Conferences & corporate
The function venue Richards Bay industry already uses
Thembela sits between Richards Bay and Empangeni, minutes from the industrial corridor and easily reached from every side of the city. Conferences, gala dinners, year-end functions, training days and product launches. The catering is our own kitchen, not a contractor, and delegates can sleep on site.
What we host
Conferences
Full-day sessions with the catering built around the programme rather than bolted on.
Gala dinners
The Hall seats a room most venues on this coast cannot, and the evening does not have to end when dinner does.
Year-end functions
The Garden for arrival and the Hall for the evening, so the night has somewhere to move to.
Training and CPD
Accredited sessions and CPD talks, with the day catered start to finish.
Product launches
Indoor and outdoor space on one site, with the cane fields as the backdrop.
Board and exco meetings
The Céleste rooftop, small and separate, for the meetings that do not belong in a hall.
Three spaces, one site
The Hall
The big room. Glass down one side, the cane beyond it, and the seating capacity for a full company gala dinner.
The Garden
Open air and planted. Arrivals, canapés, outdoor launches and the part of the evening that wants fresh air.
Céleste, the rooftop
Upstairs and intimate. As one guest put it, the upper level is a perfect place for small high-level meetings.
Trusted with
The South32 Hillside Aluminium gala dinner, hosted at Thembela.
Why companies come back
The kitchen is ours, not a contractor's
Most venues on this coast outsource catering, which is why the food is the thing that goes wrong. Thembela's kitchen is in-house and run by a founder who spent fifteen years in industrial catering before she built the venue. It is the single most common thing guests mention in their reviews.
Décor is in-house too. You are welcome to bring your own sound, photography and videography.
Delegates travelling in can stay on site: four executive villas, each en-suite and self-contained, so nobody is driving back to Richards Bay after a gala dinner.
From companies who have used it
“Thembela Venue is a perfect venue to hold all types of events in Richards Bay. Easily accessible from all sides of the City. The venue can accommodate a good number of people for Corporate events including conferences and gala dinners. The venue has indoor and outdoor facility. The upper level has perfect place for small high level meetings too”
“Excellent venue. We hosted a medical CPD talk at Thembela venue and the entire setup was amazing from the decor, the service, staff and the food was fantastic. Well done everyone.”
“Attended a work function, amd was really impressed at the facility. The view was amazing. Food catered by function foods is always excellent.”
“The venue offer catering beyond expectation. Staff are always present to offer assistance. Throughout our time at the venue, staff were on standby. Food was oustanding, staff were friendly venue was awesome.”
The practical answers
What you will be asked to check
Seating, by layout
| Layout | The Hall | Céleste |
|---|---|---|
| Cinema | 1 000 | 200 |
| Banquet | 650 to 800 | 120 |
| Schoolroom | 400 | 100 |
| U-shape | 200 | 50 |
The Hall is 960 square metres. Banquet seating runs to 800 for a corporate evening, which does not need the staging and props a wedding does; 650 is the number with a full wedding set. The U-shape works but it is a long room for it, and we will say so rather than sell you a layout that puts half your delegates out of earshot. Céleste is upstairs and is a weekday space; for a seated private celebration rather than a conference it takes 40 to 80.
Audio visual
LED screens, not data projectors. We bring in an AV company to run the technical side, so it is handled by people who do only that.
Breakaway rooms
Three, including Céleste upstairs and the farm house, which also serve as holding rooms for visiting officials.
Parking
On site and free, with room for the cars of a full 800-person event.
Wi-Fi
Full coverage, and enough of it to live stream your session to YouTube.
Day delegate rate
Quoted per event rather than published, because a government programme and a product launch are not the same day.
Tell us what you are planning
Send us the date, the delegate numbers and the shape of the day. We will come back with what it costs and which space fits.
Enquire about a function