of the pick-up point. The
charges are made through a combination of time and distance
and the meter is visible for you to check the cost and you
can get out at any time. Black cabs are expensive but are
fully insured and low-risk. A standard journey across the
West End will cost about £6 or £7 outside rush
hour. A 10% tip will be expected.
Where
can I get information about theatres?
There
are more than a 100 theatres in London and you can see a
full list of what's on, maps of theatre locations, seating
plans and theatre box office telephone numbers at http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/
. It’s important, before you pay for any tickets with
your card, that you check the seats you’ve been allocated
against the seating layout to ensure that they’re
OK. If you’re booking on the ‘phone have the
seating layout on the screen in front of you before you
call.
Buying from the theatre box office - There
is usually no booking fee when you buy tickets in person.
If you telephone the box office direct to order tickets,
you may be charged a small booking fee. At busy periods,
some box office telephone numbers ‘trip over’
to ticket agencies. In this instance, any fees should be
identical to those charged by the box office.
Buying from the Half Price Ticket Booth in Leicester
Square - This ticket booth in the clock-tower building
in Leicester Square is the best way to buy discount tickets
on the day of performance. Have a look at http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts
for further details. Warning - make sure
you go to the right place in Leicester Square, ignore the
booths you pass getting there.
Buying tickets from a ticket agency - Most
legitimate ticket agents are members of STAR (The Society
of Ticket Agents & Retailers), an organisation that
aims to encourage best practice among ticketing outlets.
Ticket agents always charge a booking fee, up to 25% of
the price you would pay if you bought the ticket direct
from the theatre box office in person. These fees vary so
compare this cost from their websites before committing
yourself.
Where can I park the car?
It's
worth pointing out that the roads in London are very crowded
and the cost of parking is prohibitively expensive so we
strongly recommend that you do not bring a car unless you
really have to and don't hire one unless you intend to take
it out of the centre the same day.
London now has a “Congestion Charge Zone” in
the very centre and the George Hotel is within that area.
Payment of the congestion charge allows you to enter, drive
around, and leave the charging zone as many times as you
wish that day. Congestion charging applies between 7.00a.m.
and 6.00 p.m., Monday to Friday. You can pay the £8
congestion charge either in advance or on the day of travel
before, during or after the journey but you must pay by
10.00pm on the day of travel to avoid penalty costs. For
further information - http://www.cclondon.com/index.shtml
If you do need to bring a car we have an arrangement with
NCP for discounted parking at their local underground parking
garage in Brunswick Square. The hotel can provide daily
tickets for this garage at a cost of only £6.
Street parking is free from 6.30pm - 8.30am Monday-Friday
and from 1.30 pm on Saturday. Metered parking at other times
and be aware that traffic wardens are predatory in central
London so don't over-run the time on your meter. You have
been warned!
General Questions
Electricity
- British current is 240 volts, AC, so you'll need a converter
or transformer for U.S.-made electrical appliances, as well
as an adapter that allows the plug to match British outlets.
If you don’t have one you can buy a transformer/adapter
at many places in London and we recommend "Boots the
Chemist" as their prices are reasonable and they have
many branches close to the hotel.
We supply hair dryers and an iron.
Time
difference in America - Most of the year Britain is 5 hours
ahead of the time observed on the East Coast of the United
States. When it's noon in New York, it's 5pm in London.
Tipping
- In restaurants, service charges around the 10% range are
usually included in the bill. Sometimes this will be clearly
indicated but, if it isn't, waiters won’t mind if
you ask and you can decide for yourself how much to leave.
There's no tipping in fast-food cafes, pubs or theatres.
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