Finding true luxury in the upper Midwest can sometimes be as challenging as finding a stalk of sweet corn growing in the dead of a sundog winter. But now that the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians has constructed an even grander casino at its Hinckley, Minn., location, luxury is no longer something Midwesterners have to pine for.
On Dec. 13, 2007, designers, architects, senior management, corporate commission management and Mille Lacs Band dignitaries gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated Grand Casino Hinckley. The property now covers just under 1 million square feet, including a new associate and administration area, a 8,243-square-foot full-service spa, an arcade, a gaming floor, a new 22,550-square-foot state-of-the-art events and convention center, seven restaurants, three full-service bars, six retail outlets, 563 guest rooms, an RV park lodge, 50 chalets, and all the ancillary service buildings needed to keep the property in tip-top shape.
Many outstanding service factors led to the management team’s decision to expand its facilities. “Prior to our build-out, we were turning away guests who wanted to stay at our over-booked hotels or attend our sold-out indoor concerts,” said Mel Towle, general manager of the Grand Casino Hinckley. “We also wanted to improve conditions for our associates. Our associate lunch and locker rooms were located away from each other and on different floor levels, and our training and informational meetings were held in a building away from the casino. This led to lower productivity because our associates had to walk great distances between work, training and break areas.”
Because the enhancements were built on to the existing structure, the design team had to use impeccable planning to seamlessly include the property’s original design theme throughout the entire facility. “Our theme has always been ‘Bringing the Outside In,’ while also incorporating subtle Native American art, mostly Ojibwe,” Towle noted. “The main goal for our designers was not to end up with a ‘patchwork’ feel. They wanted to ensure our facility looked like everything was always there and planned for. Much effort was made by our interior designers to keep finishes consistent and flowing from one area to the next.”
All of the property’s design decisions involved collaborative efforts between various departments within the casino, suppliers, engineers and architects. “We made every effort to meet the needs of all departments in regard to space requirements and to update technological equipment with the single goal of better serving our guests. The property management teams suggested improvements, and they were then reviewed by our corporate and elected officials for final approval,” Towle said.
There are many majestic design elements that represent the outdoors throughout the interior of the facility, but the nature-inspired indulgences inside the Grand Harmony Spa perhaps best reflect the luxury of the natural world. The soothing aromatherapy steam baths bring to mind a lush, humid jungle, while the rustic, relaxing whirlpool mimics a steaming mountain hot spring. Both help make relaxing in opulence possible at the Grand Casino Hinckley, but luxury isn’t limited to the spa. Inside the plush presidential suite of the Grand Casino Hotel tower, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the scenic, forested woodlands of the Grindstone and Kettle river basins, and lavish amenities are at guests’ fingertips.
Selecting the perfect materials for the new additions was a crucial component of the building process, and the design team focused its efforts on finding and using locally produced natural resources. “We used many materials indigenous to our area of the Midwest, which is seen in the wood and stonework throughout the property,” Towle noted. “We’ve used materials from as close as the sandstone quarry less than 10 miles north of the property. These elements add amazing texture and beauty to the fireplaces throughout our property.”
On the exterior of the Grand Casino Hinckley, there are many organic highlights, but the final touch to the property’s natural masterpiece has yet to be completed. “There is no getting around the severe winter conditions in Minnesota, so our outside water feature will be completed this coming spring. It will be a waterfall located outside the hotel entrance with a meandering river rich with local plants,” Towle said.
Another notable feature of the exterior of the property is the strength, efficiency and durability of its roof. “The main casino is covered with a white single-ply roofing product called Duro-Last. The Duro-Last roofing system has a reflectivity of greater than 85 percent. This highly sustained reflectivity is saving Grand Casino Hinckley significant energy and money during the summer, when high temperatures cause our HV/AC systems to work overtime. Because of the insulation applied under the membrane during the roof’s installation, our building’s heat loss in the winter has been significantly reduced as well.”
Towle also noted that the exterior wall finishes and colors were chosen to match and highlight the existing structure: “One of the goals was to make it look like it was always there and part of the original building.”
In an effort to keep the construction process of the build-on running tightly, Towle said each aspect was evaluated by the construction team and property managers to keep interruptions to a minimum. “Disruption avoidance reports and schedules were a part of every meeting, both for the contractor and the casino operators,” he explained. “Because of the strict adherence to this procedure, we were able to keep the casino and hotel functions fully operational throughout the entire construction process.”
Although the construction and design of the build-on went extremely well, there was one notable challenge. “As governing agencies reviewed documents, new challenges were tossed at us in many ways, the biggest being fire protection. The city of Hinckley’s infrastructure just did not have the capacity to meet our new building’s needs. The first thought was to construct a new water tower at a cost that would have thrown our budget out of whack. After much discussion, it was determined that all we needed was capacity, and it could come from any water source,” Towle said.
Luckily, the surrounding area’s high water table allowed for a creative solution. Instead of draining the water that is pumping out of the building’s footings, it is stored in a large underground tank. “That tank keeps the needed capacity that meets our fire protection needs. This really saved us time and money,” Towle explained. “And as an added benefit, we now use a portion of that stored ground water for irrigation and landscaping.”
For Towle, even despite the minor challenges, the whole process of creating a revamped Grand Casino was extremely rewarding: “The various governmental agencies, designers, architects, band and casino management, elected officials and other associates all came together in a true collaboration of needs, wants, goals and ideas to make us ‘Grand.’ ”
So no matter where you live, if you’re pining for true natural luxury, visit the Grand Casino Hinckley — it’s bigger, better and, of course, grander than ever.
Key Players
Owners/Operators: Corporate Commission of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
General Manager: Mel Towle
Contractors: MA Mortenson
Architects: Elness Swenson Graham Architects; Damberg Scott Gerzina Wagner Architects (spa only)
Interior Design: TR Design Group
Krista Reiner is the Managing Editor for Casino Enterprise Management. She can be reached at (701) 293-7775 or editor1@aceme.org.
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