Rutland Arms Inn — Restaurant in Manawatū-Whanganui

Characterful, old fashioned hotel in the best way, for this expatriate Englishman, a home from home. Ideally situated in town a short walk to the river, shopping, and visitor attractions. Unfortunately I have marked down to four stars because the bed was unduly firm, almost hard, and uncomfortable to sleep on. Not quite bad enough to complain at the time, though I did think to, but we strongly suggest a better replacement mattress or the use of a quality foam over-mattress cover. No dishcloth by the kettle to wipe up any spills, and whilst the rooms and the hotel were pretty nearly spotless, the mirror on the wall in the bedroom had a thick layer of accumulated dust which should be cleaned off - (the cleaners had just forgotten it was there, I imagine). Good selection of craft beers, and the dinner we had was good, I had the warm chicken salad, very tasty The staff were friendly and efficient, no complaints there. Finally we drive a Leaf electric car. There are no recharging facilities at the hotel car park, and there is only one fast charger in the entire town, which is frankly ridiculous. I would strongly suggest the Rutland Arms install two a/c outlets on the wall by the visitors parking area. Type 2 chargers (7kW) would definitely be best, and a bit more expensive, but caravan sockets (3.2 kW) would work ok for most drivers overnight, with a portable charging cable (I keep one in my vehicle but the hotel might need to hire one out) (A standard plug (1.8 kW) nowadays would be considered very inadequate). BEV owners will expect to be charged for the electricity they use with just a modest mark up. The hotel might like to chivvy the council to get type 2 AC chargers installed around the town, and at least one further fast charger in the town centre, and not 1.5 kms away in the New World supermarket car park. The future is here now, and needs...

My uncle's wake was held at the Rutland on a Wednesday evening in early November and the experience was marred by disappointing treatment from the staff. Initially, everything seemed fine until a couple of extra guests joined us for dinner. The staff seemed upset about this, claiming we had lied about the number of people when booking the table. We explained that it was a wake, and it's challenging to predict how many people will stay, but our explanation fell on deaf ears. Their main concern appeared to be their workload with other tables, which I found to be a less than empathetic response, given the circumstances. To make matters worse, we were accused of being drunk. While it's true some of us had been drinking, no one was behaving in an obnoxious or difficult manner. ||A few of us were teary, given the nature of the occasion, but there was no disruptive behaviour. I believe the situation could have been resolved amicably if the staff had communicated their concerns to us and allowed us to explain the context. Unfortunately, a decision was made without considering our perspective, leaving us feeling unfairly judged.||This experience was particularly distressing for my cousins, who had just lost their father. Instead of feeling supported and understood during a difficult time, they were made to feel as though they had done something wrong. It was disheartening to witness the lack of compassion and understanding from the staff, especially in a hospitality setting where empathy and kindness should prevail.||On this occasion, the Rutland's hospitality fell short. I had hoped for a more understanding and compassionate response, considering the nature of the event. Unfortunately, due to this disappointing experience, I have decided not to return to the Rutland...

This would have been one of the most disappointing experiences we have ever had. Steak that was ordered was over cooked, pasta looked amazing but had totally no flavor, the chicken was like it had magi gravy on top. disappointing that the manager did not have the mind set to come and deal with this, but used there staff as a middle person. This is something that the manager (Fuz) should have dealt with. No discount offered on the 2 steak meals, was either we will re do we had already waited long enough without then needing to be waiting longer. The option was the you can have your money back and we will take the meals away, or a free round of drinks. Had they offered to refund one of the meals and left them there to be eaten would have been a much better solution. Also the fact that they charged $6 for a garlic sauce which was pathetic, you would have got no more than a tablespoon. We had spent well and truly over $290 we thought there outcome was poor service. In the end they refunded the meals and took them away, what they didn't know is that we would of probably been buying more drinks and desserts. The fact that we are not local and if asked would not recommend to anyone to go there. Managers are trained well should be to deal with situations like this, not use there staff as a shield or middle person. Total disappointment and would never go back. Thumbs up to the waitress who was doing there best, thumbs down to management, maybe they should swap rolls and the manager (Fuz) do some waitress work and customer service, and see what its like to be the middle person running back and forth trying to sort. When we did ask to see the manager this request was not an option they would not come out. Maybe time for management to go on a customer...