Wedding receptions, company parties, business lunches, birthday parties and garden barbecues for 15 to 160 guests are hosted at Storyteller, an exclusive private hire venue at 11 North Place in Cheltenham. The family-owned, independently run business has nearly 30 years of experience and offers two spaces, the conservatory with its garden and a smaller cocktail suite, which can be booked together or separately.
Seminars and company events
Corporate events, team nights out, presentations, workshops and business lunches all feature among the bookings Storyteller takes. A 75-inch HD screen handles slides, presentations and livestreams, and a full sound system covers background music and speeches. The Cocktail Suite can serve as a breakout room or a quieter seating area while a larger group uses the main space. In December the venue runs corporate Christmas parties and festive drinks, with a dedicated Christmas party menu. Layouts can be arranged for dining, mingling, speeches, dancing or entertainment, so a working lunch can turn into a team evening without changing venue.
Weddings and receptions
Storyteller hosts wedding receptions and engagement parties, as well as anniversaries and family gatherings. When the ceremony takes place elsewhere, it can be livestreamed onto the large screen for guests waiting at the venue. Couples can bring a DJ or a live band, and the Cocktail Suite can become a dance room, games room or photo-booth corner while dinner continues in the conservatory.
Rooms and capacities
The Main Space, made up of the conservatory and the garden, takes up to 120 guests. The conservatory is bright and open, holds the main bar and leads straight onto the garden, which suits summer barbecues and garden parties. The Cocktail Suite, the newest addition, takes up to 35 and has its own entrance and private bar when it is booked on its own. Booked together, the two spaces cover events of up to 160 guests, and the smallest bookings start at around 15. The venue does not publish separate seated and standing figures, so the layout is agreed with the team for each event.
Catering
Three formats are offered: bar-only hire, where the client brings its own catering; catered hire with buffets; and catered hire with sit-down menus. Food is prepared fresh on site by the in-house chefs. The published menus include a party menu, a three-course à la carte party menu, two buffet menus, a barbecue menu, a canapé menu, a sandwich menu and a Christmas party menu, so the food can match a working lunch, a standing reception or a seated dinner. Dietary needs are discussed when the menu is chosen.
Getting there
North Place lies on the northern side of Cheltenham town center, within walking distance of the main shopping streets. Cheltenham Spa station, with trains to Birmingham, Bristol and London Paddington, is about 30 minutes on foot or a short taxi ride. The venue lists no accommodation of its own, so guests staying overnight book a hotel in town.
