When you’re thinking big, you need a conference hotel with room to breathe. Here’s our guide to some of Europe’s finest.
Budapest
BUDAPEST MARRIOTT HOTEL
If you’re after location, as well as newly revamped facilities and impeccable service, here’s the place. The Marriott Is on the Pest side of the Danube, and every room has a river view. The 9th-floor executive lounge provides complimentary breakfast and afternoon drinks and an enormous terrace. The ballroom is Budapest’s largest meeting space, and can seat up to 650 delegates. There are 24 additional meeting rooms, and two large break-out rooms. Use the online calculator and checklist section to work out costs and see which meeting room has the floor plan to suit. marriott.com
Madrid
HILTON MADRID AIRPORT
Transfers is one cost you can take off the budget if you book in an airport. The Hilton Madrid Airport is a quick, free shuttle from the terminal, and as it can take 30 minutes to taxi into town, you won’t have to worry about delegates sightseeing when they should be conferencing. The hotel’s North Tower is home to the Convention Center, which includes a 580-seater ballroom and 13 meeting rooms. make sure you negotiate an internet package — the hotel charges a whopping €24 a day for WiFi. hilton.co.uk/madridairport
Rome
CAVALIERI
Forget the brutal Sixties blocky exterior, the Cavalieri is the first hotel in Europe to be part of the exclusive Waldorf Astoria Collection, and it has got what it takes inside. A world-class spa, 15 acres of parkland overlooking Rome’s rooftops, an art collection that outshines those of many museums and Rome’s only three-star Michelin restaurant. A recent overhaul of conference facilities cost €8m (much of it spent on ornate 17th-century tapestries), and the new Salone dei Cavalieri ballroom is easily the region’s largest, and can host up to 2,100 delegates. romecavalieri.com
Athens
ATHENAEUM INTERCONTINENTAL
Athens is a bewildering city for the uninitiated to negotiate, and it pays to book somewhere central that’s large enough to keep everyone in the same place. The Athenaeum InterContinental packs in spacious conference facilities extending over 3,500 square metres. There are 40 meeting rooms, plus the city’s largest ballroom, with space for up to 2,500 delegates, 543 guest rooms and suites, and a large I-Spa by Algotherm. The hotel is also crammed with contemporary Greek art, including a lifesize blue man light sculpture by George Lappas. It’s such an impressive package that the hotel won the title of Greece’s Leading Business Hotel at the World Travel Awards. Wonderful roof terrace with Acropolis views. ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/athha
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