London Venue Site Inspections: Our August Highlights

Next stop was the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, where we met Meghann Madine. The Guinness Vaults is a hidden underground event space beneath the historic Old Brewer’s Yard in Covent Garden. The two largest rooms, the Bottle Room and the Barrel Room, work well together and offer something different for clients looking for a distinctive event venue.

In the main building, there is the Private Dining Room which can seat up to 20 people for a meeting or dinner. We really liked this room and loved the contemporary features alongside the urban feel of the space.

Gilroy’s Loft is a gem of an event space – a rooftop Guinness Bar & Terrace. Perfect for summer parties and drinks receptions.

Our next venue was just round the corner – the Conduit Club. We met up with Emily who showed us around the venue. Unfortunately, the space we really wanted to see was the Rooftop Pergola which is currently under refurbishment. We will have to revisit once it is relaunched in the Autumn!

The Conduit Club is a members’ club for companies committed to creating a just and sustainable future, making it ideal for clients with the same ethos. The Forum is its main event space and can accommodate up to 120 guests seated for a day or evening event. The Noble Rooms and Ubuntu Lounge are used by members but can also be booked for events.

We then met up with Harry Hancock at the The Hoxton, Holborn where we also had lunch – thanks, Harry!

We had a good look around the hotel, which was again very busy, with people relaxing and working in the public areas. The Hoxton’s welcoming ethos was evident throughout the property which encourages people to come in and use the open reception spaces. The reception desk is always positioned to the side of the lobby rather than taking centre stage, which makes the space feel more like being welcomed into someone’s home.

The Meeting space at a Hoxton Hotel is called the Apartment and is consistent throughout all their hotels. The Apartment at Holborn  consists of seven rooms that can be hired separately for team away days, meetings and brainstorming sessions etc. It can also be hired exclusively using the smaller rooms as breakout areas or chill-out zones depending on the event.

It was refreshing to hear about the Hoxton “No rip-off Policy”, which extends to their bedrooms. Everyone gets water, fresh milk, coffee and tea, plus a fridge that guests can stock with snacks and drinks from the Hox Shop, where beers, wines and soft drinks are available at supermarket prices.

Our final stop for the day, and the venue for our team meeting, was the InterContinental London Hyde Park. Maya met us and showed us to the Camden Suite, where we caught up on emails whilst waiting for Lida to join us before spending a couple of hours planning for the next quarter.

The Hotel has a dedicated conference and events floor, ideal for those larger events requiring breakout spaces. It also offers some great rooms for smaller meetings whilst not impacting on the larger space. There are a total of 14 meeting rooms alongside the Ballroom.

The Park Lane Suites are six interconnecting suites featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows. They offer direct views of Hyde Park and can host over 400 delegates when fully combined.

The Ballroom has a separate, private street entrance via Hamilton Place. It accommodates up to 1,000 guests for standing receptions or up to 750 guests for seated galas and banquets.

We finished the day with a delicious dinner at Theo’s on the Terrace, enjoying authentic Italian-inspired dishes.