A contractor finishes some detail work around the new pool at the Mill Casino-Hotel Monday. The pool, as well as an upstairs arcade, business center, fitness room and two outdoor hot tubs, will be completed some time in July.-World Photo by Alex Powers
NORTH BEND — As the billboards say: It’s a very big deal.
It is – at least for potential tourism in the area and for the heads of The Mill Casino-Hotel, who will open the doors of the hotel’s new tower on Thursday.
Two years and a lot of concrete have gone into the construction of the tower, which adds 92 rooms to the Mill’s existing 112. Even more important to Mill executives and tourism leaders are five meeting/ breakout rooms that will accommodate a variety of conferences.
“It was the one area we were lacking, we couldn’t supply that,” said Katherine Hoppe, the director of promotion and conventions for the Coos Bay-North Bend Visitors and Convention Bureau.
The area already has a hotel that can handle conferences of 200, Hoppe said. But with the Mill’s addition, many more people are expected to travel to Coos County for conventions.
“For me, my favorite part about it is the breakout rooms. It opens up our capabilities to bring more conventions to the area.”
Though guests will begin staying in the tower on the evening of the grand opening, work is still under way. On Tuesday, a tour through the building’s seven floors gave way to the sharp smell of wet paint, the rhythm of nail guns and the commotion of bustling workers. Some men worked atop ladders while others hustled down hallways filled with boxes, tool belts and patio furniture over a dusty carpet. On many of the hotel room doors, white paper signs told workers to stay out unless they had business inside.
Mill spokesman Ray Doering said Coquille Economic Development Corp. — the business arm of the Coquille Indian Tribe — hopes to have the tower completely ready by Thursday night. But with some tile work, painting, carpentry and moving to be done, he couldn’t give a firm answer when it would be finished.
“Everybody is trying to get it done,” he said.
Regardless, the hotel is nearly booked up next weekend for The Mill’s annual July 3 fireworks show. Guests also are coming this weekend for the eighth-annual International Lumberjack Competition. (See related story.)
“A lot of our regular visitors, they’ve been living with construction for some time now,” Doering said. “They’ve been looking forward to a chance to spend a night in the new hotel.”
The 85-foot-tall addition to The Mill complex towers over its neighbors. Situated on the south side of the complex, next to the older Lodge hotel, the tan building is designed in a Northwest contemporary style.
It features interactive displays on the Coquille Indian Tribe; an office floor for staff; a floor of meeting rooms named after plants once used by the tribe, such as cedar, spruce and bear grass; and then levels of hotel rooms and suites. Full WiFi access is available.
As Mill spokesman Ray Doering showed how the meeting rooms can be split into smaller quarters by temporary dividers, he chuckled about the name of the Bear Grass Room.
“Our phone operators all get a laugh because they have to enunciate,” he said.
The fifth, sixth and seventh floors feature six luxury suites with patios, 42-inch plasma TVs and spa tubs with waterfront views.
The Tower also incorporates environmentally-friendly and energy-saving techniques. Doering said the structure uses natural gas heating, compact florescent lamps and heat-reflective glass on windows. The roof, which slopes inward, captures storm water and funnels it into the bay. Its surface is made of a white vinyl membrane that reflects sunlight, aids in cooling the building and adds no contaminants to the water.
“Quality of the water coming down from the sky will be the quality that goes into the bay,” Doering said. “It’s really squishy. I’ve walked on it.”
Though not connected to the tower, a pool, spa, fitness room and arcade are being added to the Lodge.
Deana Scott, the director of marketing and communications for The Mill, said many of the rooms have bay views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Rooms also feature flat-screen televisions, Coquille tribal art and custom Pendleton blankets. The interior palette of the building is made up of earth tones and natural colors with hints of cranberry and green, she said.
Planners are especially pleased with the second floor’s meeting rooms because they follow the theme of storytelling, Scott said.
“Storytelling is very important to the tribe culturally. We’ve taken that theme and created the decor around that for our meeting rooms,” Scott said. “Learning about the tribe’s culture is of great interest to our guests. Additionally, the tribe is very proud to share its long history in the area.”
Doering said each component of the Tower ” part of an overall two-year expansion project for the hotel-casino ” enhances The Mill’s mission to serve guests better. And Thursday night, he hopes that impression will stick when guests get a first-hand look.
“We would hope they would think, ‘I want to come back again,’” Doering said.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Comment Policy
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
No deliberately false information.
No obscenity or racially offensive language.
No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
No information that invades another person's privacy.
No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.
Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
I don't think the businesses will suffer because of the Mill Casino. They are always booked and the local motels are a godsend. Plus the price is great.
CB - How is it that you do not consider the Mill Casino a local business? It is not a chain hotel, and in case you weren't aware, the Coquille Indians have been in this community a lot longer than the rest of us.
What is more local than the Mill? The other hotels that you are so concerned about are all national or regional chains. The Indians have been here a lot longer than anyone else. You need to give things a little more thought before you make these sort of comments. The Mill is the second largest employer in this county. Try being grateful for once.
More business being taken away from local Motels, hotels, RV Parks, and restaurants. Everyone has all their meetings at The Mill now and nowhere else gets any business.
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines