Neat retreat on Rimu Street

AFTER a career involving a lot of travelling and moving house, Derek and Kathy McInnes knew they wanted to finally put down some roots and chose to make Inglewood, and its historic Forrestal Lodge their new home.
As a manager for 'Farmers' stores, Derek spent many years establishing and running stores in a number of lower North Island centres, including Wellington, Upper Hutt, Palmerston North, Masterton and New Plymouth.
"We were always either moving to a new town because of work or moving to a bigger house because of our growing family," said Derek.
Eventually, both Kathy and Derek realised that it was time to find a more permanent home for themselves and their four children and take back control of the direction of their lives.
"We were looking for an opportunity to work for ourselves and wanted to find a business that tied in with our family life."
The McInnes' found that business when they saw, fell in love with and purchased Inglewood's historic Forrestal Lodge in 2007, and have not looked back since.
"Inglewood is a great place to put roots down and offers us the stability, small-town hospitality and sense of community that we think is good for a family."
"We knew the lodge needed work, but we could see its potential straight away," said Kathy.
Forrestal Lodge was originally built as a convent in 1937, but had many different uses after it was first sold into private ownership in 1979, including a Bed & Breakfast/Backpackers and an Indian Restaurant.
"Our vision for the facility is a place that is clean, tidy, cosy and comfortable the kind of place I would want my family to stay in."
Guided by their vision, one of the first tasks the McInnes' undertook was the redecoration of the main communal areas the hall, office, dining and lounge areas. As well as this, all eight bedrooms in the facility were given a modern and stylish refit, as were the outdoor entertainment and parking areas.
"Our biggest achievement to date has been the development of a state-of-the-art conference room, with all the appropriate technological facilities that professionals expect. Depending on the configuration, we can hold up to 80 people in there," said Derek.
The couple are about to embark on a full re-paint of the outside, meaning the exterior will soon look as stylish as the interior - already, the remodelled gardens have made the venue more attractive.
The facility sleeps up to 29 people in a variety of different-sized rooms, making it not only perfect for professional conference groups, but smaller community groups and schools looking for a venue for retreats.
"We've had school leadership training here and a couple of community groups use the lounge area regularly for meetings. We really want people to see that we are flexible and are interested in meeting the needs of both corporate customers and community groups."
The facility is not limited to large groups though, offering B&B; style accommodation to all tourist and local friends and family groups.
"We want people to know that Forrestal Lodge has been brought back to life and really is a viable accommodation choice for all people wanting to stay in the district."
For more information on the lodge, check out www.forrestal.co.nz or contact Derek or Kathy on (06) 756 7242.