Casino Hotels

The property sits on Île Notre-Dame in the middle of the St Lawrence, built into pavilions left over from Expo 67 — which gives it an architectural profile no purpose-built resort could imitate. Guest rooms are contemporary and quiet, and because the island is separated from downtown by water and parkland, evenings here are noticeably calmer than a city-centre hotel of the same size.

Dining is the strongest part of the stay, running from a large buffet to a serious restaurant with river views, and there is a concert space that draws touring acts. The gaming floor is spread across several levels and is easy to walk past on the way to anything else. Most guests treat the hotel as a base for the island and the nearby park, with the casino as one evening among several.

Built into the escarpment above the Horseshoe Falls, this hotel's defining feature is simply where it stands: a large share of the rooms look straight down at the water, and the higher floors turn the view into the reason for the booking. Interiors are warm and conventionally luxurious, with a spa and indoor pool that see heavy use in winter.

A theatre seating around two thousand anchors the entertainment side, and the restaurant list covers everything from a casual grill to a steakhouse on the view side of the building. The gaming floor is large and sits at the centre of the plan, so it is hard to miss and equally easy to skip. Families and couples both turn up here, which tells you how the property is actually used.

River Rock stands on the Fraser River in Richmond, minutes from Vancouver's airport, with its own marina and a shuttle that makes it a practical first or last night in the region. Rooms in the main tower are large and well insulated; the quieter ones face the water, and the river light in the morning is the best thing about them.

The resort keeps a busy show theatre and a spread of restaurants, from a late-opening noodle house to a proper dining room. Its gaming floor is among the largest in the country, occupying the ground level in a single sweep, but the building is arranged so that guests heading to the spa or the marina never pass through it. Convenience, more than spectacle, is what brings people back.

An hour and a half north of Toronto, near Lake Couchiching, Casino Rama is owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and functions as a resort in the full sense: hotel, spa, a golf course nearby, and an entertainment centre seating around five thousand that has hosted most of the touring names you would expect over the past two decades.

The hotel side is comfortable and unpretentious, with rooms that are larger than average and a pool area built for people who arrive with children. Cottage country is on the doorstep, so summer stays often have nothing to do with the gaming floor at all. That floor is substantial and open late, and it sits alongside the restaurants rather than dominating the building.