Decatur, Ala., to get Days Inn Suites in February
By Eric Fleischauer
The Decatur Daily, Ala.
DECATUR, AL, November 20, 2005. After a $1.2 million makeover, the Decatur Inn on Sixth Avenue Northeast will open as a Days Inn Suites in February.
Diplomat Hotel Corp. spokesman Peter Mathon said Diplomat plans to convert adjacent property on Sixth Avenue into a freestanding retail strip center. Diplomat is looking for tenants, Mathon said.
The renovations will convert the hotel's 120 rooms into 65 executive suites. Because it's located at the city's entrance, local officials hope the renovation will result in a more attractive first impression.
Mathon said Diplomat has completed a landscaping plan, but won't submit it to the city until it delivers its site plan for the retail center next month. The hotel opened in 1965 as the Decatur Inn. After filing for bankruptcy in 1987, a new owner purchased it and operated it as Days Inn. The hotel closed in 2004 after losing its Days Inn franchise. "They feel for that market, Days Inn is a well-respected and established franchise. By making it a Days Inn Suites, which is an upgraded version, it will be a little higher quality, but still priced at a level that works for the market," Mathon said. Sixth Avenue, Church Street, Eighth Avenue and Lafayette Street border the property, at 810 Sixth Ave. N.E.
Atlanta-based Diplomat Hotels owns 20 hotels in the Southeast, including 10 in the metro Atlanta area. R.C. Patel and his brother, Mike Patel, head the company. Diplomat's first hotel, bought in 1979, was in Pell City.
Staff Writer Paul Huggins contributed to this article.
To see more of The Decatur Daily, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.decaturdaily.com
Copyright (c) 2005, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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