Meet in Cardiff

How about holding a reception amid one of the largest bodies of Impressionist art outside Paris? Next to City Hall, the grand National Museum opened in 1927 and encompasses a fine art collection and a natural history exhibition. Many of its spaces are available for hire outside opening hours (10am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday).

Drinks receptions for 300 people can be held upstairs in the Impressionist and Modern Art galleries – home to masterworks by Rodin, Cézanne, Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh – and it can be arranged for volunteer guides to be on hand to bring the collection to life. Access can also be granted to the contemporary art wing – a changing exhibition that included pieces by Bacon, Freud and Hockney during my visit.

Dinners for 320 people can be held in the central Grand Hall, with its dramatic domed ceiling, while the 340-seat Reardon Smith theatre is available for conferences. For something rather more unusual, walk-through drinks for 300 people can be held among the dinosaurs and mammoths of the natural history rooms.

• National Museum Cardiff, Cathays Park; tel +44 (0)29 2057 3387; museumwales.ac.uk/en/cardiff

One of the great advantages of staging your meeting in the Welsh capital is its petite size. As Heledd Williams, head of business tourism at Cardiff and Co – a non-profit agency that promotes the city – puts it: “We call it a 15-minute or a 900-second city – that’s the amount of time it takes to cross on foot. And you have all these unique venues within walking distance of each other.”

One such venue is City Hall, on the northern edge of the centre. The Edwardian building has served as the HQ of local government since 1904. Spaces available for hire include the Marble Hall and Assembly room, often used in conjunction with each other, with drinks held in the former and dinner in the latter (for 500 delegates). Up a red-carpeted staircase from the foyer, the Marble Hall features yellow marble columns and busts of “Heroes of Wales”, as well as a painting of Princess Diana. The Assembly room has a high domed ceiling and lavish plasterwork. The circular, wood-panelled Council Chambers seats 120.

• City Hall, Cathays Park; tel +44 (0)29 2087 1736; cardiffcityhall.com

Sir Anthony Hopkins learnt his trade in the hallowed rehearsal spaces of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, which also counts Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones among its alumni. In June last year the college unveiled a £22.5 million expansion that has added the Dora Stoutzker Hall – the first purpose-built chamber recital venue in Wales – and the Richard Burton Theatre.

The acoustics of the birch-lined, 394-capacity “Dora” make it particularly suitable for musical performances, but also for conferences and screenings. The Burton has 182 deep-violet seats and state-of-the-art technology. There are also ten break-out rooms, while the older Anthony Hopkins Centre – housed in the former mews buildings of Cardiff Castle – has more meeting space. The new triple-height foyer overlooks the Grade I Listed Bute Park and is an attractive space for drinks, with outdoor decking. It can be arranged for students to perform at events, and actors’ workshops are also possible.

• Castle Grounds, Cathays Park; tel +44 (0)29 2039 1376; rwcmd.ac.uk

Panoramic city views are available from the upper levels of the Radisson Blu, a 21-floor new-build open since 2009. A five-minute walk from Cardiff Central train station, the four-star hotel has 215 smart and spacious guestrooms with free wifi and floor-to-ceiling windows.

The meeting space is housed in a dedicated area on the first floor and comprises a 300-capacity ballroom divisible by two (no daylight but with a four-metre-high ceiling and a pre-function area), and four conference rooms, three of which can be joined to host 150 people theatre-style. There is also an Italian restaurant and a mezzanine bar. See businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested for a full review.

• Meridian Gate, Bute Terrace; tel +44 (0)29 2045 4777; radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-cardiff

Over the road from Cardiff Castle is the Hilton, one of only two five-star hotels in the city. It is the venue of choice for visiting rugby teams (which is why some of the beds are extra-long). There are 197 rooms across seven floors, each equipped with flatscreen TVs and wired internet access (some have wifi).

Meeting facilities include a ground-floor ballroom that holds 350 delegates theatre-style. This venue has no daylight but is located off a bright atrium, which can be used for registration. There are four more meeting rooms on the first floor, the largest hosting 50 people banquet-style, plus a 180-capacity restaurant and the Steam bar, available for parties of 120. There is a health club with a gym, a 20-metre pool and two treatment rooms.

• Kingsway; tel +44 (0)29 2064 6300; hilton.co.uk

Delegates can do battle with the rapids at the city’s white-water centre in Cardiff Bay. Groups of up to 36 can tackle the loop-shaped outdoor course, which is powered by four giant electric pumps. Up to six people can operate each raft, allowing for timed races, and obstacles can be added to up the ante. Canoeing and kayaking are possible in the flat water area. Half- or full-day itineraries could also include raft-building and Crystal Maze-style challenges, and there are two meeting rooms, the largest holding 60 delegates.

• Watkiss Way; tel +44 (0)29 2082 9970; ciww.com

Around the corner from the Hilton, the four-star Park Plaza features an attractive lobby with open fires. Its 129 modern rooms are a decent size and come with free wifi, flatscreen TVs and minibars.

The function space is split across the ground and first floors. Off the lobby is the street-facing Park suite, which divides into four and holds up to 120 delegates theatre-style, and the Plaza suite, divisible in two, with space for 250 people for a reception (colourful paintings of blooms add character to a room with no daylight). Upstairs are five venues, the largest holding 60 theatre-style.

Adjoining the hotel, the Moroccan-inspired Kuku club can be hired for parties of 150. The hotel has a gym, a 20-metre pool and a spa.

• Greyfriars Road; tel +44 (0)29 2011 1111; parkplazacardiff.com

Once the base for one of the world’s largest coal exporting industries, Cardiff Bay – a ten-minute drive from the centre – has experienced much regeneration in recent years. It’s here that you’ll find the five-star St David’s, part of the Principal Hayley group of venues. The seven-floor property has 142 rooms, almost all of which have balconies overlooking the bay.

Located on the first and ground floors, the meeting facilities include the Dylan Thomas and Roald Dahl suites, which hold 270 and 220 delegates theatre-style respectively. Both have pre-function areas, quayside views, and can be divided into two. There are also three boardrooms. Speedboat trips can be arranged for groups, and the spa has ten treatment rooms, a gym and a 15-metre pool.

• Havannah Street; tel +44 (0)29 2045 4045; thestdavidshotel.com

UWIC Cardiff Metropolitan University’s management school gained a new home on its Llandaff campus, a ten-minute drive north-west of the centre, in September 2010.

Constructed around a bright central atrium, the £20 million four-floor building has 25 well-equipped seminar rooms and five modern lecture theatres (the largest seating 200 people) that can be hired for meetings. There is also a ground-floor hospitality suite with a bar and restaurant (maximum capacity 90 people), and a sports field that can be used for teambuilding. Out of term time, the atrium can be used for exhibitions and dining.

• Western Avenue; tel +44 (0)29 2041 6181; uwic.ac.uk/conferences

Cardiff has a major sports venue right in the city centre – the 74,500-capacity Millennium Stadium – but there is also a smaller stadium a ten-minute drive away.

Opened in 2009 as the new home of Cardiff City football team and Cardiff Blues rugby squad, the 27,000-seat venue has a range of spaces for hire. These include the Redrow suite, which divides into two and hosts 750 for banqueting, and the Premier suite, which holds 650 diners. Both overlook the pitch, although the former is probably better for corporate gatherings.

The Chairman’s suite hosts 20 delegates boardroom-style, and there are four other rooms and 14 corporate boxes. Pitch events such as group tournaments are possible.

• Leckwith Road; tel +44 (0)845 365 1155; cardiffcityevents.co.uk

A wide range of teambuilding activities are available at the 143-room Vale resort, a four-star property set in more than 260 hectares of grounds, a 20-minute drive from the city centre.

Coginio (it means “cooking” in Welsh) runs classes for groups of up to 16, teaching local recipes such as Welsh cakes, cawl (broth) and bara brith (fruit bread). The property’s two 18-hole golf courses have played host to PGA tournaments, and other possible pursuits are chocolate making, clay pigeon shooting, off-road driving and survival training. The resort also boasts Wales’s largest spa, which was revamped last year and has 19 treatment rooms and a 20-metre pool. There is a gym, tennis and squash courts, and ten meeting venues –  the largest holds 700 delegates.

• Hensol Park, Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan; tel +44 (0)1443 667 800; vale-hotel.com

• Go to meetincardiff.com and businessevents.visitwales.com.
• First Great Western operates 29 trains from London Paddington to Cardiff a day, with the fastest journey time being two hours. Visit firstgreatwestern.co.uk for details.