Meet Cambridge, the official conference and events bureau for Cambridge has announced a number of new facilities within its venue portfolio.
At Homerton College, an auditorium with retractable seating for 105 people, together with 18 en suite guest bedrooms, comprise the new North Wing. Further refurbishment is underway at the college, including the construction of a new dining hall to seat 300 people, which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2021.
An update and redesign of the Dining Hall and other spaces located in the heart of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge is the focus for its Central Spaces project, which will provide a suite of rooms that connect directly through an Atrium with the existing facilities available at the College’s 150-seat McGrath Conference Centre. Moving a staircase in the centre has created space in the lobby for conference registrations, networking and poster sessions, as well as allowing the building to operate on an exclusive use basis when the College is able to open again for external events.
The project as a whole will create spaces for a range of meetings, with capacity for 190 in the Dining Hall and 20 in the new Dr Sydney Smith Room, all served by kitchens. The project is scheduled for completion in Summer 2022.
The Old Garden Hostel building at King’s College has also been refurbished. The project, which started in 2019, includes a full refurbishment and extensions to the north and west elevations as well as the addition of a third floor providing 40 extra bedrooms. The existing 30 single bedrooms have also been given en suite bathrooms bringing the total number of bedrooms on site to 70.
The Forum Building at Jesus College now houses a professional kitchen and spacious dining rooms whilst a two-year major kitchen redevelopment project is currently underway.
Another kitchen refurbishment has just been completed at Gonville & Caius College. It includes the Old Courts Main Hall servery and will enable the introduction of a new dining service.
Wesley House will now be offering two newly-refurbished meeting rooms, suitable for 10-12 people, board room style.
The Hilton Cambridge City Centre is also about to its refurbished Isaac Newton Suite. The meeting and function space has undergone a total renovation to include a full audio-visual upgrade and a new bar. Additional 86-inch smart 4K UHD screens have also been fitted in the hotel’s Byron, Wordsworth, Hawking and Tennyson rooms.
In addition to its existing hotels, Meet Cambridge will welcome a number of new establishments during 2021 to include The Graduate, Turing Locke Aparthotel and Hyatt Centric Hotel and The Fellows House Cambridge, Curio Collection by Hilton.
Judith Sloane, manager at Meet Cambridge, said: “It is very exciting to see these new developments at our venues which will offer organisers an even wider range of possibilities for meetings of all kinds, in person or hybrid, as and when we can resume. It is hugely encouraging to see the investment that venues are making to upgrade and improve their facilities at this time, strengthening the unique experience Cambridge can deliver to organisers and delegates. We can’t wait to see all of our venues back in action and to welcome visitors once again, soon.”
