Unique business venues in Kent

Unique business venues in Kent: the short answer

• Castles you can hire: Leeds Castle near Maidstone and Hever Castle near Edenbridge both host corporate meetings, dinners and away days.
• Historic conference venue: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, with the 200-seat Royal Dockyard Church and an 80-acre site.
• Easy by train: Curious Brewery, two minutes' walk from Ashford International.
• Best for residential events: Salomons Estate near Tunbridge Wells, with 47 bedrooms and six cottages.

When a unique venue is the right choice

A unique venue earns its place when the setting does some of the work for you. A product launch in a striking setting is easier to photograph and promote. Leadership teams think differently away from the office. Clients remember the castle dinner long after they have forgotten the hotel suite.

They are less suited to large, AV-heavy conferences, so many organisers combine the two: business sessions in a conference room, then the evening event somewhere special. Several of the venues below offer both on one site.

Kent's unique venues by type

Castles and stately homes

Several of Kent's castles take business bookings, and Leeds Castle, near Maidstone, is the best known. Small leadership teams of 16 to 30 can meet in the castle boardrooms, the 16th-century Fairfax Barn seats 180 for dinner, and the marquee lawns take up to 500. Guests can stay overnight in the grounds, so a two-day retreat is easy to arrange.

Hever Castle, near Edenbridge, was Anne Boleyn's childhood home. Its Astor Wing takes up to 60 delegates and the Guthrie Pavilion up to 150, and there are 25 en-suite bedrooms. Teams can head out on the 27-hole golf course between sessions.

Near Tonbridge, Penshurst Place is a medieval manor house where the Sunderland Room seats 125 theatre style and the Baron's Hall seats 140 for dinner. Chiddingstone Castle, Tonbridge Castle, Lympne Castle above Romney Marsh and Whitstable Castle on the coast are all listed too.

Historic and industrial heritage

For scale and history, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is hard to beat. The Royal Navy built ships here for more than 400 years, and the 80-acre site now hosts everything from board meetings to exhibitions. The Royal Dockyard Church seats 200 in tiered rows, the Commissioner's House takes 15 to 200 on exclusive hire, and you can hold drinks on the deck of HMS Gannet.

Salomons Estate, a Victorian estate in 36 acres at Southborough, suits residential events. It has 10 rooms for 8 to 220, a theatre for awards dinners, 47 bedrooms and six cottages. For something smaller, Crabble Corn Mill near Dover and Eastgate House in Rochester have plenty of character.

Breweries, farms and food

Beer and business mix well in Kent. Curious Brewery is a working brewery two minutes' walk from Ashford International, with a mezzanine meeting space for 16, a private tap room and tours and tastings. In Faversham, the Shepherd Neame Visitor Centre has a function room for 60 in a 15th-century hall house, while its Old Brewery Store seats 150 and has its own bar and stage.

If you'd rather swap beer for orchards, Brogdale Collections, home of the National Fruit Collection, has meeting rooms surrounded by 150 acres of fruit trees. Kent Life at Sandling offers a farm setting for team days.

Arts, culture and seaside venues

Creative spaces give launches and talks a bit of theatre. On Margate's seafront, Turner Contemporary has Foyle Rooms that split into three soundproofed meeting rooms. Down the road, Dreamland can host 1,200 standing in its Hall by the Sea, or hand you the whole amusement park.

Elsewhere, Quarterhouse sits in Folkestone's Creative Quarter, The Beaney is in the middle of Canterbury, and the Gulbenkian Arts Centre is on the University of Kent campus.

Planning tips for unique venues

• Ask what's included. Historic venues often have fixed caterers, AV partners and finish times. Get these in writing before you commit.
• Check access. Older buildings may have steps, narrow stairs or limited step-free routes. Ask for an access statement.
• Allow for the weather. For marquees and outdoor activities, agree a wet-weather plan.
• Combine spaces. Use a conference room for the working part of the day and the special space for dinner or the launch itself.

Looking for something else? See product launch venues in Kent, away day venues in Kent, awards dinner venues in Kent and venues with accommodation.