The Duke of Marlborough Hotel

9.0

Wonderful

764 Guest reviews

9.0

Wonderful

764 Verified Reviews

Read all reviews

Cleanliness9.4/10

Service9.2/10

Comfort8.6/10

Condition8.8/10

location9.8/10

Neighborhood9.4/10

Value8.8/10

Amenities9.0/10

Perfect position on water’s edge.

Beautiful position and spacious. Bathroom grouting needed cleaning and the bathroom smelt unpleasant. Comfortable bedroom. Living area and kitchen adequate. Brown carpet throughout.

Enjoyed the vintage hotel decor, staff were very professional and helpful, and the location of the hotel is perfect for anyone visiting Russell.

Had an amazing experience, helpful and accomodating employees who would do all they could to help us. Convenient location, enjoyed our stay. Highly recommend.

Great

Pros: View from terrace restaurant was stunning, food was great, rooms have been renovated beautifully. Cons: reception area dark and musty smelling. Skimping on towels-no hand towels, no bath mat, no flannels. Shower head floppy squirted over tiles when turned on, so floor wet and slippery with nothing to mop up water

Our room was facing the ocean but the restaurant was below and we could hear people talking and laughing until later in the evening. Not many convenient plugs in the room.

Keen historic property with very good staff.

The rooms felt a little dated but perhaps that is part of the charm. The staff was great, the dinner was delicious and the location unbeatable.

We had a lovely, sunny room, friendly staff and a nice meal at this historic hotel.

Pristine property. Gorgeous hotel. Russel is quaint and delightful.

Stay away from rooms 1 and 1!

Our room had no privacy and no shade - it faced onto a walkway and was blasted by sun all day, so you had to keep the curtains closed day and night - yet the price was the same as their other balcony rooms...

Amazing history, view, artwork, restaurant, and world-class ambiance. The hotel was restored and updated years ago but it has been well maintained.

Very relaxing night here

Beautiful

Lovely little apartment on the beach front.

Had an amazing night here with friends, had dinner over looking the water. The food was delicious, service was great and the restaurant had a great ambiance. The rooms were lovely and looked exactly like the photos, no surprises. Will definitely be back.

Worth a stay

We were informed when we checked in that the best rooms were reserved for those that booked directly with the hotel. We were given a wheelchair accessible room on the ground floor, which was okay. The bar in the hotel was disappointing as the layout was poor, big sofas grouped in the middle of the bar area. The restaurant and service were excellent and highly recommended. Because this is an old hotel it doesn’t have modern refineries.

Beautiful beachfront property with an,amazing restaurants. Great experience with quaint rooms and artwork. Amazing little town.

Loved the location.

This is my go to place. I love the village and coastal location, so very peaceful! Staff, food and accommodation is always on point.

This is a beautiful property in an Excellent location. The views are magnificent all the time and are part of the overall ambiance of the area. Wherever you sit for dinner or drinks you are immersed in the view of water, boats and people enjoying themselves.

Quiet and quaint town

We enjoyed the hotel, the room was decent size but the bathroom was wonderful, very clean and large! We loved the location and enjoyed being able to walk everywhere.

A fantastic historic hotel right in the waterfront. We had a suite overlooking the sea.

Beautiful historic hotel. Some small rooms.

Great hotel

Brilliant - can’t wait to visit again

The Duke of Marlborough was everything we wanted. The room was well appointed, the bed comfortable and the shower amazing. The staff were friendly and helpful and the restaurant views and food were outstanding. I would definitely recommend and will stay again.

Very nice and quite

Beautiful old historic hotel. Very convenient to dock where boat tours leave from. Also in heart of adorable town. Lovely area.

Great place

The hotel was nice, but our experience in the restaurant was terrible, which unfortunately impacted our entire stay.

A special place

The hotel is situated in a lovely spot right near the water. It has lovely views, a super restaurant, and is has a very pleasant porch to just sit and watch passersby or the incredible sunset over the water. We highly recommend it.

Well appointed and excellent hotel a must stay

Right on the waterfront, great restaurant and great venue!

Fantastic hotel, great friendly staff. Close to everything and the ferry to Paihia almost at the door.

Exzellent steak

Charming historical property

A unique historical property in a stupendous location right on Russell’s small bay. Very well preserved and presented period decor.

Historically significant but not luxury

Historically significant, but the service as a hotel is bare bones minimum. There is no help to get luggage to the room, check-in staff gave a slightly disinterested vibe, booking a dinner at the restaurant required waiting for a manager. The booked table was not ready at the booking time (we were there minutes early but they were five minutes late). Our room fridge was actually inside a closet, which was a bizarre search, and not advised at check-in. The shower is closed via shower curtain that does not extend the entire length of the shower. The highlight of our stay was actually the African-American (?) server at the restaurant who gave 120% and all other staff at this establishment should look to her as an example.

as expected for the cost

Great stay - accommodation, staff & food were excellent!

Lovely ambience . Russell icon

Very comfortable

Nice hotel but customer service could be better.

Great location and really clean. Bathroom spacious and lots of fast hot water. However, customer service needs to be better. Not once was I greeted with a “good morning” or “how is your stay going” or “is there anything that I can do to help”. Simple to do, but the two ladies in reception seemed oblivious. Perhaps they are understaffed or underpaid or not trained properly which was a shame as otherwise I would have given this hotel a higher rating.

Kudos to Duke staff

Great relaxing place to relax for a night,

Beautiful building

Easy checkin, room was tidy and clean. We had one of the ground level rooms facing the back street with a generous deck. Bed was comfortable, however felt the towels could be better quality and size. The Duke restaurant is amazing, fantastic views and good food and wine menu. Beautiful historic building at a prime location so would stay again,

Check out time is too early.

This property is gorgeous and historical. It’s right on the water and the restaurant was packed the whole time we were there. Since we had reserved the cheapest room, our room was quite small, however still offered the necessary amenities and comfort. Russell is a darling town, perhaps the highlight of our trip!

The staff in the restaurant were very professional, friendly and helpful. We enjoyed dinner and breakfast, and the meals were excellent and very reasonably priced… however; the room service staff forgot to service our room. The reception staff did the right thing and credited our previous day’s breakfast to compensate for the lack of room service. We would love to visit again, definitely opting for a room facing the water

Best place in NZ

The location was great..we had breakfast overlooking the water...beautiful..i had the omlette...it was amazing..my husband had the clasic 2 eggs and toast. The toast was amazing as was the coffee..the eggs were good too. Staff were helpfull and friendly

An awesome historic hotel. Central location, great food, excellent service. Hard to fault really.

We loved the decor and the excellent customer service and support from reception to the wait staff etc.,,,,,

Perfect place to stay in a historic NZ location. Great stay had all around.

This is a gorgeous heritage hotel in a small town of historical dignitaries in Russell, with delightful ambience, harbour views and panache.

Staff are friendly and professional. Accommodation & bedrooms very well decorated , beds very comfy, nice decor. Shower pressure outstanding and bathroom well supplied. Restaurant food is outstanding, lots of choices, great oyster bar when we were there. Service fantastic. Cant wait for return visit, loved everything about it, especially with the hotel sitting on foreshore of Russell

A special place to be for the weekend with my gorgeous daughter 💖 I was disappointed we couldnt open any windows in our room, i love fresh air 😀 Room 128. We love Russell 💖💖

Cosy and comfortable.

We always combine dinner when we stay. Love the place. Pays to book well in advance

We just spent three nights at this lovely hotel. Room and patio were really nice, great shower too. The restaurant is wonderful, excellent food. Staff were all very friendly

Gorgeous room, friendly and helpful staff, restaurant service was excellent. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been a hotel bathrobe.

Beautiful building and location

Beautiful hotel, amazing food at the restaurant, friendly and helpful staff would love to stay there again.

Enjoyable overnight stay. Love this hotel and it's feel with all the historic art and beautiful Lester Hall artwork. Quiet time of the year to stay in the area. Bed was very comfortable. Shower box very small and dark could do with extra lighting as black shower curtain adds to darkness. Staff check in and check out needs work before Summer hits.

Most enjoyable experience again. Thank you to all of the staff from reception, the dining room, bar and the room service team. All in all a great stay

Always love staying at the Duke, all the history, great staff, delicious food very consistent Highly recommend

An iconic hotel which has retained it's atmosphere and unique character

Great old style hotel with well appointed rooms. Central in Russell and easy to walk everywhere. Restaurant and bar is lovely with some really nice kiwi specific dishes eg Hangi boil up with pork belly and fried bread! Happy to recommend if and will stay again

Staff were friendly and helpful and was a wonderful place to stay

We had a Waterfront Room for a birthday weekend away. The View, and the Location were stunning. The Duke is pristine in its presentation. Lovely staff, and great local and in house dining. Can’t wait to revisit. Thank you

.

Great property, close to everything all walking distance. Close to the ferry as well, great service and an enjoyable stay.

Lovely room with a very comfy bed

I stayed here for three nights and after an awkwardness over my fault twin booking all went well. Its a bit noisy, to be expected but the north side room view made up for that. I liked it but let down by the tired pricey restaurant. There's vastly better options down the attractive Strand foreshore. Tha Gables is amazing, Seaside has good fare and the Pompallier cottage cafe great for teas and tours.

Heritage

We stayed a week, and didn't regret a minute of it. Cold and windy weather dominated, so sipping wine by the fire was a perfect way to end each day. Lots of things to do, as the Duke is located right on the beach in the centre of town. More history than we expected. Would love to go back again...

Its "The Duke" an institution ! most amazing foods and just magic out look both in the morning and at night.

Anniversary Delight

Have always wanted to stay here and one our wedding anniversary it exceeded our expectations.

Lovely place to stay. Stayed in a small room. Would be nice to have black out curtains.

great stay friendly staff

Room was spacious and quiet. Close to all dining options and town centre.

It’s a fine old building in a very pretty place. Our room was small..difficult to open our cases. It was unbearably hot despite the thermostat being turned down. We ate in the restaurant which has to be seen to be believed. The service and food were all good.

Absolutely perfect! Very sad to leave.

What a great hotel. Like stepping back in time. Beautifully furnished.

Lovely historic hotel. Beautifully appointed rooms. Comfy bed. Friendly staff. Superb location.

A great place to stay when visiting Russell. Beautiful view, great position, lovely staff, good restaurant

Great experience at a beautiful old worldy hotel

Very cool, historic hotel. Very nice dining room. Unfortunately some of our food arrived cold but the waiter looked. After it promptly and professionally and corrected the problem. Lovely town and a must stay!

This was a beautiful hotel and our room was heaven, overlooking the water.

Beautiful

Delightful relaxed hotel. A real gem.

Relaxed and comfortable. Lovely location.

There was nothing we didn't like .the staff were great , food great ,location superb what more do you need

Paid a bit extra for a sea view room and it was worth every penny. Lovely location

Quality stay. Accommodation and restaurant

Beautiful room with stunning water views from our private verandah. The spa bath was a lovely treat too! Classic and tasteful decor throughout tue hotel gave a sense of nostalgia and opulent luxury. A very easy stroll to all of the village amenities. We only wished we had booked more than one nights accommodation.

A beautiful old world splendour greets you when you walk in the door. The receptionists were friendly and accommodating. Upon entering the room I was pleased to see the cleanliness and freshness of the facilities. It was obvious that the bathroom and sleeping facilities had been beautifully renovated to make the grand rooms downstairs. I would highly recommend The this accommodation.

Beautiful location very friendly staff

Loved the location and cleanliness. Reception staff was excellent. Restaurant lacked knowledgable servers and food was mediocre. Took over two hours for food so don’t be in a hurry.

Hotel in prime location in Russell.

Wonderful experience but expensive

Great place In Russell

I enjoyed our stay very much! The restaurant is excellent and it was a great place. I highly recommend it

Overall we enjoyed our stay very much. It met our expectations. Our only disappointment was slow dinner service due to a mix up and thus our meals took a long time to arrive.