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A Bear River Casino Hotel review: suite room, sweet band, squeaky-clean, shiny new treat
Source: A Bear River Casino Hotel
When Will Smith chose accommodations in Humboldt County while working on the M. Night Shyamalan sci-fi film “After Earth,” he and his son Jaden decided to stay in one of Bear River Casino's 105 new guest rooms.
However, it doesn't take a Fresh Prince to convince onlookers of the luxurious charm offered by the hotel, which opened in March of 2012. A powerhouse for adult play, entertainment pleasures and also a slumberers paradise, Bear River Casino and Hotel has more than game -- and judging by their constantly full parking lot -- tons of people wanna play.
Overlooking the Eel River Valley about 10 minutes south of Eureka, the new accommodations recently won the Best Rooms category of the Gaming Pacific Best of Gaming 2012 Awards.
The view when walking into the then Christmas-decorated hotel lobby was astounding. Featuring an expansive and open floor plan, the lobby is decorated with Native American paintings, pottery and artifacts, all tastefully distributed on the walls and within glass cases as the front desk stretches from the left while curved sitting areas circle a double-sided central fireplace to the right. Continuing left past the front desk allows one to enter the casino while heading right in the direction of the fireplaces allows one to pass the non-smoking hotel bar and enter into the new restaurant.
When my wife and I checked in, the front-desk clerk was friendly, helpful and optimistically a good sport. When I said I may come Advertisement back with “a million random questions” she was more than happy to respond with “a million random answers.”
We first settled into a large fourth floor suite above the new restaurant. With decorations similar to those in the the lobby, the room featured a spacious bathroom with a large walk-in shower (includes a wonderfully monstrous showerhead), a king size bed with a white bedspread, a large LG flatscreen TV, a mini-fridge, microwave, a safe, a Keurig single-cup coffee brewer, a seating area with a leather couch and chair, complimentary bottles of water, a quick-action heater/air-conditioner and a killer view.
Rooms typically run between $58 to $160 (a suite) up to more than $200 during special holidays.
After checking out the room, the two of us went downstairs and were quickly seated for dinner at the new River's Edge. The view from inside the restaurant is equally astounding as it provides a panorama of Ferndale, Loleta, the Eel River Valley, the new Tishnon Village Community Center and a distant view of the Pacific Ocean.
With reasonably good service for a busy Friday night, we ordered and received our meals within about 20 minutes. The best part of the restaurant was the complimentary bread appetizers -- something my wife and I can never get enough of. While my better half had the best pasta primavera she said she's had in a long time, I ordered the breaded prawns which were a little texturally funky -- the bread came off within one bite and didn't compliment the flavor of the prawns very well. And I'm seriously not a picky eater. But I'd recommend the blue sirloin burger there any day -- which was what I had during my previous visit. Our meal ran $32 for both of us, with dinner entrees ranging roughly from $15 to $30.
After dinner we moseyed over to the indoor pool, hot tub and fitness center. While the fitness center was advertised as open, it was inaccessible for some reason. However, the indoor pool area with the hot tub embedded into the corner was warm, inviting and best of all...indoors. Perfect for Humboldt's unpredictable weather.
When 9 p.m. rolled around -- just like every Friday and Saturday night at that hour -- the band strummed their first note in Bear River Casino's huge TV-filled Thirsty Bear Lounge. Playing that night were Humboldt County classic-rock-cover stars St. John and the Sinners. In 2007 Rolling Stone called guitarist Saint John Hunt "an accomplished and soulful guitar player leaning heavily toward Eric Clapton.”
After getting and paying for drinks from the bar at lightning-fast speeds, my wife and I struggled to find a place to sit in the packed 'Lounge -- which also offers bar food, spirits and 17 beers on tap. The dance floor was already full and most empty seats were being saved for dance-floor revelers.
Their first set consisted of Fleetwood Mac's “Black Magic Woman,” Adele's “Rollin' in the Deep,” Van Morrison's “Moondance,” Bob Seger's “Old Time Rock and Roll,” Chris Isaak's “Wicked Game” and Chuck Berry's “Johnny B. Goode.” Hunt displayed his virtuosity as he took on his Peter Green-eque Fleetwood Mac intro, vocalist Christina D'Alesandro hit the hard notes on the Adele tune, keyboardist Seabury Gould shredded his “Moondance” solo flawlessly, bassist Wes Fulton kept it all together and drummer Jason Trevino kept perfect time. The band drew a wide age demographic.
The next morning the two of us were able to order a room-service breakfast -- chicken-fried steak, two over-easy eggs, hash browns and an English muffin -- for only $10.95 before a $3 room service fee. The one order was plenty of food for the both of us.
While I don't personally gamble, the casino features blackjack, multiple types of poker, craps, roulette, six-deck Spanish 21, a “Mystery Bonanza Wheel,” slot games, tournaments and more.
Adjacent to the casino, The Bear River Pump & Play gas station features smoke-free, alcohol-free casino possibilities for those 18 and older.
More information can be found and hotel reservations may be made by calling 733-9644 or visiting bearrivercasino.com.
The Hotel featured in this Centennial Golf Club ad is none other than the Medford Hilton Homewood Suites: a construction project by Wright Hotel Development. This ad ran in the July 2009 issue of Horizon Air magazine.
'Tent' gives way to glitz and granite
The well-appointed $60 million Three Rivers Casino changes the face of a small coastal town
By LORI TOBIAS
THE OREGONIAN, December 2, 2007
FLORENCE—When the temporary structure for Three Rivers Casino opened its doors in 2004, people referred to the green plastic structure as the tent, the bubble, even likening it to a Quonset hut.
Members of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, having gambled $13 million on the venture, were not amused. Now they can afford a chuckle at the casino's humble beginnings in the 16,000-square-foot tent.
After 3 1/2 years, the tribe is moving the casino operation into a $60 million structure nearly six times the size of the old place. "Here it is, 3 1/2 years from opening the tent, and we are opening a facility that is full featured, full of amenities and could be described as a destination resort," said Bob Garcia, assistant general manager of the Three Rivers Casino, and tribal council chairman...
Full Article Available with Paid Subscription to the Oregonian Archives
Three Rivers counts down to opening day
By THERESA BAER
SIUSLAW NEWS, December 1, 2007
Three Rivers Casino hosted a tour for the media last week as work crews quietly buzzed about the gleaming new facility in preparation for its Dec. 3 opening.
On Nov. 29 Bob Garcia, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians,' and Mike Rose, vice president and general manager of the casino facility, hosted the tour that took reporters across the casino floor, through five new restaurants and an 8,500-square-foot events center, and to the 93 guest rooms of the new three-story hotel...