Christmas Party Venues in Melbourne's CBD, Southbank & Docklands

What to Know Before Booking Christmas Party Venues

Whether the brief is a sit-down meal where everyone can hear the managing director's thank-you or a stand-up evening with canapés and a bar tab, the centre of Melbourne has a room for it. Options stretch from a 1929 Spanish Rococo ballroom at 191 Collins Street to rooftop bars along Bourke Street and riverside terraces in Southbank and South Wharf. Matching the room to the headcount:

Twenty to forty colleagues: West Melbourne's Three Crowns Hotel offers a Side Dining room seating 28 with a large screen, no hire fee under 50 and platters from $14 per person
A department of about 50: The Rooftop @ Imperial Hotel books rooftop sections for up to 50, or the whole roof for 270, with grazing from $31 per person
A floor of 100 to 250: the middle-floor bar at The Elephant & Wheelbarrow holds 250 standing, with its own bartender, bathrooms and climate control, and Royal Melbourne Hotel's Heritage Room takes 50 to 250 with a projector and microphone
The whole company: Morris House can be taken exclusively for up to 730 across four levels, and Ludlow Bar & Dining hires out its entire venue for up to 600, and the four levels of Garden State Hotel on Flinders Lane can be booked whole for 840
A gala for the full organisation: Plaza Ballroom hosts corporate functions from 200 to 1,200, cooked in-house, with Christmas functions quoted on enquiry

Weeknights are worth a look for the budget. A $2,000 minimum spend secures the top floor at The Elephant & Wheelbarrow from Monday to Thursday, Fridays and weekends cost more, and every minimum goes up between mid-November and the end of December.

CBD, Southbank & Docklands Christmas Party Venues

Good Heavens above Bourke Street offers four bookable zones for 30 to 60 guests each, with most of the rooftop under cover and one planner quoting the whole event upfront. Down on the corner opposite Flinders Street Station, Young & Jackson has a mural-lined rooftop bar with its own bar and bathroom for 80 standing.
Rooftop @ State of Grace takes 20 to 60 in one section of its rooftop or 200 exclusively, and a bar tab or cash bar can replace a drinks package.
Facing the Yarra by Queensbridge Square, Left Bank Melbourne has a Terrace for up to 135 cocktail guests and a gold-tiled Private Dining Room for 50 to 70.
On South Wharf Promenade, The Decks @ The Boatbuilders Yard is booked on a minimum spend rather than room hire, and closes in as a heated room or opens up as a deck for 80 to 250.

Seated dinners, presentations and the late crowd

No hire fee applies at The Waterside Hotel, which has projectors and wireless microphones on its Level 1 events floor and a lift-only lounge called FIVE for a leadership table of 50.
Alto Event Space seats 150 on the top floor of the GPO building, with presentation facilities, a coordinator during planning and a supervisor on the night.
Berth in Docklands runs four-hour day functions that finish by 4pm as well as evening events, with an in-house audio system, screens and set menus from $79 per person.
Beneath Driver Lane suits a smaller team or the after-party, with half-venue hire for 60 and a licence until 3am.

Venues for Christmas Parties: Your Questions Answered

Could our end-of-year function be a daytime event?

Yes. Berth's day functions run four hours and wrap up by 4pm, and Morris House caters daytime corporate events with morning tea and sandwich platters as well as its evening packages. Saint & Rogue on Little Collins Street trades from midday Monday to Friday and offers an afternoon tea for groups of 12 or more.

Which city venues avoid a room hire fee for a work function?

The Waterside Hotel charges no hire fee, setting a food and beverage minimum by date and space instead. The Decks @ The Boatbuilders Yard books on a minimum spend rather than room hire, and Three Crowns Hotel has no hire fee for groups under 50.

How do we keep a mixed group of staff entertained?

Morris House can bring in comedians from its basement stage, DJs, live music or a photobooth. The Rooftop @ Imperial Hotel has big screens including a large outdoor one, and Good Heavens pours ten beers on tap with a retro cocktail list.

Where can 150 or more staff sit down to dinner?

Alto Event Space seats 150, Ludlow Bar & Dining's exclusive dining seats 160, and The Waterside Hotel's rooftop seats 124. For bigger seated numbers, Plaza Ballroom handles gala dinners and presentation nights for the corporate crowd.

Christmas Party Venues in CBD, Southbank & Docklands

See Your Christmas Party Venue Options in CBD, Southbank & Docklands