Looking for Venue suggestions

Gambler

Hey all,

I am planning an awards ceremony and am having big trouble finding a venue. It's a community event so pricing is a big factor but we are looking for somewhere we can have a sit down meal for 100 - 120+ people while the awards are presented.

After that we want to have dancing till late so it needs to have a decent dance floor available if not in the same room then with easy access from the room the awards will be presented in.

Anyone got any suggestions for a Dublin venue that might do us?

Thanks!

Rogue-Trooper

A hotel would be the way to go - they can usually do the room for free on the basis that they are making their money on the food & bar. If you do it in any other type of venue your set-up costs will be too big considering you are on a budget.

A lot of hotels have in-house stages / PA / etc which can save you on set-up too.

Your numbers are relatively small so this opens up a lot of options for you. How about somewhere new and interesting like the Gibson Hotel beside the Point? They have a big function room that I believe can accomodate those numbers easily. More importantly it's easy to get to with the Luas outside the door and a 900 capacity underground car park. See www.thegibsonhotel.ie - looks like the 'Stratocaster' suite would suit your needs (very cheesy guitar names in there!!). It says capacity is 300 but with 120 seated at 6' round tables and the stage and dancefloor in position it should fit nicely in there.

Other options would be old reliables like City West Hotel, Burlington, the D4 Hotels, etc. I'd suggest Croke Park too but if you want music till late it's a nightmare as there are serious sound restrictions there because the room overlooks a residential area and the wall is all glass!

Gambler

Thanks, haven't heard of the gibson before, will try them tomorrow. Have tried all the others mentioned. Either they were useless to deal with (never came back with quotes etc. etc.) or they weren't available on the dates we wanted. Only exception is Croke Park and we are waiting for them to get back to us with a price 7 availability tomorrow.

Rogue-Trooper

Gambler wrote: »

Thanks, haven't heard of the gibson before, will try them tomorrow. Have tried all the others mentioned. Either they were useless to deal with (never came back with quotes etc. etc.) or they weren't available on the dates we wanted. Only exception is Croke Park and we are waiting for them to get back to us with a price 7 availability tomorrow.

I haven't been in the Gibson's function room yet but I was in the bar last weekend and they were just telling me about it. The hotel itself is actually very nice inside and the fact that it's new they might have availability. Let us know how you get on with them!

As I mentioned with Croke Park, just watch the noise restrictions. When they have late functions in the big room they have to employ someone to monitor the sound levels outside. Last time I was there the level of conversation in the room was drowning out the band as they had to keep it so low!

SerialComplaint

Crowne Plaza in Santry have a huge function room, and their prices are fairly competitive. It's in a nice woodland setting, and they have a shuttle bus to/from the airport.

6th

I have found both Clontarf Castle and the Radisson Blu on Golden Lane to be very good and helpful. They can cater to what you need size wise and are good communicators.

Gambler

Clontarf Castle is a possibility, will see what they have to offer but Radison Blu doesn't have any dance floors in their rooms (other than temp dance floors which aren't an option unfortunately..)

Riamfada

Mansion House. 2500 for the day.

SerialComplaint

Grimes wrote: »

Mansion House. 2500 for the day.

Last time we used the Round Room at the Mansion House a few years back, the catering costs were very expensive, and way out of whack with other venues.

Gambler

Yeah, to be honest that's a bit out of our budget

Rogue-Trooper

Did you have any luck sourcing a venue yet Gambler?

Gambler

Not yet, the big problem is finding someone with a halfway decent dance floor..

Rogue-Trooper

Gambler wrote: »

Not yet, the big problem is finding someone with a halfway decent dance floor..

If you can find a suitable venue you could just rent a dancefloor for the night if the hotel/venue don't have one in-house.

You can rent bog standard parquet-style floors like this one:



...or you can be a bit more extravagant and go for a black & white or even an LED one!

They are all modular so you can make them as big as you want your budget will allow!

Gambler

The problem is that they're not good enough quality for the dancing that will be happening. It's a salsa dancing awards ceremony and temporary floors start to come apart under the kind of use we will be putting it too

lilblackdress

I was at a 21st party the in the gravity bar in the guiness factory recently! An amazing venue that holds up to 150 people! It can be got very cheap so you could haggle price way down! And there is plenty of space for dancing!! Obviously its far from the norm for an awards type night but that may make it an even better night!!

Gambler

Just spoke to Guinness storehouse - interestingly the gravity bar has the highest room hire rate but the Arrol suite there looks interesting..

Rogue-Trooper

Gambler wrote: »

The problem is that they're not good enough quality for the dancing that will be happening. It's a salsa dancing awards ceremony and temporary floors start to come apart under the kind of use we will be putting it too

Wow - you guys must wear hob-nailed boots!;)

I've driven cars on those temporary dancefloors and they haven't come apart!

Gambler

Hehe we are fairly rough alright, but the issue is that after an hours dancing (rather than occasional direct pressure) they come enough apart for heels to catch and injuries to occur..

nelly1912

hi

the Westin hotel in Dublin has by far the most impressive ballroom in the city. the banking hall. it would be suitable for 120 people sit down and is truly beautiful

solutionsolver

I'd suggest a rugby club somewhere like Bective or Belvedere. The room can be done up to look really nice and it'll be a bit more 'homely' than a hotel venue