Holborn surprises with its range, starting from 10-person boardrooms at venues like 113 Chancery Lane up to the monumental 1,350-seat Grand Temple at Freemasons' Hall (now branded as 60 Great Queen Street). The sweet spot sits between 100-400 delegates, where you'll find Conway Hall's 400-seat auditorium at competitive rates, The View at Royal College of Surgeons handling 300 theatre-style, and Rosewood London's Grand Ballroom accommodating 430. Most venues offer flexible configurations too.
Conway Hall publishes their 2025 rates transparently: £2,800 for weekday hire of their 400-seat Main Hall. Day delegate rates typically run £75-£180 per person, with etc.venues Chancery Lane at the accessible end around £75-£110, while Rosewood London commands £120-£180. For exclusive venue hire, expect £3,000-£6,000 for mid-size spaces (100-200 capacity), jumping to £12,000-£30,000 for showpiece venues like The Bloomsbury Ballroom or Freemasons' Hall depending on your date and requirements.
De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms excels here with 37 meeting spaces including the 750-seat Grand Hall for plenaries. Lincoln's Inn pairs their Great Hall (300 theatre) with the modern Ashworth Centre's 158-seat tiered lecture theatre plus 10 breakout rooms. etc.venues Chancery Lane purpose-built 28 rooms across five floors specifically for training conferences. For something more intimate, Wallacespace Covent Garden operates 21 bright rooms across two buildings at 53 and 60 Parker Street, perfect for workshop-heavy programmes.
Holborn station sits 3-4 minutes' walk from most major venues, with Chancery Lane offering similar proximity to the legal quarter venues. The Central and Piccadilly lines at Holborn connect to King's Cross in 5 minutes, Heathrow in 45 minutes direct. The district clusters venues within a 10-minute walking radius, so delegates moving between The View at Royal College of Surgeons and Conway Hall on Red Lion Square barely need 5 minutes. Plus, you're surrounded by hotels from The Hoxton Holborn to Rosewood London for accommodation.
The View at Royal College of Surgeons rebuilt in 2021 with hybrid events as standard, featuring built-in streaming from their 300-seat Conference Suite. LSE's Peacock Theatre runs professional broadcast equipment supporting their 999-seat auditorium. Conway Hall invested heavily in streaming tech post-2020, now delivering talks to global audiences from their 400-seat Main Hall. Even traditional spaces like Gray's Inn upgraded their AV systems, with the Large Pension Room handling 100 theatre with full recording capabilities.
Beyond standard conference facilities, you'll discover rooftop terraces at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms and NYX Hotel's Glasshouse (100 standing). The Bloomsbury Ballroom preserves its 1920s art-deco stage and lighting. Freemasons' Hall (60 Great Queen Street) offers the cinematic Grand Temple with its celestial ceiling. The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn combines Tudor and Victorian halls on one estate, while LABS House provides a 7th-floor event space with panoramic views accommodating 250 for networking.
Historic venues like Gray's Inn (170 theatre in their Elizabethan hall) or 113 Chancery Lane's Reading Room (120 theatre) deliver gravitas at £80-£120 per delegate. Modern alternatives include etc.venues Chancery Lane's plug-and-play setup or The Hoxton Holborn's Apartment suite (120 theatre) with residential styling. Consider your audience: legal and finance sectors often prefer the traditional settings of Lincoln's Inn, while tech companies gravitate to LABS House or Wallacespace's creative environments.
Purpose-built venues like etc.venues Chancery Lane include AV equipment, WiFi and basic furniture in their day rates. Hotels like Rosewood London bundle their delegate packages with morning coffee, lunch, afternoon refreshments and standard AV from around £120-£180 per person. Conway Hall operates more flexibly, with room hire from £2,800 then adding catering and tech separately. Always clarify whether prices include VAT (Conway Hall's 2025 rates do) and service charges, particularly at premium venues.
Six venues genuinely deliver at scale: Freemasons' Hall peaks at 1,350 in the Grand Temple, LSE's Peacock Theatre offers 999 fixed theatre seats, City Temple Conference Centre accommodates 900, De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms handles 750, The Bloomsbury Ballroom fits 480-500, and Conway Hall seats 400. Each brings different strengths, from Peacock Theatre's professional stage setup to Grand Connaught Rooms' 37 breakout spaces for complex multi-track events.
Beyond headline venue hire, factor in VAT at 20% (not always included in quotes), service charges (typically 12.5% at hotels), and security deposits. Technical requirements add up quickly: professional streaming setups from £2,000-£5,000, additional microphones at £50-£100 each. Catering markups vary wildly between Conway Hall's community pricing and Rosewood's luxury offering. Cloakroom facilities, extended access hours, and venue coordination staff often appear as line items at larger venues like The Bloomsbury Ballroom.