We are all still working from home, so we meet once a week and work in a venue or hotel together. This has given us the ideal opportunity to experience the meeting facilities in the venues first hand.
Here is just a selection of the recent venues we have visited:
Docky Barn Cafe, Cambridge
Located in the small business park of Copley Hill just South East of Cambridge, close to Babraham Institute and Granta Park (A11 and M11 are close by). Docky Barn is a cafe with meeting rooms that are open to all.
The Cafe is open from 08.00-15.00 but meeting rooms are available all day. They have two spaces – a small room suitable for 7 boardroom and a larger room that holds up to 20 in U-Shape. The larger room has access to a private outdoor terrace. The site has free parking and fibre broadband.
A perfect place for a meet up away from the office in a relaxed setting.
Rutland Hall Hotel & Spa, Rutland
Rutland Hall Hotel is set on the banks of Rutland Water within 65 acres of landscaped hillside.
The hotel has recently undergone a complete refurbishment. The final stage of the refurbishment will be the building of a new spa and moving the swimming pool and gym to a self-contained building.
Rutland Hall Hotel consists of a number of separate buildings. There are 3 accommodation blocks including the Main Hall all of which have been refurbished recently. The two modern accommodation blocks have many rooms with views of the water.
The restaurant and some of the smaller meeting rooms have also been refurbished. There is a new purpose-built conference block with meeting rooms that can hold up to 200.
The hotel currently has a gym, pool, crazy golf and tennis courts all on site. But with Rutland water on the doorstep, you have access to cycle hire, watersports and horse riding too.
The Lodge, Duxford
Located in the small village of Duxford, south of Cambridge and just off the M11.
The Lodge re-opened just before the pandemic after a complete refurbishment.
The Lodge is ideal for small groups and meetings. The hotel has 17 very individual bedrooms. On the ground floor they have a co-working space that is the hotel’s bar in the evening. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. On the lower level they have the Graze Cafe, open during the day for coffee, cakes and snacks.
The meeting space is on the 1st floor and can hold 24 boardroom style. They have a number of breakout spaces including The Snug that can seat 6 and a number of glasshouses, that can each hold 6 for a meeting or private dining.
In the grounds, aswell as the glasshouses, there are a number of seating areas and a large covered patio which is heated so can be used throughout the year.
Down Hall Hotel
Down Hall Hotel is a 4-star country house close to Bishop Stortford and Stansted.
The West Wing was remodelled in 2019. This wing contains the hotel’s main meeting rooms and a number of bedrooms, so can be hired privately for a large group. The Bridgeman/Selwin Suite holds up to 220 theatre style. There are a number of syndicate rooms of various sizes.
The Main House has additional meeting rooms that are ideal for private dining as well as smaller day meetings. We used the Lyndhurst which was a stunning room with a lovely view and ornate fireplace.
Set in 110 acres of parkland the team have marked a number of walks of varying lengths. They also have tennis courts, a paddle board court and giant chess in the grounds to keep you entertained. Opened in 2019 The Spa offers treatments, and the hotel also has a new state of the art gym.
The hotel’s excellent catering team get a lot of their ingredients from the kitchen gardens.
Madingley Hall
Madingley Hall is part of the University of Cambridge and was home to most of their short courses. Still owned by the University, Madingley Hall is now run as conference centre, with much more availability for external events.
We have seen its transformation over the last 2 years. The building and gardens have always been stunning…a Tudor Hall, located in walled gardens with hidden paths and walkways! But now the inside is crisper, more business-like. The WiFi has been improved and more meeting rooms are available to hire. We were lucky enough to be working in the Doghole, a meeting room up its own staircase close to reception, ideal for 12 boardroom. Most of the rooms have great period features, fireplaces, wood panelling and paintings. The venue also has 2 self-contained meeting rooms in a modern extension – ideal for training. The Saloon holds 90 theatre and is the Halls largest room. The venue also has 72 basic college style en-suite bedrooms – the rooms are clean and comfortable, each with their own bathroom.
The grounds offer a lot of scope for team building. This Christmas there are plans for 2 large marquees, watch this space!
Thank you to all the venues and their teams for looking after us. We have loved all the venues we have worked at – highly recommended.
