Grand escalier

The main staircase, Putaruru Hotel.

Built in the early 1950s in a predominantly art deco style, the Putaruru Hotel is a unique and striking looking building. The story goes that when the hotel was being built there was a possibility the Queen might stay when on her first visit to New Zealand, so there was a special room created called The Queen’s Room.
Unfortunately the Queen didn’t end up staying - in fact the closest any of the locals got was waving at the royal train as it sped through the township. To this day, The Queen's Room is still available for visitors to stay in.
There is even a telephone room in the lobby and a writing room that was once used for travellers to write up their orders for the days calls.