What makes a good meeting room?
A meeting works when nobody thinks about the room. That takes comfortable capacity, good acoustics, controllable light, a stable connection and breaks that do not overrun. For meetings and seminars of 20 to 300 people, location also matters a great deal: close to the group's hotels, well connected and with a place for lunch or dinner a few minutes away.
How to choose the room
- Format before capacity. A room for 80 theatre-style drops to 40 classroom-style or 30 in a U-shape. Decide the set-up first.
- Breakout rooms. If there are workshops, look for a venue with several rooms in the same building.
- Technology. Simultaneous interpreting, streaming, live voting or video conferencing: confirm what is in the room and what needs hiring.
- Hours. Some institutional venues close at 8 pm or require authorisation at weekends.
- Catering. In-house restaurant, open catering or a recommended supplier. Decide where breaks and lunch are served.
- Access. Parking, metro, coach stop and accessibility.
Common rules at institutional venues and historic buildings
Professional associations, cultural institutions and museums have their own rules: fixed capacities that cannot be increased with extra chairs (as at the Institut d'Estudis Catalans), office-hour time slots, loading and unloading at set times and restrictions on fixings in listed rooms. They also usually ask for the event content in the request. We prepare it and handle it with each venue.
Meeting and seminar rooms compared
| Venue | Area | Main room | Verified capacity | Spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espacio IMO | Pedralbes, Ronda de Dalt | Auditorium | 300 theatre-style | auditorium, 2 seminar rooms, meeting room, foyer and garden |
| Col·legi de Metges (CoMB) | Bonanova | Congress hall | 300 | sala d'actes, meeting rooms and classrooms, foyer for 12 to 20 stands |
| Ateneu Barcelonès | Ciutat Vella | Auditori Oriol Bohigas, 349 m² | 239 | 12 spaces and garden |
| Institut d'Estudis Catalans | Raval | Claustre, 250 m² | 220 (Prat de la Riba: 156) | 8 |
| Foment del Treball | Via Laietana | Auditori A | 200 | 10 |
| Reial Cercle Artístic | Gothic Quarter | Teatro de los Atlantes, 150 m² | 130 theatre-style | 8 |
| Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya | Montjuïc | Auditori, 149 m² | 90 seated | auditorium, library and 3 rooms |
Unique venues with working rooms
If you want a day with more character, several unique venues have rooms set up for work:
- Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau: two 190-seat auditoriums and eight meeting rooms.
- La Pedrera: 185-seat auditorium, extendable to 250.
- Fàbrica Moritz: Sala 39 for 190 theatre-style and dinner in the same building.
- Torre Bellesguard: 180 m² glazed room for 80 theatre-style, next to the gardens.
- El Born CCM: Auditori Comercial 5 for 72 people and Sala Moragues for 280.
The figures come from each venue's official websites and catalogues; sources are on each venue page. If your group needs accommodation in the same building, also see our convention hotels.
How we organise it
We suggest two or three venues with confirmed availability, negotiate the rate and terms, and take care of AV, breaks, catering, transfers and in-room coordination. Get in touch with your date, number of attendees and format, and we will reply within 24 business hours.