The room is chosen not by floor area, but by the day's scenario: how many people will attend, what they will do in the room, how many times the format will change, and where the food will be throughout. At Corinthia St Petersburg on 57 Nevsky Prospekt, 17 transformable conference rooms with a total capacity of up to 1,000 people and an Art Deco-style banquet hall are available, so there are several options for most requirements.
Below, we break down the choice the way an organiser does it: from the event format to the room, not the other way around.
Where the calculation starts: seating
The same room accommodates different numbers of people, and the difference depends on the type of event. The basic guidelines are simple:
- theatre (rows of chairs without tables) — 0.7–0.9 m² per person;
- classroom (rows with tables, allowing people to write and use a laptop) — 1.5–1.8 m²;
- banquet (round tables for 8–10 guests) — 1.8–2.2 m²;
- reception (high tables, free movement) — 0.6–0.8 m².
This is in addition to aisles, the stage, the registration area and space for equipment. Therefore, the minimum room area required for a comfortable event depends not only on the type of activity, but also on additional options - how much equipment there will be and what kind, whether additional free space is needed and how spacious it should be.
If the programme changes during the day, allow time for rearrangement. Changing the layout takes twenty to forty minutes, and it is convenient to schedule it during lunch or a coffee break.
Board meeting, negotiations, small meeting
For a meeting of several people, you need not a scaled-down conference room, but a private room where everyone can be heard and no one will enter by mistake.
Such meetings at Corinthia St Petersburg take place in meeting rooms: a private space for meetings, negotiations and board meetings with hotel service. Here, the important things are not a stage, but quiet, water on the table, coffee brought on time, and the ability to close the door. Guests staying at the hotel in Executive and suite categories also have access to the executive lounge with a meeting table, open daily from 12:00 to 21:00: a convenient place for a short meeting between appointments.
Conference or one-day seminar
Here, theatre or classroom seating works, and three things make the difference: screen visibility from the last row, sound, and how quickly the room can get people out for a break.
The second matters more than it seems. If the coffee break is set up far away, you lose ten minutes at every break, and by the third session participants disperse around the city. At Corinthia St Petersburg coffee breaks are served between sessions without taking participants out of the building: fresh pastries, light snacks, good coffee and quick service so that the break fits into the allotted fifteen minutes.
Tell us whether you need a registration desk and guest reception, and we will include them in the day's plan.
Forum with parallel sessions
The most demanding format: several streams, different start times and a shared lunch. Here, the winner is not the largest room, but a building where the rooms are close to one another.
The seventeen rooms at Corinthia St Petersburg transform to suit the task: one can be divided into sections, the next used for workshops, and another for partner meetings and press interviews. Participants move around inside the hotel rather than along the street between venues, which noticeably reduces the number of late arrivals. Out-of-town speakers stay on the floors above, in one of the 388 rooms, and the journey from pillow to stage takes just a few minutes.
Gala dinner, reception and awards ceremony
The evening part requires a different room layout: lighting, a stage for the awards, space for round tables and an area for music.
Formal events at the hotel take place in the banquet hall in Art Deco style. The banquet menu is prepared by our chef, and the evening continues after dinner exactly where it began: guests who stay at the hotel do not need to look for a taxi or calculate the time until the bridges open.
What we take care of
An event relies on contractors, and the client's main question usually sounds like this: how many of them will they have to manage themselves. At Corinthia St Petersburg room selection, technical support, styling and decor, catering, transfers and participant accommodation are handled by the hotel team, while we take care of coordination.
The hotel has been named «Russia's Leading Conference Hotel» seven times and «Russia's Leading Business Hotel» four times by the World Travel Awards.
Tell us the format, number of participants and preferred dates, and we will select a room and prepare an estimate. You can discuss the event by phone at +7 (812) 380-20-01
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which room I need? Start with the seating arrangement and number of participants. For theatre seating, allow 0.7–0.9 m² per person, for classroom seating 1.5–1.8 m², and for a banquet 1.8–2.2 m². Tell us the format and number of guests, and we will select a suitable room.
How many rooms are there in the hotel and how many people can they accommodate? Corinthia St Petersburg has 17 transformable conference rooms with a total capacity of up to 1,000 people, as well as an Art Deco-style banquet hall.
Can the seating arrangement be changed in the middle of the event? Yes, if it is included in the schedule: rearrangement takes twenty to forty minutes, and it is usually combined with lunch or a coffee break. Tell us about the format change in advance, and we will prepare everything.
Where does the coffee break take place? We set up the coffee break between sessions without taking participants out of the building: fresh pastries, light snacks and good coffee with quick service.
Can participants stay at the hotel? Yes. The hotel has 388 rooms in sixteen categories, and we will help book a block of rooms for speakers and event guests, as well as arrange transfers.
Can we hold a small meeting without renting a large room? Yes. We have separate meeting rooms for meetings and negotiations. Tell us the number of participants and the nature of the meeting, and we will suggest a suitable option.
