A multi-million dollar renovation project has started at Moose Jaw’s Temple Garden Hotel & Spa.
Peepeekisis Cree Nation acquired the facility in September 2022. Saskatoon-based Globex Management has assumed day-to-day operations of the hotel.
Alex Fallon is the president and CEO of Sparrow Hawk Developments, an economic development corporation formed by Peepeekisis Cree Nation.
He says renovations will take place in all 181 rooms, with 60 rooms expected to be completed this year.
“We’re stripping them and demolishing the interior of the rooms down to the bare bones and then renovating all the rooms to a new very luxurious level,” he continued. “Everything from heating and plumbing, new bathrooms, carpet, the walls, the in-room entertainment. All the furnishings will be brand new, window coverings, and we even want to get to the hallways.”
The renovations will see the downtown hotel “reimagined in a contemporary style that pays tribute to the building’s history and heritage”.
While the geothermal pool itself is still in good shape, the surrounding area will experience some upgrades including the change rooms, locker area and bathrooms.
To minimize disruptions for hotel and spa guests, renovations will be carried out in phases. Upgrades began on the first block of rooms earlier this month, with work now underway on the second block.
“The way we manage that is by doing about 12 blocks of rooms at a time, so it keeps the disruption to guests at a minimum and we spread it out over a three-year period as well so that we’re not shutting down an entire floor,” said Fallon.
The current plan is to complete all renovations by the end of 2025.
Fallon says the occupancy rate of the Temple Garden Hotel and Spa is one of the highest in the province at between 80 and 90 per cent in any given month.
Peepeekisis First Nation, located in the Qu’Appelle Valley in southern Saskatchewan, is home to nearly 3,150 people.