The Parkdale Motor Inn

THE HOTEL INSPECTOR: Accommodation for the sole corporate traveller can be a hit and miss affair.

From the outside the Parkdale Motor Inn looks like what you would expect from what has been a landmark on Nepean Highway in Mentone for at least 40 years.

The brown bricked facade has long been a part of the landscape but is, however, a dead giveaway of the time that style forgot, otherwise known as the 1970s, in which the hotel was built.

For many years the hotel, originally known as the Mentone Hub Motel, suffered a bad reputation due to a clientele consisting, what polite society may describe to be, unsavoury elements.

However, a change of name and a new owner prepared to spend money to refurbish the interiors of the rooms has breathed new life into the place.

On this particular trip The Roadhouse was required to stay in the suburbs of Melbourne instead of the main CBD where hotel choice is a lot wider than in these parts.

The first big tick for the Parkdale Motor Inn is that it is a designated stopping point for the Peninsula Airport Shuttle Bus service, which means you get delivered from stepping off your plane at Tullamarine airport directly to the front door. ($31).

Friendly, welcoming staff ensure the check-in process is seamless, from where they direct you to your room.

All rooms are located on two floors that and open onto the ground floor courtyard-come-car park where free off-street parking is available.

The room configuration is simple: a substantial bed, from which you can easily view all free-to-air and Foxtel channels on the wall-mounted flatscreen television; a small table and chairs complemented by a healthy amount of desktop for those needing to work; and a comfy armchair.

 

The bathrooms are small but are clean and well-maintained and adequate for the task.

As a small suburban hotel the Parkdale Motor Inn offers something too many of its inner-city brethren, for some reason, fail to do and that is to supply free high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access in all rooms.

Breakfast is available, however there are enough cafes along the nearby main strip of Mentone these days serving good coffee with comestible accompaniments it’s worth taking a walk down and treating yourself.

For a couple of nights on the road the Parkdale Motor Inn is right on the money.

202 Nepean Hwy
Parkdale, VIC 3195

AUSTRALIA

P: 03 9584 4222

F: 03 9583 0723

E: stay@parkdalemotorinn.com.au