With a variety of different venue hire rates to choose from, host your next event with the stunning backdrop of the Nelson Harbour and The Cut. The Aurora Lounge is available to hire in a variety of different formats / rates depending on the type of event. Please note, the hire period needs to include all the time that you require access to the lounge – eg. for deliveries, set-up and pack-down.
ALL VENUE HIRE RATES INCLUSIVE OF GST
Weekday Venue Hire Rates (Mon-Thurs)
| Hourly rate | 3-5hrs (daytime only) | $85/hr |
| Corporate | 8am – 5pm | $450 |
| Evening | 6pm – midnight | $450 |
| Full Day | 8am – midnight | $600 |
| Celebrations of Life / Tangi / Memorials | flexible | $360 |
| Small group / short meeting fee | flexible | Contact us |
| Community Groups | flexible | Contact us |
Weekend Venue Hire Rates (Fri-Sun)
| Friday Wedding / Party | 8am Fri – 8am Sat | $900 |
| Extra Prep | 6pm Thurs – 8am Fri | $300 |
| Extra Pack-Up* | 8am – midday Sat | $300 if available |
| Saturday Wedding / Party | 10am Sat – 8am Sun | $1200 |
| Extra Prep | 6pm Fri – 10am Sat | $420 |
| Extra Pack-Up | 8am – midday Sun | $420 |
| “The Big Weekend” | 2pm Fri – 2pm Sun* | $1800 total |
NB. A 33% Discount is available, on Saturday / Big Weekend hires only, during the winter months of May, June, July, August and September.
| Sunday Wedding / Party | 10am Sun – 8am Mon | $900 |
| Extra Prep* | 4pm Sat – 10am Sun | $300 if available |
| Extra Pack-Up | 8am – midday Mon | $300 |
Included in the venue hire rates
- 96 padded chairs*
- 12 x six-eight seater blow-moulded folding RECTANGULAR tables (1820mm x 752mm)*
- 13 x eight-ten seater blow-moulded folding ROUND tables (1800mm in diameter)*
- 4 x four seater SQUARE tables (765mm x 765mm)*
- Cleaning (basic clean – if excessively messy/dirty, extra cleaning will be charged)
- 1x 240l General Waste Bin
- 1x 240l Glass Recycling Bin
- 1x 240l General Recycling Bin
*You can hire-in chair and table covers from Got It Covered (or similar) if required. Or, better still, let the Nourish team take care of that for you!
Extra Charges
- Additional Cleaning $50.00 per hour
- Extra Rubbish $15.00 per liner/bin
Terms & Conditions
- All hires are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Hire.
Payment Details
- Deposit – to confirm booking 50% of the hire fee
- Bond – This is refundable on the 20th of the month following the event.
- Bonds are determined on a case by case basis depending on the type of event. As a guide, a weekend evening event (party/wedding etc…) would normally be $1000. We do accept 21st Birthday parties on a case by case basis, with a minimum bond of $2000.
- Bond and balance are required 28 days prior to the event, unless the booking is at short notice.
Catering
- Nourish Catering is our in-house caterer. All catering must be organised through Nourish. For more details click here
- Please contact Chanté direct on chante@nourishcatering.co.nz or 0212161184
- The lounge may be hired for non-catered and self-catered events but with no access to the kitchen.
Alcohol & Licensing
The Aurora Lounge is unlicensed and a BYO venue where you can supply your own alcohol to guests. Should you wish to run a cash bar for your event, or are including alcohol within the cost of a ticket, you will need to arrange a special alcohol licence. We recommend contacting a provider such as Nelson Venues to look after this for you.
Capacity
The maximum number of people permitted is 185. To achieve the numbers below, extra chairs would need to be arranged. Suggested capacity in different formats:
| Event style | Suggested capacity |
| Banquet | 120-140 |
| Cabaret | 80-100 |
| Theatre | 150 |
| Classroom | 120 |
| Cocktail/Standing | 180 |
- Lounge dimensions – >250m², with 13m x 16m clear space
- Bar Area:
- Commercial Glass Steriliser – please follow instructions!
- Sink
- Chillers
- glass front: 1 @ 182l, 1@ 288l
- under bench: Approx 900l – length 1.9m height 800mm depth 600mm
- Bathrooms
- Mens – 1x toilet cubicle, urinal, 2x hand basins
- Ladies – 2x toilet cubicles, 2x hand basins
- Accessibility – A platform lift, rated to 400Kg or 3 persons, allows wheelchair access from the lower deck and the main landing between Nahm and the Aurora Lounge.
Layouts
There are many way you can set up for an event in the lounge, and it will depend on the type of event, your numbers, whether you are using club tables and chairs included in the venue hire rate, or hiring in alternatives, etc…
Here is a visualisation of a 96 person wedding including top table, using the included round tables to seat 8. This can be achieved with the chairs and tables included with the hire.
Below is a plan for a ‘cabaret’ style event for 78 with stage. As you can see there is room for a few more tables if needed.
We also have a Sketchup file, which you are welcome to download a copy of to assist with planning:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v52yRZr-F5ukE5aaR6KJzyxZ7XfexLaR/view?usp=sharing
Site Plan – yellow area highlights the area for any special alcohol licence (if required).
Below is an example of a layout for 80 guests, with a 6 person head table on the south side of the room. There is plenty of space around the sides of the room to either fit more tables, for mingling around bar leaners, or for a dance area under the mezzanine.
The styling includes a number of items from Got It Covered, including parquet feature wall, table cloths and napkins, lanterns, palms, gold cutlery and wooden table centre-pieces. The festoon lights are also a great addition. Here, they highlight the head table, but there are halyards/lines next to the fan / feature light that can be lowered to pull decorations/lights up into the ceiling space. This can give a more street-festival atmosphere.
This is an example of a cabaret style layout for corporate function / awards night for 78 guests. It has a 6 person head table on the south side of the room, but this could easily be replaced with a stage, or AV set-up. There is plenty of space around the sides of the room to either fit more tables, for mingling around bar leaners with access to the showstopping balcony.
The styling includes table cloths, napkins, palms, and gold cutlery from Got It Covered, but otherwise everything can be provided in-house by Nourish Catering.
