Casino Hotels

The casino occupies the former French and Quebec pavilions built for Expo 67 on Île Notre-Dame, and the architecture still announces that origin — a stack of angled floors above the Saint Lawrence, with river and skyline views from the upper levels.

As a place to stay it is defined by its island setting: parkland, the Gilles Villeneuve circuit and the Jean-Doré beach are all within walking distance, and the city centre is a short drive across the bridge.

The gaming floor is one feature among several, alongside restaurants, a cabaret stage and event space; the building is used at least as often for a show or a meal as for a game.

The resort is built into the escarpment on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, high enough that a good number of its rooms and public spaces look directly along the Horseshoe Falls.

It functions first as a full-service hotel — guest rooms, spa, a spread of restaurants and a theatre that books touring names — with the gaming floor forming one part of a larger complex.

A covered walkway system links it into the surrounding tourist district, which matters in a town where the weather is frequently against pedestrians.

Set on the Fraser River in Richmond, minutes from Vancouver International Airport and on the Canada Line into the city, River Rock is a hotel whose location suits arrivals and departures as much as stays.

The property includes a marina, a show theatre used for concerts and boxing cards, several restaurants, and a gaming floor; the hotel side runs to conventional resort rooms and suites with river or mountain outlooks.

Richmond's night market and its well-known Asian restaurant scene are close by, and many guests treat the hotel as a base for those rather than for the floor.

Casino Rama stands on the Chippewas of Rama First Nation's land near Orillia, in Ontario's cottage country, and the connection to the First Nation is present in the building's artwork and naming rather than kept at arm's length.

The hotel has a large room count for its rural setting, a spa, a range of restaurants and an entertainment centre that has hosted a long run of major touring acts over the years.

Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe are immediately around it, so the resort draws summer visitors who would not necessarily describe a gaming floor as their reason for coming.