Richmond Guest House

Great price! Especially if you have a car because you can park for free and walk easily into Wellington. Other hotels in the city cost $25 a day to park. People have reviewed the owner really harshly but he was nice! He's just straight forward with what he says but he's an older British man and we're also British so perhaps it's a cultural difference with the people that complained? I don't believe he means to be rude or upset anyone at all. The place is old-fashioned down to vintage radios etc - we thought it was cool! Unfortunately you can't control other guests but our only complaint would be that there was an inconsiderate German guest that shouted loudly in the corridor by all the rooms at 7am! Perhaps a sign in the corridor asking guests to be mindful of other rooms (as they're all fairly close together) could help? Breakfast includes a selection of about 20 cereals and toast with maybe 8 spreads to choose from.

This felt like a home away from home, I was having a respite night to myself and I don't do it often. Maybe this was the 3rd time in a year and it's the first time I actually slept and felt comfortable. Rather than being in a sterile 'studio room'. The host was accommodating, his partner in crime (the doggie) was very useful at being patted. Will come here for all future respite needs. Thank you for you hospitality.

The location is good, around a 20 minute walk to the marina and less to the city centre. Rooms are pleasant & ours was clean. Breakfast was basic, but fine, choice of cereal and toast. Coffee is instant. The biggest problem with the guest house, which would stop us staying again, was John the host who was really rude to guests. We had an early flight into Wellington so I messaged the day before arrival to ask if we could drop our bags off around 10am (not check-in early) so we could walk around Wellington without our suitcases! I got no reply, but we headed there at 10 & were greeted with hostility by John & 'there's a reason we have check-in times! There was no greeting or apology for not having the service available and when I said we'd messaged the day before he ignored me. He did allow us to leave our bags in his office but we did it in such a hurry & we felt almost shooed out that we left things behind we needed for the day! The following morning at breakfast John was equally rude to guests making everyone feel really uncomfortable. Breakfast is 7-9am & we went at 8am. Unfortunately lots of people made the same choice and there wasn't space for all. John sent some people away & told them to come back in 10 minutes & then went on a rant about everyone having no intelligence & all turning up at the same time making everyone feel really uncomfortable. Are his guests meant to be mind readers! There was room for more chairs which would alleviate the issue or maybe get guests to book time-slots. He also made comments about certain nationalities & was rude to a guest requesting filter coffee! Very unpleasant experience and we won't be going back which is a shame as the rooms are fine and it's good value for money.

I have enjoyed my stay in Richmond Hotel. The staff is very accomodating. I have arrived past the check-in period and still managed to check-in through the help of Dinah, even left some fresh milk in the fridge. I really appreciate it coz I was so hungry and tired after a long bus journey.I also loved the bed, it aids with my sore body after a 12hr bus journey.

We had two nights stay at Richmond and we did not know what to expect after reading some of the reviews 5 minutes before our arrival. John let us in and showed us our room. He was nothing but kind to us, though he did crack some jokes and I honestly believe the people in the reviews saying he is rude did not understand his humor The room seemed clean, and it got very dark at night. It was perfectly chilly so no need for an aircon. Only thing I did not like too much was that we were not able to lock the door to our room from the inside. Thank you for a nice stay, John :)

The host is odd. Humor is off. Weird conversations like telling us he like to take little girls, etc. Also, I don't feel safe to be honest as there is no lock from the inside of the room.||The room seems old and looks like it has not been cleaned thoroughly as we found some bottle caps that is not ours.||And the free parking is street parking.

I should have read the reviews before booking. Unfortunately I have to give this 1* due to the very poor customer service. We were met by John who's customer service skills are very sadly lacking. You have to park on the street and I asked him if my car was ok where I had parked I and he asked me what I did for a living I said I was a retired veteran to which he responded then you should know how to park a car. It went down hill from there, as he was continuously rude to both myself and my wife. Room was clean but dated, bathroom gets a 5*. Sadly the only thing that did. You should respect veterans.

It's cosy guest house, John, the owner, is a very nice and helpful man, straightforward and honest, and with 'that' SOH I like. Amazing service and great location. Great value for decent size of rooms