Christmas Party Venues Double Bay

December is a busy month in Double Bay. The shopping strip, the restaurants and the hotel all lift in the weeks before Christmas, and function space goes with them. The venue currently listed in the suburb is the Courtyard @ InterContinental Sydney Double Bay, a private semi-enclosed outdoor terrace holding up to 60 guests standing or 40 seated, from a $500 minimum spend, rated 4.3 on Google across 1,313 reviews. An outdoor terrace suits a Sydney December, though it does mean asking what happens if a storm comes through.

Work parties and family gatherings pull in different directions, so settle these early:

• Book well ahead: December dates, particularly Thursday and Friday nights, are claimed months out. By late November you are choosing from what is left.
• Getting people home: Edgecliff station is about a kilometre away, buses run along New South Head Road, and there is a ferry wharf at Double Bay. Paid parking is available in the Kiaora Lane car park, while street parking is limited on weekends.
• Format: a team of 60 works standing, with a bar and food circulating. A family Christmas lunch wants a table, and seated numbers cap at 40.
• Minimum spend: $500 is the starting point. For a work party, decide beforehand whether the company covers the whole tab or a set bar limit, and tell people which it is.
• Access: the terrace is step-free and wheelchair accessible, which matters when grandparents, prams or guests with mobility needs are coming.

Music is one real point of difference here, since you can bring your own DJ subject to a noise restriction. A work party can make good use of that; a family lunch is usually better served by background music and room to talk. Either way, pin down the finish time, the food format and who is responsible for the bill well before December. The closer you get to Christmas, the less room there is to change anything.