Families and a balloon seller on the sand at Marina Beach, Chennai, in the evening

Destination · India

Corporate events in Chennai: conferences, offsites and the ECR coast

Large convention hotels in the city for conferences of 100 to 1,000 or more, beach resorts on the East Coast Road and non-stop flights from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. ICE India's delivery team in Chennai runs the shortlist, contracts, travel and the event day.

Plan an event in Chennai
Getting there
One airport, Chennai (MAA), served by direct flights from the major metros and Metro to the city
Best months
Mid-December to February; April to June is hot and October to early December is the rainy season
Suits
Conferences and annual meets of 100 to 1,000 or more, with a coastal night or retreat on the ECR
ICE India in Chennai
A delivery team on the ground, sales from Mumbai

Why companies choose Chennai

  • Reached from every office

    Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Pune and Coimbatore all fly in direct, and the airport has its own Metro station.

  • Real convention capacity

    Hotel ballrooms of 9,000 to 26,500 sq ft in the city, and the Chennai Trade Centre for exhibitions and conventions of several thousand.

  • Coast within reach

    Beach resorts on the East Coast Road and around Mahabalipuram for a gala night, a retreat or a full offsite.

  • Heritage on the programme

    A UNESCO World Heritage site at Mahabalipuram, temple streets in Mylapore and a craft museum at DakshinaChitra.

  • South Indian hospitality

    Filter coffee, banana-leaf meals and silk weaving give themed dinners and welcome moments a local character.

  • A team on the ground

    ICE India's Chennai delivery team handles transfers, vendors and the event day locally.

Chennai for corporate groups

Chennai works for a corporate group in two ways at once. The city has full-scale convention hotels, several with pillar-free ballrooms for annual meets and dealer conventions, and a dedicated trade and convention centre at Nandambakkam. Forty to fifty kilometres down the coast, the East Coast Road and Mahabalipuram have beach resorts with lawns for a gala night or a quieter leadership retreat.

A shortlist depends on the group size, the agenda and how much of the programme should happen by the sea. Many companies hold the working days in the city and take one evening or one night on the coast. ICE India's Chennai delivery team knows both, from city traffic to the ECR coach run, and plans venue, travel, production and entertainment as one programme with a single point of contact, end to end.

The city and the coast

Chennai splits into the city, with its convention hotels, and the East Coast Road, with its beach resorts. Each place has its own hotels.

Aerial view of Marina Beach and the coastal road in Chennai

The city

Chennai

Four zones cover most city programmes, from the central business belt to the airport side.

Nungambakkam, Teynampet and Anna Salai
The central business belt. Taj Coromandel, Hyatt Regency, THE Park and Courtyard by Marriott sit here, with restaurants and clients' offices close by. A good base for conferences that need walkable evenings.
Guindy and the airport side
ITC Grand Chola and Hilton Chennai in Guindy, and Trident Chennai on GST Road directly across from the airport. Short transfers for groups arriving in waves.
Velachery and the Adyar seafront
The Westin Chennai Velachery for modern meeting rooms in the south of the city, and The Leela Palace at MRC Nagar, on the Adyar seafront, for one of the largest hotel ballrooms in the city.
Selected corporate venues in Chennai
HotelAreaRoomsEvent venuesLargest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
ITC Grand CholaGuindy600, including 78 serviced apartments9Rajendra: about 26,500 sq ft, pillar-free, 3,000
The Leela Palace ChennaiMRC Nagar, Adyar seafront325Ballrooms, lawn and boardroomsGrand Ballroom: 12,300 sq ft, 1,200
Taj CoromandelNungambakkam2128Grand Ballroom: about 9,000 sq ft, 1,000
Hilton ChennaiGuindy204Ballroom (splits in three), 2 meeting rooms, boardroomGrand Ballroom: about 5,080 sq ft, 475
Hyatt Regency ChennaiTeynampet3256Regency Ballroom: 4,671 sq ft, 500
THE Park ChennaiAnna Salai214About 20 spaces including lawnsSansara: about 4,540 sq ft, 225
The Westin Chennai VelacheryVelachery21513Inspire: 4,104 sq ft, 450
Trident ChennaiGST Road, opposite the airport1676Alaap 1 and 2 combined: about 4,360 sq ft, 360
The towers of the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram against a blue sky

The coast

Mahabalipuram and the East Coast Road

The East Coast Road (ECR) runs south from the city along the Bay of Bengal, and most coastal programmes are built around it. The resorts differ in character.

Taj Fisherman's Cove at Covelong is about 32 km from the city centre, set on its own beach, and the resorts at Mamallapuram have ballrooms of 7,000 to 21,800 sq ft in addition to lawns for 2,000 guests or more. Sheraton Grand, nearer the city, has a party lawn of about 25,000 sq ft.

Mahabalipuram's Group of Monuments is a UNESCO World Heritage site, inscribed in 1984, with rock-cut caves, monolithic rathas and the Shore Temple from the Pallava period. A guided morning there fits between a plenary and a beach dinner.

DakshinaChitra, a museum of South Indian crafts and living traditions at Muttukadu, is on the ECR about 25 km south of central Chennai and suits an afternoon with craft workshops.

A coastal night is often added to a city conference rather than replacing it: a morning of sessions in Chennai, a coach to the coast by afternoon and a lawn dinner by the sea. For a full offsite, a resort at Mahabalipuram allows two nights without returning to the city.

Selected corporate venues in Mahabalipuram and the East Coast Road
HotelAreaRoomsEvent venuesLargest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort & Convention CenterMahabalipuram, ECR887Confluence Hall: about 21,800 sq ft, 2,500
Taj Fisherman's Cove Resort & SpaCovelong, ECR1499 spaces including lawnsCasuarina Marquee: about 10,000 sq ft, 900
Radisson Blu Resort Temple BayMamallapuram, ECR1599Grand Ballroom: about 10,500 sq ft, 800
InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram ResortMamallapuram, ECR1103 meeting rooms and 2 lawnsVaibhava Grand Ballroom: about 7,530 sq ft, 896
Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & SpaVadanemmeli, ECR1294Amara Ballroom: about 7,000 sq ft, 840
Grande Bay Resort & SpaMamallapuram, ECR4413 spaces including lawnsHorizon Hall: 5,500 sq ft, 500

Flights to Chennai from the main Indian cities

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi all have direct flights to Chennai, so delegates land within a few hours of one another. ICE India staggers coach transfers so check-in and the opening session stay on time.

Reaching Chennai
CityAirportNon-stop flightsRail and road
ChennaiChennai International (MAA) in Meenambakkam. City hotels in Nungambakkam, Teynampet and Anna Salai are 12 to 18 km away, 20 to 45 minutes by road; Trident Chennai is across the road. The airport has a Chennai Metro station on the Blue Line. International flights use Terminal 4: non-stop from Singapore, Dubai, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, among about 65 destinations.Bengaluru about 1h, Hyderabad about 1h 15m, Mumbai about 2h, Kolkata about 2h 15m, Delhi about 2h 55m to 3h, Pune about 1h 40m, plus Kochi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.MGR Chennai Central has the Vande Bharat to Mysuru (6h 30m, via Bengaluru in about 4h) and to Coimbatore (about 5h 50m). The Rajdhani from Delhi takes about 28 hours and Mumbai trains 22 to 24, so rail suits only nearby offices.
Mahabalipuram and the ECRServed by Chennai (MAA); there is no airport on the coast.Not available direct; fly to Chennai.Mahabalipuram is about 55 km from the airport via the East Coast Road, 1.5 to 2 hours by coach. Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa is about 41 km. Pondicherry is about 150 km, 3 to 4 hours.

Convention and exhibition centre

When a conference or exhibition outgrows a hotel, Nandambakkam has a dedicated centre.

  • The entrance and signboard of the Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam

    Nandambakkam

    Chennai Trade Centre

    The city's exhibition and convention complex, with no rooms of its own, so delegates stay in hotels nearby.

    • 10 exhibition halls, 2 convention halls, 3 conference halls
    • Convention Halls A and B: about 10,200 sq ft each, 1,000 seats each
    • A newer hall of about 39,950 sq ft seats 4,000

Where to hold it

Choose by group size, budget and how much of the programme should happen by the sea.

  • Central Chennai

    Convention hotels close to the business districts, for conferences, product launches and annual meets.

    • Taj Coromandel
    • Hyatt Regency Chennai
    • The Leela Palace Chennai

  • Airport side and Guindy

    Large ballrooms and short transfers, practical for groups flying in from many cities on the same day.

    • ITC Grand Chola
    • Hilton Chennai
    • Trident Chennai

  • East Coast Road and Mahabalipuram

    Seafront resorts with ballrooms and lawns, for retreats, galas and incentive trips.

    • Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa
    • Taj Fisherman's Cove
    • Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay

What groups do in Chennai

  • Mahabalipuram heritage trail

    A guided morning among the rock-cut temples and the Shore Temple.

  • Mylapore culture walk

    Temple streets, flower markets and a filter coffee stop with a local guide.

  • Beach games

    Relay and sand challenges at a coastal resort, scaled to the group.

  • Classical music and dance evening

    A Carnatic music or Bharatanatyam performance as a welcome or gala moment.

  • Craft workshops at DakshinaChitra

    Hands-on sessions in weaving, pottery and folk crafts at the museum on the ECR.

  • South Indian food trails

    Banana-leaf meals, filter coffee tastings and cooking sessions in teams.

When to go

Chennai is hot and humid for much of the year. April and May are the hottest months, with daytime temperatures reaching 38 to 42 degrees Celsius. The comfortable window runs from mid-December to February, when temperatures are in the mid-20s and humidity is lower, and it is the busiest period for hotels. ICE India plans a covered fallback for every lawn event and coach transfer.

The northeast monsoon
Most of the rain arrives between October and December, and November is typically the wettest month, so outdoor plans in that window need an indoor alternative.
The southwest monsoon
June to September leaves the city largely dry.

Events ICE India has run in Chennai

  • The numeral-shaped gateway at a Transasia launch evening

    Transasia Bio-Medicals

    The 2019 analyser launch reached Chennai on 27 April: 100 guests at The Leela Palace.

  • We have been associated with ICE India for more than 5 years to manage our Annual Customer Networking Event. Mufaddal has an eye for detail and perfection. As our audience is more or less the same every year, we need new concepts and ideas every year. Mufaddal is our “go to man” for creative ideas. We strongly believe he thinks “out of the box”. We have been in a tough situation during one of our events. We thank Mufaddal for making last minute arrangements to ensure that the show goes on flawlessly. This could not have been possible without his strong network and equity that he has built over the years. Kudos to team ICE India. Keep up the great work. Wish you more success in years to come.

    Brajesh ThakurAssociate Director, Sales - West India, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

  • ICE India has been managing our corporate travel incentives since 2012. As a corporate our requirements are usually specific, involve a last minute rush, lot of back and forth on dates, hotels, number of travelers, etc. Through all of this, it's a pleasure dealing with Mufaddal and his team for the way they manage the trip and the group. The best part is the personalized service and the rapport our group shares with Mufaddal by the end of the trip. All the best!

    Nilesh ShevadeNational Sales Head, ECL Finance Ltd.

  • We worked with ICE India for Confluence, our annual global partners meet. There were 4 other agencies who were pitching for this event and we finally chose ICE India due to their thorough understanding of our needs and the innovative ideas which they suggested for the event. Since this was the first time that we were working with ICE India for such a large scale event, we were a bit skeptical, but Mufaddal and his team were involved in every small aspect of the event and executed it seamlessly. The biggest thing that they bring to the table is the organized way in which they work, which leads to minimum last minute issues, which we all know is bound to happen in a large scale event. All in all it was a very good experience working with them.

    Ashwini NagarkattiCategory Marketing Manager - Godrej Appliances

Planning an event in Chennai: questions

Who manages a corporate event in Chennai?

ICE India is a Mumbai-headquartered corporate event management and MICE company with a delivery team in Chennai. Enquiries and quotes come from Mumbai, and the Chennai team coordinates hotels, coaches, vendors and the event day on site.

Can a city conference and a coastal night be combined?

Yes, and it is a common format. Sessions run in a city hotel, and the group travels by coach to a resort on the ECR for the evening. ICE India plans the coach timing around traffic, keeps a covered alternative for lawn events and arranges luggage so delegates do not repack.

Can Chennai be paired with Pondicherry or another South India stop?

Pondicherry is about 150 km down the coast, three to four hours by road, so it suits a two-stop incentive trip with an overnight. For a different landscape, ICE India compares Kerala and Bengaluru for the second stop.

What does a corporate event in Chennai cost?

It depends on the season, hotel category, flights and the production. For reference, ICE India's published bands put a one-night conference for 200 people at ₹35-70 lakh including stay on twin sharing, F&B and AV, before GST. ICE India quotes each Chennai programme after a short brief. See corporate MICE.

Compare destinations

  • Destination

    Kerala

    Houseboats, tea country and Ayurveda for a quieter second stop.

  • Destination

    Bengaluru

    A technology city with convention hotels and a one-hour flight from Chennai.

  • Destination

    Hyderabad

    Big convention venues and a short flight from Chennai.