Riddel Hall

You can run a plenary for 290, a dinner for 150 and breakouts for groups of 12 to 36 without leaving one site, with the venue’s own events staff and in-house caterers handling the day. Riddel Hall is the conference centre of Queen’s University Belfast, on a 13-acre site at 185 Stranmillis Road in south Belfast. The university describes the original red brick building as Grade 2 listed, renovated to keep its period features, with a newer conferencing block joined to it by two glass walkways.

Event spaces and capacities

You have 15 rooms to choose from, so a conference can keep its plenary, lunch and workshops under one roof. Queen’s lists the Isdell Courtyard, four lecture rooms, two conference rooms and eight syndicate rooms. The largest space is the Isdell Courtyard, the old outdoor courtyard now covered by a glass roof, at 180 m² for 290 theatre style or 150 at banquet tables. Conference Rooms 1 and 2 open into a single 200 m² room. The rate card gives no standing reception figures, and the venue says every room has modern AV equipment.

Capacities as published by the venue on its 2026 rate card and its lecture room, conference room and syndicate room pages, checked 5 November 2026. Where the two disagree the rate card figure is shown: the conference rooms page lists Conference Room 2 at 120 theatre and the combined rooms at 276, and Syndicate Rooms 4 and 7 appear only on the syndicate rooms page, without floor areas.

The 2026 rate card prices room hire by the half day, day (8am to 5pm), evening (6pm to midnight) and full day (8am to midnight). The Isdell Courtyard is listed at £650 for a day and £800 for a full day, the combined conference rooms at £600 for a day, and Lecture Room 1 at £330 for a day. Lower figures on the card are discounted internal rates for Queen’s departments. No day delegate rate is published.

Getting there and parking

Delegates arriving from the city centre can take a bus that stops at the gate. Queen’s directions say Metro routes 8A and 8D run from Donegall Square East beside City Hall, through Great Victoria Street at the Europa Bus Centre and along Stranmillis Road to the Ridgeway Street stop, directly outside the main entrance. Botanic railway station is about 25 minutes on foot and the Europa Bus Centre, with airport coaches and Dublin services, about 30 minutes. The nearest Belfast Bikes dock is in the Stranmillis Roundabout car park.

Parking is free but limited: the venue says spaces are first come, first served and cannot be reserved, booked or paid for, and it asks organisers to encourage delegates to travel by other means. The nearest public car parks are at the Stranmillis roundabout and on Stranmillis Embankment by the Queen’s Physical Education Centre.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You deal with one in-house team for food, from tea for a small meeting to a black tie banquet. Catering at Riddel Hall comes from the university’s Hospitality and Retail team, which says it uses local and seasonal produce, handles most dietary needs with advance notice and will design a menu for your event. In the conferencing block, refreshments for large groups are served in the glass corridors next to the rooms, and the lawns and outside courtyard can be used for breaks, evening receptions and marquees. The 2026 rate card lists private dining in the lecture rooms at £100 to £150.

The Queen’s Conference and Events team holds the Green Meetings Gold Standard from Green Tourism, and the university offers single en-suite delegate rooms with shared kitchens at Elms Village, a short walk from the main campus, outside term time. Free WiFi is available across the university, and Queen’s publishes AccessAble access guides to its buildings.

What to ask before you book

• Confirm the theatre figure for Conference Rooms 1 and 2 combined, since the rate card says 256 and the web pages say 276.
• Ask whether Syndicate Rooms 4 and 7 are still bookable, as they are missing from the 2026 rate card.
• Check how many car parking spaces are likely to be free on your date, since none can be reserved.
• Ask what AV is fitted in the Isdell Courtyard and whether a glass roof affects daytime projection.
• Check whether Elms Village rooms are available on your dates, as they are offered outside term time only.
• Ask which Riddel Hall areas have step-free access between the original building and the conferencing block.

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• Cloth Hall Court
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity

Sources: Riddel Hall, Riddel Hall rate card 2026, Isdell Courtyard, lecture rooms, conference rooms, syndicate rooms, How to find us, Riddel Hall, Visiting us, Hospitality, Sustainability, all Queen’s University Belfast, checked 5 November 2026.