Casino Hotels

The Montreal property stands on Île Notre-Dame, in buildings originally raised as national pavilions for Expo 67. The French pavilion's stepped, angular form still defines the skyline here, and the conversion kept its unusual vertical arrangement rather than flattening it into a conventional box.

As a hotel it serves the island and the adjacent Parc Jean-Drapeau — quiet water, cycling paths and the Formula 1 circuit are all a short walk away, while downtown Montreal is a metro ride across the river. Dining runs from a buffet to a fine-dining room, and there is a cabaret theatre for live performance.

A gaming floor operates within the complex, spread over several levels and regulated provincially. It is one facility among the restaurants, bars and event spaces, and guests are free to ignore it entirely.

• Île Notre-Dame
• Expo 67 architecture
• Restaurants and theatre
• Gaming floor on site

Fallsview sits on the escarpment above the Niagara gorge, and the name is literal: a large share of its rooms and public windows look directly onto the Horseshoe Falls. The building steps down the slope, which is why the views hold from so many angles.

The resort is built for long stays in a town with a short walk between attractions. There is a spa, a substantial theatre that books touring names, a retail promenade, and a wide spread of restaurants from casual to formal. Conference and event space occupies its own floors.

The property includes a gaming floor, operated under Ontario regulation. Plenty of guests book here for the view and the theatre and never pass through it.

• Overlooks Horseshoe Falls
• Theatre and spa
• Retail promenade
• Gaming floor on site

River Rock stands on the Fraser River in Richmond, minutes from Vancouver International Airport and directly on the Canada Line into central Vancouver. That position makes it a practical base as well as a destination, and the hotel is used heavily by both kinds of guest.

The riverside setting is the property's quiet advantage — a marina, a boardwalk, and long views across flat water towards the mountains. Inside there are several restaurants, a spa, and a show theatre that runs a steady concert and comedy schedule.

A gaming floor forms part of the complex under British Columbia regulation, alongside the hotel's other facilities.

• Fraser River marina
• Near Vancouver airport
• Show theatre
• Gaming floor on site

Casino Rama Resort is situated on the lands of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, near Orillia in Ontario's lake country. It is a rural property rather than an urban one, roughly an hour and a half north of Toronto and close to Lake Couchiching.

Its best-known feature is the entertainment centre, a venue of around five thousand seats that has hosted a long list of touring acts. The hotel around it offers several restaurant formats, a spa and meeting space, and the surrounding region supplies golf, water and trails through the warmer months.

A gaming floor operates on site under Ontario regulation, as one component of the wider resort.

• Chippewas of Rama First Nation
• Lake Country
• 5,000-seat entertainment centre
• Gaming floor on site