Second only to Crater Lake National Park as a top tourist destination, soon the Kla-Moy-Ya Casino will be complemented by an on-site hotel at its Southern Oregon property.

Located in Chiloquin, less than an hour from Crater Lake, the Kla-Moy-Ya Casino is owned and operated by the Klamath Tribes, who held a groundbreaking for their new 76-room hotel on August 15, 2017.

The Tribes expect that their new Choice Hotels Sleep Inn will be completed within 12 months. Sleep Inn is a brand of Choice Hotels International, Inc., an American hospitality holding corporation based in Rockville, Maryland.

Local TV stations KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2 report that Klamath Tribal Council member Kathleen Hatcher-Mitchell said, “After 20 years with our casino, we now have a hotel to complement it, our Travel Center, all in one area,” Hatcher-Mitchell added that she thought the new hotel would be great for the Tribes and the county as well.

Currently, only Crater Lake National Park eclipses Klamoya Casino as a top tourist attraction in the Klamath County. That is something Hatcher-Mitchell pointed out when she said that a new hotel could help grow the tourist base. “It brings more of a destination resort type feel, rather than a ‘We’re going to go there for the day.’ So this will help get people to come and stay, and tour the area,” she said.

According to the new agency, the new 76-room hotel is a $6.5 million project and one that the Tribes worked closely with Choice Hotels to plan, said Jared Hall, Executive Director of Klamath Tribes Economic Development Corporation. “They came with a pre-packaged design plan that really cut a lot of the up front design work – which is very beneficial, or else this project would probably be delayed another six months,” he reportedly said.

Hall echoed the expected 12-month time frame for completion, weather permitting. He said, “We’re hoping at this time next year we’ll be announcing the grand opening.”

According to KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2, upon completion of the new hotel, the Tribes will begin their next long-term project, which will be the expansion of the casino.

Currently, the Kla-Moy-Ya Casino offers 24/7 gambling by way of over 300 slots and video poker and keno machines, three blackjack tables, and a full-service restaurant and bar/lounge. Additionally, the Tribes own and operate the Crater Lake Junction Travel Center located on-site.