Not your average Motel 6
Large lawn, fire pit, pool, and riverside location make Campbellford destination different
Dipak Patel hopes that joining an international company will boost his local business.
The Campbellford River Inn, which Patel has owned for 21 years, is now a franchisee, part of the Motel 6/Studio 6 chain, and will benefit from its marketing muscle and name recognition.
He held grand opening and rebranding celebrations on Thursday and a representative of Motel 6 said the Campbellford addition is one-of-a-kind.
“We have more than 1,500 motels, including about 40 in Canada and no others have a view like this,” he said, gesturing to the western vista overlooking the Trent River, where a pair of loons were diving for lunch.
The opening festivities, which included Mayor Bob Crate, MP Philip Lawrence and local business leaders, were held on a covered stage backing onto the river, which Patel recently built in hopes it will get regular use as a wedding chapel.
“From May till October we are usually full with wedding guests,” he said, noting that this year has actually been a bit slow.
Dipak and his wife Falu moved here from Huntsville when he decided to sell his Mr. Sub store there and take a chance on learning the hospitality business. Their two sons, Dev and Rahul, have had stellar careers at Campbellford District High School and the family has become an important part of the local community.
“I didn’t know what to expect when we moved here,” Patel said. "We have been accepted by the local community.”
His parents joined in the celebration and did the honours of cutting a cake bearing the Motel 6 logo.
The motel has 20 large, renovated rooms that can now be booked by phone at 800 899 9841 or online. A Motel 6 representative told me many customers prefer to deal with a chain because they know what to expect and feel more comfortable.
Town seeks your views on parks
Trent Hills is carrying out an online survey to gather your views on what parks and recreation services will be needed over the next 20 years.
The survey, which has 22 questions, takes 10-15 minutes to complete. It asks what indoor and outdoor services and sites you and your family use and what additions you would like to see in the future.
For example, it asks whether we need a disc golf park, or a dog park. I voted yes to both. I also said the town should be supporting the curling club, since it helps other sports like hockey, tennis, and swimming, and I have no idea why curling didn’t make the cut 50 years ago. (OK, I have a conflict since I am a member of the curling club.) On Facebook, some folks in Hastings are pushing for improvements to Ed Brownlee Park. This is your chance to push your hobby horse too.
The website also says there will be an open house on Thursday, July 31 where we will be able to learn more. I couldn’t find any other details about that on the website or on Facebook.
The survey is part of a $130,000 plan to draft a new parks and recreation services master plan. I wrote about the plan in March. It is being developed by Tocher Heyblom Design Inc., a Toronto-based planning firm that specializes in parks and recreation master plans. Development charges will pay $105,000 of the cost and the remaining $23,635 will be funded from a planning reserve fund.
The town says the plan will guide “the development, renewal and management of indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, sports fields, parks, trails and other green spaces to meet the needs of the municipality's residents and visitors.”
It’s worth noting that today is the 10th anniversary of the Hastings Field House.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories anytime on the website.
Will be interesting to see a progress report on the extensive Active Transportation study/survey/open houses done several years ago and the connection to this planning exercise.