A good meeting starts with choosing the right room. A fine table and comfortable chairs are only the beginning: daylight, calm, space to break away and good food matter just as much to how a board meeting, strategy session or away day goes. These seven tips will help you rent a boardroom in Amsterdam that truly suits your meeting.

7 tips for renting a boardroom

1. Choose plenty of daylight

A full day of meetings understrip lighting is tiring. When you compare venues, look beyond the table and pay attention to the windows. Ask where the light comes from as well: from the side, through a skylight or from several directions.

2. Make sure there is a separate breakout room

A meeting day often switches between plenary sessions and small-group work. With a separate room, you do not need to rearrange the boardroom, and you have somewhere for a confidential conversation. So do not only ask about the meeting room, but also about the space around it.

3. Match the room to your group and layout

A meeting of eight needs a different room from a session with forty participants. Decide in advance which layout you need: one large table, theatre-style seating for a presentation or separate work areas. Ask for the capacity per layout, as it differs from venue to venue.

4. Book a venue exclusively

In a large conference centre, you share corridors, coffee areas and lunch rooms with other groups. When you rent a venue exclusively, the whole space is yours. That helps people focus and is useful for confidential discussions.

5. Think about getting there and parking

A meeting only starts once everyone has arrived. Choose a venue close to trams and the metro, and find out in advance where drivers can park. In the city centre, a car park within walking distance saves a lot of searching.

6. Arrange food and drinks at the venue

A good lunch keeps energy levels up, and dinner afterwards is a fitting end to a strategy day. Ask whether catering and dinner can be served at the venue itself, so you do not have to move on elsewhere.

7. Visit before you book

Photos do not show how a room sounds, how the light falls or how it feels to walk in. A short viewing gives you certainty. Check the technology while you are there: which screen isavailable, how to connect your laptop and how the Wi-Fi works.

Four boardrooms in the heart of Amsterdam

The Playing Circle has four historic venues in Amsterdam city centre. You always rent them exclusively, and all four are set up as meeting venues.

The Vaudeville Theatre

A theatre dating from 1850 on the Singel, close to the Flower Market. The eight-metre-high ceiling and the canal-facing windows give plenty of space and light, and there is a separate breakout room for small-group work.

Atelier de Vijzel

On Vijzelstraat, opposite the City Archives. Two glass skylights let daylight in from above, and the windows look out over the canal gardens. This is our largest venue: up to 60 guests theatre-style and 44 for dinner.

The Frederik

On Frederiksplein, within walking distance of Utrechtsestraat and Carré. Art Nouveau windows, an inner garden for a breath of fresh air and two breakout rooms make The Frederik ideal when you switch often between plenary sessions and working groups.

The Achtergracht

On a quiet canal near the Amstel. Domed windows bring in soft daylight, and there is a separate breakout room. A place to step away from the bustle of the city.

Practical information: getting there and catering

Getting there and parking

All venues are within walking distance of trams and the metro: tram stops Muntplein, Koningsplein, Rembrandtplein and Frederiksplein, and metro stations Rokin and Vijzelgracht(North/South line). If you come by car, you can park at QPark Prins & Keizer(exit tickets on request) or with ParkBee at a 20% discount using the code ICZGZD3.

Lunch, drinks or dinner

We work with local caterers with passion. From lunch between sessions to shared dining, a buffet or a multi-course dinner, and from a good glass of wine to a fully staffed bar. If you would like to stay on for dinner after your meeting, we can host a seated dinner for up to40 guests or a walking dinner for up to 60, depending on the venue