Melbourne Zoo
Elliott Avenue, Parkville VIC 3052, Australia
Zoo
•Why you'll love Melbourne Zoo
- Be amongst the Animals and enjoy nature and natural surroundings.
- Unique location with outdoor spaces that can host a large number of different types of functions.
- Offers exceptional cuisine and a beautiful setting.
About the venue
As a function venue, Melbourne Zoo stands alone. Seriously - are there many venues that can boast the things the Zoo holds in its grasp? First off, it’s a zoo. With real live animals. Secondly, as a function space, the Zoo can accommodate groups numbering between 10 and 3000. Thirdly, it’s a zoo. Aside from the obvious fact that Melbourne Zoo is a veritable wonderland of animals like lions and gorillas and bears and snakes, our city’s zoo also sports a number of function spaces for events that range from the end-of-year party time variety to the kid's birthday kind, or the breed of event more conducive to fostering business relationships with clients (in a unique setting). There’s the Lakeside Room, overlooking the zoo’s award-winning Japanese gardens. Then there’s the Leopard Lodge, located a lion’s roar from the big cats and fitting up to 500 guests. Then there’s the Bong Su Room with its own private tree kangaroo exhibit, found in the heart of the Elephant Trail. Also the Rainforest Room with its own tamarin monkey enclosure. Melbourne Zoo is (in case you live under a rock, and are in desperate need of a reconnection with your childhood) found along Elliott Avenue in Parkville. That’s just off Royal Parade, surprisingly close to Melbourne University, and a veritable stone’s throw (train ride) from the city and Citylink.
Melbourne Zoo Function Rooms
Bong Su Room
At the heart of the Elephant Trail lies the Bong Su Room. With its indoor and outdoor spaces, floor to ceiling windows, bold dark timber panelling, private views over our animal exhibit, and hidden location among the bamboo forest, the Bong Su Room is an experience. This room is perfect for conferences with an inbuilt screen and projector, seated lunches and dinners, wedding receptions and birthday celebrations.
Lakeside Room
With picturesque views over the award-winning Japanese Garden and lake, the Lakeside Café is an evening-only venue to enjoy that features an outdoor terrace connecting to the main function room. Room for a spacious dancefloor, makes this venue ideal for Christmas, birthday or engagement parties, wedding receptions and corporate functions such as gala or award dinners. The Lakeside Café comfortably holds 120 guests standing or 80 seated, and is available to hire from 6:30pm onwards.
Leopard Lodge
Situated close to both the big cat’s habitat and the beloved Carnivores’ Trail, the Leopard Lodge is the largest and most versatile of the four function rooms. You and your guests can share a toast to the sound of lions roaring against a backdrop of some of the Zoo’s finest gardens and lawns. Comfortably hosting 350 guests standing or 200-240 seated, the Leopard Lodge is conveniently located close to the trams and trains of the Railgate entrance. Here, greenery on all sides creates the sense of celebrating in the heart of a jungle, and a paved outdoor terrace allows your guests to spill into the landscape. A purpose built bridal suite makes this a particularly fitting function space for wedding receptions. With its screen, stage and AV capabilities, it's the perfect conference venue.
Rainforest Room
The Rainforest Room is a location of pure beauty. With views over the award-winning Japanese Garden and Lake, the outside terrace is an ideal place to sample a glass of sparkling while savouring the tranquil surrounds. The inside of this light-filled venue features its own private animal exhibit – the lush forest habitat of the playful Tamarin monkeys. Perfect for corporate conferences, cocktail parties and dinners or wedding receptions, this space holds up to 110 guests standing or 80 guests seated.
Price Guide
| Price Type | Price Per Person (Starting From) |
|---|---|
| Day Delegate Package (DDP) | $ 90 |
| Half Day Delegate Package (HDDP) | $ 80 |
| 2 Course Menu | $ 80 |
| 3 Course Menu | $ 90 |
| 3 Hour Canapes | $ 85 |
| 3 Hour Beverage Package | $ 43 |
Please note, that pricing may be subject to change without notice. We recommend confirming with the venue prior to booking to ensure you have the most up-to-date information.
Reviews for Melbourne Zoo
Jason Condon
The Melbourne zoo is fantastic. I took the wife for the first time and loved it. The baby snow leopard cubs are amazing, and the dinosaurs, wow! I spent ages in there; the kids were having a ball. The butterfly attraction is cool. The whole park is awesome; a great day out. Back soon.
Benita Joy
Great place to go, easy to spend the whole day here. Lots to see and learn. Animals are well looked after, staff are knowledgeable and animals are easy to see and be engaged by. Lots of info around to help you learn something new. Fun ways to interact with the animals etc. Lots of activities for kids and kids enter free on weekends and school holidays. Many places to eat or stop to sit. Grounds etc are nice too. Easy to get to buy public transport. Range of cages so you can stay outside, eg the lions, monkeys etc or walk through the cage with the animals all around you eg the aviaries or lemurs.. keeper talks are interesting too. If your kids are little bring a pram because it's a big place to walk around, or get a membership so you can just see a bit and come back next week for more ..
Sean Robinson (Seany)
I have been to quite a few zoos all around the world from Chester to Chiba and I think this one is up there with the best of them. Great exhibitions with multiple view points which were wonderful. A great collection of animals throughout the zoo so you do need a bit of time to get around to all of them. I felt like the enclosures are well thought out and appropriate sizes. I enjoyed the animal talks I managed to catch. I also enjoyed seeing the animal art as you can see from the photos. If I were to provide feedback 1. Maybe better signage. Something like colour coded animal paw prints towards each section? 2. Maybe a little more to help keep kids engaged and learning. Perhaps a checklist booklet parents could buy for them? Thanks for the day out, we’d love to visit again in the future.
Anna Hubbard
This zoo is close to the city (approx 15 mins from Bourke St Mall) which makes it easy to visit on holidays. It is a large and well kept space which is great for children to run and play in. There is a carousel, playground and at least 3 cafes. The gift shop is well priced and has a nice range, and there are many sustainability initiatives which is positive to see. The cafe staff were consistently rude which spoilt the nice range of snack options. It was disappointing to see how much rubbish was inside the giraffe enclosure. Perhaps more bins would be beneficial. I paid extra for the otter experience. The staff member was friendly but arrived a few minutes late. We were told to meet at 10:30 and they did not get there until 10:40. The experience consisted of watching the otters being fed from the keeper's back area and then doing a scatter feed. Really you could have gone to the public viewing area and had nearly the same experience. I don't mind too much because it's a donation to the zoo and animals, but I had thought it would be a bit more intimate, close and personal. There was definitely no cuddling of the animals. If you want to see all exhibits, allow at least 3 to 4 hours. If you have mobility issues, do not go in wet weather and be prepared with a walker etc.
Ivan L Hales
This was a great zoo to see the animals up close also a very enjoyable day out. Walking around the zoo the facilities were clean and tidy in the animal encloses were easy to see the animals , it was very easy to get from the city out to the zoo and this would make a fun day out for the family . The kids love the dinosaur display at the zoo too
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