Hens Party Venues in Inner South

Three South Melbourne pubs, a glass-walled bar facing the bay in St Kilda and a red-velvet room above Chapel Street give a bride-to-be plenty of range, from a quiet long table to a cocktail party with a DJ.

What sorts it out is how many are coming, whether the bridal party wants to sit or mingle, and where everyone heads afterwards.

Hens-night picks across the inner south:

• South Yarra glamour: The Lounge @ Temperance Hotel, upstairs at 426 Chapel Street, counts hens parties among its events and keeps up to 100 guests in one room around a mirrored bar. From $38 per person.
• By the water in St Kilda: The Sunroom @ Hotel Esplanade has a retractable roof and an open-air deck beside it, and a section of around 60 can be booked for a mid-sized group. From $47 per person.
• A room with a bookshelf wall: on Clarendon Street, Golden Gate Hotel has a Library with a fireplace and its own bathrooms, or the upstairs Coventry Room, with leather lounges and space for 120 on their feet. From $37 per person.
• Rooftop for a crowd: Main Hall @ Bells Hotel has a private laneway entrance and lift, space for a DJ and room for 300 cocktail-style. From $35 per person.
• Wine and a long lunch: at Lamaro's Hotel, Cecil Street, there is a wood-fired grill and a cellar-lined Wine Room, plus the heated Birdcage at the front. From $1,500 minimum spend.

Lamaro's, Bells and the Golden Gate all sit in South Melbourne, on Cecil, Moray and Clarendon Streets, so a long lunch at one can roll on to cocktails at another.