Michael C.
Yelp
Nice enough place but it has a weird, unwelcoming vibe if you're not an official "guest." If you're not staying In the hotel don't waste your money in its bar or restaurant. Middling food and drinks, brusque management and a low-energy ambience captures the essence of the bar and restaurant. My wife and I - well-dressed, well-mannered professionals with perfectly respectable limits on our credit cards - wanted to have a decent lunch and kill a couple of hours while waiting for the Alta airport shuttle, which picks up from this location. The front house manager Meg, after huffing and puffing about our presence in the mostly empty bar, informed us that "this is a private resort," although there is zero signage to that effect and apparently anyone can rent a room. If the place is private - like a country club - that's fine. Ask for our member numbers and if we can't produce them then politely decline our business. No harm, no foul. If it's not, then treat all of your guests equally (more or less). But don't try to have it both ways. If you want to take people's apres ski and lunch money, you can do it without making them feel like second-class citizens. A bartender even apologized for our treatment and quietly assured us that the place is "weird." Without any other option, we went ahead and had lunch after receiving Meg's grudging and belated permission. The food was "eh" at best. We tipped our polite server very well and as we ate, discussed that while we look forward to returning to Alta, we will never, ever stay at the Rustler or drop another dime of our money there.