Alpha Motor Inn: Making its Mark in Palmerston North
By Tristan Hooker/MediaPA
Alpha Motor Inn has a catch phrase – “We’re a 3-Star motel with a 5-Star attitude” – and they’re not kidding. Anyone who has experienced the comfort and friendliness of Alpha Motor Inn, at 31 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North, knows this is a pretty special place.
Brenda Malan, who manages Alpha Motor Inn with her husband Farnie, says the motel has an official Qualmark rating of 3 stars, which they’re very proud of.
“There is a market for 3-star motels,” says Brenda. “I don’t need to compete with our neighbour, we’re still friends. He’s a 4-star, we’re a 3-star.”
Brenda says a lot of “very, very hard work” has gone into turning Alpha Motor Inn into what it is today. She says the old motel was neglected and run down when they took it over in January 2015 and had somewhat of a bad reputation.
“We’ve changed that reputation,” says Brenda. “We want it to be nice and comfortable for people.”
Brenda says she is thankful for the support of her friends during the early stages of the take-over and make-over of the business.
“Our friends came from near and far,” says Brenda. “Our friends supported us. They brought meals for us. We were busy 24/7.”
“One friend said, ‘you’ve got to have a theme’. So I thought, we are passionate about New Zealand and there are two blocks here - we’re going to call them the North Island and the South Island. And that’s how we have themed this motel”.
“It just makes it so light-hearted for our guests,” says Brenda. “I tell them, we’ve got a North Island and a South Island. You’re staying on the South Island so we’ll just cross the Cook Strait here and I’ll take you to the South Island. Some of them look at me like I’m absolutely loopy but they laugh and it just lightens the whole mood.”
“We’ve worked hard to make the place look nice and to make it comfortable for our guests,” says Brenda. “I’m very, very happy with the new look of the Motel and I’m very proud of everything we’ve achieved.
“This motel is for people like us”.
Contact Alpha Motor Inn:
Phone: +64 6 357 1129
Email: alphamotorinn@xtra.co.nz
Address: 31 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Alpha-Motor-Inn
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Email: phillip@mediapa.co.nz
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