These new and recently renovated ballrooms, conference centers, and private rooms in Boston can accommodate groups small and large for meetings, conferences, product launches, presentations, and other types of corporate gatherings.
1. Catalyst, a restaurant and meeting area that debuted in Kendall Square in September, offers modern American cuisine in several boardroom-style spaces designed for groups. The Crick, Franklin, and Watson rooms, along with the foyer, each accommodate 100 guests seated at round tables. Each room offers opaque glass sliding walls, which are soundproof, plus flat-screen TVs obscured by wooden panels. The dining rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing for natural light. A heated patio can host cocktail receptions.
2. Cambridge’s Hotel Marlowe, a Kimpton property that opened in 2003, was renovated this spring. The rooms have new linens and decor; meeting areas will receive new furniture in December. The hotel has also enhanced its banquet capabilities with eco-friendly initiatives. “Love Your Mother Earth” lunches and “Go Green” afternoon break snacks showcase organic foods served in bulk without individual wrappings. Meetings also adhere to Kimpton’s green standards, and include recycled papers and locally sourced beverages. The hotel’s Serrano Ballroom seats 250. An on-site restaurant, Bambara, is also available for private events and seats 120.
3. Oficio, a boutique office space with private rooms in the Back Bay, opened in September. The space has a minimalist design and large windows overlooking Newbury Street, allowing for natural light. A loft space is available for buyout, and can accommodate 35 seated or 75 standing guests for catered events. In addition to the loft, a large private conference room holds 10; a smaller private room has seven seats. The loft offers a 10-by-10-foot screen with a projector; the two private rooms each have a 42-inch television.
4. Kenmore Square’s Hotel Commonwealth introduced the Reading Suite in October. The 600-square-foot, two-room suite has signed letters from notable authors like Raymond Chandler and Arthur Conan Doyle lining its walls, and the suite is stocked with curated titles signed by authors who patronized the hotel. A cushioned “Reading Nook” overlooks the square. The space accommodates 15 for cocktails or eight for meetings. Amenities include Wi-Fi, two televisions with DVD players, a Barnes & Noble Nook, and an iPod docking station. Custom menus are available from chef Jeremy Sewall, who oversees the hotel’s restaurants.
5. The Museum of Science's Washburn Pavilion, the area’s only open-air venue overlooking the Charles River, underwent a major renovation throughout 2011 that included new landscaping. The space is open April through November and accommodates 550 guests beneath a semi-permanent tent. In 2010, the D’Arbeloff Suite inside the museum added two presentation screens and a new sound system. The entire museum is also available for buyout, accommodating as many as 4,500 for cocktail receptions. High-end projectors, plus LCD and plasma screens, are available throughout the space. The museum also helps planners work with outside vendors to customize music and decor as needed.
6. MIT Endicott House, a French manor built in 1934 on 25 acres of gardens, introduced teambuilding exercises in April. The meeting enhancements take place in the garden and greenhouse, and include gardening and floral-arrangement lessons. Post-lesson cocktail receptions are also available. Meeting facilities include an 80-seat amphitheater and seven rooms that accommodate as many as 100 guests. Audiovisual amenities include wireless Internet access, multimedia presentation equipment, and video conferencing capabilities. Thirty-seven guest rooms are available on site.
7. Action Kitchen, which opened at the Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center in June 2010, now offers seasonal holiday menus and themed events. Used for interactive cooking demonstrations, the 2,000-square-foot space also hosts customized tailgating parties on Sundays. Off the kitchen, a dining room offers a 24-seat table, and a cookbook-stocked library houses a conference table for 16. A flat-screen video wall with a live feed and recording capability is available.
8. The Boston Center for Adult Education, established in 1933, rolled out a series of teambuilding classes in 2011. Classes focus on cooking in the state-of-the-art Gaggenau and Thermador kitchens. The kitchens accommodate 10 to 30 guests for private, three-hour interactive events. Additionally, a dance studio known as the "ballroom" can be rented for lectures or meals; it accommodates 100 guests theater-style. The center also offers meeting rental spaces during the workday. Meeting rooms can accommodate 25 guests. Menus for cooking classes are customizable, while meetings can be catered by outside vendors.
9. Boston’s Nine Zero Hotel, a Kimpton property that debuted in 2001, introduced a “Live. Work. Be Well.” program in August. The program includes a menu of wellness offerings, including yoga and massages in partnership with the hotel’s spa. The hotel also stocks organic, paraben-free bath products in its guest rooms. Nine Zero’s three meeting rooms are available for buyout or individually, and can hold as many as 150 guests. The on-site steak house, KO Prime, is available for buyout as well and seats 75.
10. Television chef Benjamin Knack of Hell’s Kitchen joined the Bedford Village Inn in Bedford, New Hampshire, in June. Under Knack, the inn expanded its offerings with customized power brunches and mid-afternoon teas, with menu items focusing on local meat, produce, and dairy. The inn is available for buyout, and has meeting space for as many as 200 guests. An on-site restaurant houses six private dining rooms, which accommodate parties of 10 to 48.
