A pair of Minnesota hotels owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have undergone their biggest makeover to date.

Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures – or MLCV, the tribe’s business development arm – this week announced the completion of a nine-month renovation to the Grand Casino hotels in Onamia and Hinckley. The organization held grand opening ceremonies for the hotels last week.

MLCV officials said that the project renovated more than 1,100 hotel rooms in total. The room renovations included cosmetic upgrades – such as the installation of new Ojibwe art – as well as more practical updates, like the addition of “modern entertainment systems” and improved amenities, according to MLCV. The lobbies of both hotels have also been fully renovated.

In a news release, Joe Nayquonabe, MLCV’s CEO, said that the project “went beyond mere aesthetics; we wanted to authentically portray the Anishinaabe people through every detail of these spaces.”

In an email, a spokesperson for MLCV declined to share the cost of the renovations, but noted that the project marks the largest yet since the hotels were built. The Grand Casino Mille Lacs hotel in Onamia was constructed in 1997, while the Hinckley hotel was built in 1994. MLCV added on new wings to both hotels in the years that followed.

“When planning this project, our primary goal was to authentically represent the Anishinaabe people and create a beautiful space for all who visit Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley,” the spokesperson said.

MLCV tapped Canadian construction firm PCL Construction to do the renovation work. Other project partners included Hunt Electric, Egan Company, Cunningham Architects, and Atmosphere Commercial Interiors.

While MLCV is widely known for these two hotels and their accompanying casinos, the group has been vastly diversifying its business dealings under the leadership of Melanie Benjamin, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s outgoing chief executive. TCB is inducting Benjamin into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame for her work with the tribe.

MLCV also operates the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel and a pair of DoubleTree hotels in St. Paul and St. Louis Park. Aside from hotels, MLCV has a grocery store, a cinema, a government contracting business, and several other businesses. The group also plans to open a cannabis cultivation facility this fall.