Meeting Rooms & Conference Venues

The purpose-built Wellcome Collection Conference Centre combines light, modern spaces with a prime location. The venue’s state-of-the art event space features a helical staircase that connects delegates to the fascinating Medicine Now gallery and Reading Room – excellent for drinks receptions – and the Library. Elsewhere, the Henry Wellcome Auditorium is best suited to presentations, and there are a number of smaller meeting rooms and breakout areas.

The Invision Suites are a self-contained collection of hi-tech meeting rooms within the Congress Centre. All benefit from natural light, and the main conference room features a built-in projection and touch-panel control system to operate the AV, lighting and blackout blinds. Two of the rooms (Invision 1 & 2) combine to form a larger space, while a dedicated reception area and breakout rooms mean multistage events are painless.

Late in 2017, gaming club Crown London Aspinalls moved its restaurant to the ground floor and opened it to non-members. On Curzon Street, just a few minutes from Green Park tube, 27 Restaurant & Bar employs a large team of specialised chefs who use British produce to deliver modern European, Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine late into the night. A smart, contemporary private dining room offers complete seclusion, with no hire fee.

Versatile interiors and a handy location off Kensington High Street attract a loyal client base to Kensington Conference & Events Centre. Its mainstay is international conferences, as well as fairs and exhibitions, but dinner dances are also popular. The Great Hall can be hired along with two foyers and four breakout rooms. For more intimate board meetings, the Council Chamber has leather-topped desks, with individual microphones. 

Built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London, St Andrew Holborn is now a popular location for events, with a series of spaces to hire in the church, courthouse and crypt. The church itself is an atmospheric backdrop for dinners and concerts, while the crypt is a dramatic subterranean space for receptions. There’s also plenty of straight-up meeting space, while catering can be provided by the in-house team or from preferred suppliers.

This purpose-built Westminster venue is no stranger to high-profile clients. Its 32 event spaces hold up to 2,500 delegates, and conferences and exhibitions work well here. A major refurb, including a renovated façade, new breakout spaces and improved lighting, was recently completed. We’re big fans of the Churchill, whose slightly raked seating means everyone gets a good view. The larger rooms work well for banquets and drinks receptions.

Billing itself as the UK’s first ethical hotel, the Wesley strives to make itself as sustainable as can be. An independent four-star right next to Euston station, it makes another statement with its events proposition. An array of meeting rooms run from small to large. Many have natural light; others offer complete seclusion. The brightest space of all is probably the mezzanine-level Savannah, with its skylights and freehand artworks. For lunch or networking events, the John Wesley has direct restaurant access.

A listed Belle Epoque façade ensures this Holborn hotel makes a big first impression. Beyond some wrought-iron entrance gates, a courtyard leads guests to the foot of a marble staircase that rises all the way to the seventh floor. The lobby also leads to the elegant Grand Ballroom foyer, the centrepiece of a dozen other event spaces, with its five adjoining Salons. Other highlights include The Dining Room and The Living Room – ideal for private dining. Three boardrooms also flaunt some high-class architectural features. Organisers can meet in-house planners and finalise the finer details in the dedicated Event Studio.

The Lalit Suri Group’s first hotel outside Asia is a classy affair. Its Laboratories are two elegant meeting and private dining rooms with lots of natural light. In a former school hall with a vaulted ceiling, pan-Indian restaurant Baluchi makes a grand impression. There’s a mezzanine-level Gallery for afternoon tea and an outdoor terrace for warmer days. The Headmaster’s Room offers an education in single malts and champagnes beneath a mother-of-pearl ceiling.

Europe’s largest arts and conference venue boasts world-class facilities. The tiered Barbican Hall and Barbican Theatre have good sight lines, fine acoustics and adjoining foyers. Three auditoria are also on offer, with adjacent conference suites. Elsewhere, a trio of banqueting rooms can be used together – a popular combination being the Conservatory and Garden Room (a plant-filled oasis). The Exhibition Hall has a versatile 1,800sq m of space.

In tranquil Dean’s Yard, next to Westminster Abbey, this Grade II-listed building was a stand-in base for the House of Lords during WWII. Today, it offers a wide range of event spaces, blending original character (oak panelling, raw stone, feature windows) with advanced technology – its upgraded Assembly Hall features a 4K projection system. That sense of occasion required for awards ceremonies and gala dinners is found here in abundance.

L’Etoile has offered its own brand of bistro chic to Charlotte Street for more than a century. Unusually for a Fitzrovia property, it offers four bright, well-appointed private spaces for events. Decorated in a classic French style, they best suit private dinners, but they’re also popular for cocktail and canapé receptions, parties, small product launches and meetings. Exclusive use is an option and there’s a choice of three private-dining set menus.

The King’s Fund (aka No. 11 Cavendish Square) occupies a Georgian townhouse with four floors of event space. The Burdett Suite, with adjoining catering space, is the spot for conferences. The standout room, however, is the bright Orangery flanked by the tranquil Courtyard Garden. The newest addition is the Green House: a light, verdant room for receptions. Two more lecture theatres can host presentations, while the President’s Room suits meetings and private dinners.

Home to the National Education Union, Hamilton House is a light and spacious venue with a dozen rooms purpose-built for seminars, meetings and breakout sessions. The largest space, Mander Hall, is notable for its double-height ceilings and a colourful mural running the length of the room. All spaces are fitted with LCD projectors and hi-spec conferencing equipment. Catering covers breakfast, lunch and afternoon breaks.

The Lincoln Centre sits at the crossroads of the City and the West End. Equipped with state-of-the art technology, it’s a popular choice for financial presentations, AGMs, seminars and product launches. All nine event spaces can be branded, from the clean-lined Presentation Room 1 and 2 to the more homely Blake room, which comes with views of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The brightest spaces, Hamano and Turner, feature floor-to-ceiling windows.

Permanently moored at Temple Pier, The Yacht London is a characterful 1927 steam vessel available for hospitality bookings. A 3am license means parties can last way into the night, while its central location gives views of some of the capital’s iconic landmarks, including Big Ben and the London Eye. The alfresco Top Deck is the place to book in summer, and there’s the option to hire spaces in conjunction with one another.

This popular central London venue occupies a distinctive mid-century modernist building, with event spaces that range from small, hi-tech meeting rooms to the striking 1950s Congress Hall. The latter offers a sprung-wood floor and glass ceiling, which fills the room with natural light. Besides conferences and exhibitions, it’s a good fit for product launches, awards dinners and fashion shows. Excellent AV facilities include HD 3D projection.

Modern music-arts-restaurant hub Kings Place has been a prime mover in the regeneration of King’s Cross. Kings Place Events offers its hi-spec function rooms for private hire, including the Hall One auditorium, with its outstanding acoustics, and the Battlebridge Room, which looks out across Regent’s Canal. Available for exclusive use, the venue also houses the Rotunda restaurant, which has a large terrace for summer entertaining.

No.11 Cavendish Square occupies an elegant Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse with four floors of event space. The ground-floor Green House offers a verdant spot with a central champagne bar and AV kit for meetings. The venue’s standout space, though, is the light and modern Orangery, which is flanked by a tranquil courtyard garden. The hi-tech Burdett Theatre is the spot for important presentations.

Occupying levels 34 to 52 of the soaring Shard, this hotel’s USP is self-evident. Apart from some of the best views in London, this five-star establishment offers event space notable for its top-spec AV kit, natural daylight and dynamic design. Ren, the headline space, is suited to conferences, meetings or banquets; for private dining, check out Yi or Li. If complete privacy is needed, groups can take over the hotel’s 34th floor exclusively.

The refurbished Savoy Place offers increased capacity and cutting-edge tech. We like the idea of the Kelvin Lecture Theatre – with its original mahogany panelling – for presentations and product launches. Check out the Turing Lecture Theatre upstairs for a more contemporary feel. Our favourite spaces are the Riverside Room and Maxwell Library, which have fine views over the Thames. The Johnson Roof Terrace is made for summer parties.

This Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse in Marylebone features interiors designed by neoclassical architects Robert and James Adam, with pretty signature touches such as filigree plasterwork and inset classical paintings. The three Fine Rooms, Hutchison Room and Library make elegant, Regency-style settings for dinners, conferences and receptions. Elsewhere, the more modern Gallery has been designed as an exhibition space and can be hired separately.