The iconic 1970s era Tennyson Motor Inn in Napier has closed with plans to reopen in the near future with a new name and new management.
The 42-room inn will reopen as the Central City Inn, doing away with the Tennyson brand which has been around since it was built
on a Tennyson St-Clive Square East corner site sold to developers when the Napier Baptist Church moved to Riverbend Rd in 1969.
The owners of the 40-year-old, four-storey establishment shut the doors following the collapse of leaseholder Albert Square Ltd, now in liquidation, and have formed a new company, Central City Inn Ltd, with Colin and Ann Davidson as managers.
Maureen Young, of Tennyson Properties (2009) Ltd, which owns the building and has formed the new company, says it will be "completely refurbished" for the first time since it was built, and it is hoped it will reopen by October 1.
In the industry since buying a motel in 1972, and also a partner in the Harbour View Motor Lodge at Ahuriri, she says the refurbishment includes the remodelling of the former Antraz Restaurant on the square side of the ground floor as a cafe and bar.