Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Spokane, Washington
OWNER: Kalispel Tribe
DESIGN ARCHITECT: Hnedak Bobo Group
INTERIOR DESIGNER: Valli Design Studio
CONTRACTOR: JE Dunn
CASINO FLOOR: 50,000 sq ft
TOTAL INVESTMENT: $200 million
When design firm Hnedak Bobo Group was tasked with the Northern Quest Resort & Casino expansion for the Kalispel Tribe, the firm set out to add features that would boost the resort’s marketing opportunities.
With that in mind, HBG expanded the casino with separate smoking and non-smoking floors, and added a cigar bar and a mixed-use television studio/sports bar for live sporting coverage.
The Q sports bar is evidence of the direction Northern Quest is headed. The bar features HD television screens for dedicated sports fans, as well as a TV broadcast booth inside the bar. Other amenities added in the expansion include the Legends of Fire cigar bar—the first of its kind in the region—as well as the Liquid lounge, the 14,000-sq.-ft. Current Spa & Salon, a fitness center, meeting space, food court, sundry market and a 250-room hotel tower.
“HBG designers worked closely with Northern Quest Casino officials and the Kalispel Tribe to realize several important project goals for the resort, based on driving tourism and business traffic from an expanded region,” says HGB project principal Rick Gardner, AIA. “Together with the tribe, we developed strategic amenities and design quality that would attract their target market, while subtly integrating the unique traditions of the Kalispels into their resort investment.”
HBG used materials native to the area, warm colors and tribal symbols to enhance the design of the resort’s expansion. The Liquid lounge evokes the tribe’s connection to the nearby Pend Oreille River with a water wall and vertical tubes that adorn the lounge like river reeds.
The Kalispel Tribe’s culture is evident in design elements throughout the resort, from the wood furniture in the hotel’s 250 rooms to the fitness center’s swimming pool with stone and river-inspired lighting to enhance the ceiling.
HBG completed the Northern Quest expansion just one year after beginning the design process. The expansion opened last fall, with a grand opening in spring.
