Map

1: Sherfield & Great Hall (Registration desk & talks)
2: Queen’s Tower Rooms & Terrace (Exhibition, coffee, posters 1-53)
3: Sir Alexander Fleming (Posters 54-92)
4: City & Guids & Main Entrance (Coffee, Posters 93-175)
5: Imperial College Road (Lunch market)
6: Blackett Laboratory (Lab tours)

Accommodation

Halls
We offer accommodation at Imperial College student halls which you can book during the registration process. We have limited availability, so please register early. The halls are very convenient since they are just a few minutes walk from the conference venue. We are able to offer rooms in Prince’s Gardens at a discounted rate, making them relatively cheap given their location in central London. Please remember – this is basic accommodation in a student hall – the rooms are small, the beds are small, and there is no air conditioning. The rooms are available to all conference participants on a first come first served basis. Please follow the link above so that you can see what the rooms are like – there is even a virtual tour. Prices for 5 nights, including breakfast at the College, are as follows:

  • Prince’s Gardens: En-suite, Single B&B, 5 nights – £675 – few left
  • Prince’s Gardens: En-suite, Double B&B, single occupancy, 5 nights – £775 – few left
  • Prince’s Gardens: En-suite twin room, B&B, 5 nights – £870 – few left

Check in is on Sunday 14th July. Check out is on Friday 19th July. If you would like to stay extra nights, please contact the accommodation office directly (reservations@celestavenues.co.uk).
A twin room can be shared between two people, but you will need to organise a room mate yourself. We cannot split the cost of a twin room – one person needs to pay the full price at registration.

Hotels
There are many hotels and apartments available close to the venue. Book your hotel room as early as possible because prices rise sharply towards July. Generally, hotel rooms are very small (12-20 m2) and lack air conditioning. The following list includes hotels that we visited, are clean and find acceptable for staying during the conference. Prices are generally lower on the north side of Hyde Park (15-20 minute walk), but the quality also varies significantly.

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The Bailey’s Hotel London
As a special benefit for conference delegates, we are delighted to provide a discounted rate on room bookings. Simply use the booking code IMPE140724 when making your reservation through the provided link: Booking Link.


The Exhibitionist Hotel
54 Queen’s Gate
The Queen’s Gate Hotel (mention ICAP)
The Rembrandt Hotel (good size rooms)
Hux Hotel, Kensington (comfortable, but small rooms)

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Ashburn Hotel (clean, small rooms)
The Prime London Hotel (good value, small rooms, no breakfast)
Premier Inn (small but clean, not available through booking.com)
ibis Styles Gloucester Road (good value, avoid basement rooms, clean)

Budget Option
Hub by Premier Inn (new and comfortable beds)

Travel

The conference will take place at Imperial College London and nearby venues. The nearest underground stations are South Kensington and Gloucester Road which are served by the District Line, Circle Line and Piccadilly Line.

You can go everywhere in London by public transport. A good resource for planning travel within London is the Transport for London journey planner. Contactless payment is accepted throughout the Transport for London network – just tap your contactless card at the barriers or on the bus. Make sure you use the same card or device when you check-in and check-out. If your debit or credit card is not valid for contactless payments in the UK, you can instead buy a visitor Oyster Card and put money on it. Ensure you have sufficient funds on it before taking transport. In zones 1 and 2, a single tube trip costs £2.70 and the cost is capped at £8.10 per day if you take many trips.  Buses are cheaper.

London is served by 5 airports. All have good public transport links to the conference venue as described below.

From Heathrow airport:

You can take the underground (Piccadilly line) directly to South Kensington. It will take about 1 hour. Alternatively, you can take either the Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth Line to Paddington mainline station, and then change to the underground (Circle Line) to reach South Kensington.

From Gatwick airport:

Take the Gatwick Express to London Victoria mainline station (about 30 minutes). From here, take the underground (District line or Circle line) to South Kensington (about 10 minutes).

From Stansted airport:

Take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street mainline station (about 50 minutes). From here, take the underground (Circle line) to South Kensington (about 30 minutes).

From London City airport:

Take the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Canning Town, then the Jubilee line to Westminster and then the District line to South Kensington (whole journey is about 45 minutes).

From Luton airport:

Take the Luton DART to Luton Airport Parkway (4 minutes). From here, take the Luton Airport Express to London St. Pancras mainline station (about 25 minutes). Then cross over to Kings Cross and take the underground (Piccadilly line) to South Kensington.

By train:

The Eurostar terminal is at London St. Pancras. From here, walk to Kings Cross (the two stations are co-located) and take the underground (Piccadilly line) to South Kensington.

Taxis:

The airports are quite far from the city. If you decide to take a taxi, establish the price before you get in.

VISA

This government website will tell you if you need a visa and explain the process. We strongly advise you to find out if you need a visa to enter the UK as early as possible, and should a visa be required, to apply as soon as possible.

You’ll need to have your fingerprints and photograph (known as ‘biometric information’) taken at a visa application centre as part of your application. The application will not be submitted until that process has been completed. You will be able to book an appointment to provide your biometric information at the end of the online application. In support of your application, you should gather evidence of your circumstances, employment, ability to meet the costs of the trip and the arrangements in the UK. More details can be found in this guide to supporting documents.

When should I apply for my visa?

We recommend that applications be made as early as possible, from up to three months before the conference.

Nationals from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein: You do not need a VISA but you do need a passport. You cannot use a national identity card from an EU country, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein to enter the UK.