Casino Hotels

The complex occupies the former French and Quebec pavilions from Expo 67, on Île Notre-Dame in the middle of the St. Lawrence. The architecture is the draw before anything else — a stacked, angular 1960s structure that looks nothing like a conventional resort.

As a hotel it is straightforward and well-run, with restaurants across several price points, a cabaret-style performance venue and event space. The gaming floor is one facility among these, spread over multiple levels of the pavilion.

The island setting means parkland and the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve are immediately outside, and downtown Montreal is a short drive or metro ride away across the water.

Fallsview is built into the escarpment above the Horseshoe Falls, and the name is literal: a great many of the guest rooms and public spaces look directly onto the falls. That view is the property's single strongest asset.

Beyond accommodation there is a large theatre that books touring acts year-round, a spa, a retail arcade and a wide spread of dining. Gaming occupies a floor of the building alongside all of it.

The location connects by covered walkway into the Fallsview tourist district, which makes winter arrivals considerably more pleasant than the weather would suggest.

River Rock sits on the Fraser River in Richmond, just outside Vancouver, with its own marina and a Canada Line station at the door — roughly ten minutes by train from Vancouver International Airport.

The hotel side runs to a full-service standard, with a theatre, a conference centre, a spa and a range of restaurants that leans heavily on the region's Asian dining culture. A gaming floor forms part of the resort's facilities.

The riverside setting is unexpectedly calm for somewhere this well connected, and the dyke trails along the Fraser are a short walk from the lobby.

Casino Rama stands on the Chippewas of Rama First Nation near Orillia, in Ontario's cottage country, and is owned by the First Nation — a fact the property reflects in its artwork and naming throughout.

The hotel is a full resort: a large entertainment centre that has hosted major touring artists for decades, a spa, several restaurants and extensive meeting space. Gaming is one part of that mix rather than the whole of it.

Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe are minutes away, and the surrounding region is a long-established summer destination, which gives the resort a seasonal rhythm most urban properties lack.