Peepeekisis Cree Nation is the new owner of Temple Gardens Hotel and Spa

Peepeekisis Cree Nation is now the official owner of Temple Gardens Hotel and Spa in Moose Jaw.

The First Nation said it worked on finalizing a deal to purchase the downtown hotel for nearly a year. The sale was made official at midnight on Sept. 1.

Peepeekisis Chief Frank Deiter confirmed the sale will not affect the employment of current hotel and spa staff. The First Nation has hired a new management company that specializes in hotel management.

Chief Deiter said at the moment, there are no plans to alter the building, including not changing the name.

“We will not be adding anything Indigenous to it at this time,” explained Deiter. “If we do, we are going to carefully plan around it with the management team.”

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Rob Knibbs, who works with Morris Interactive, said there are already plans in the making for the hotel.

“We’ve got some very ambitious renovation plans for the property in the next year that are actually going to start very quickly,” explained Knibbs.

“There's jobs going to be created in that process where local folks are going to be able to take a role in that renovation process.”

Temple Garden Hotel and Spa was built in 1996 and has 181 suites.

There are also multiple amenities on site including a fitness room, restaurants, and a mineral pool.

Peepeekisis now owns the hotel, mineral spa, three parking lots, the walkway between the hotel and Casino Moose Jaw, and a part of the building where the casino is located.

A key handover will take place in the near future.