Suite 01
Montreal Casino & Hotel
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The Montreal casino occupies one of the most unusual buildings on this list — a former world's fair pavilion on an island in the Saint Lawrence, reached by bridge from the city proper. The architecture is the draw before anything else: curved glass, stacked levels and long views back across the water toward downtown. Guests staying on the property are effectively staying in a park.
As a hotel it is a full-service operation, with restaurants ranging from casual to formal, function rooms, and a cabaret-style venue used for concerts and touring shows. The gaming floor is one facility among these, occupying its own levels of the building and easy enough to bypass entirely. Most people who book here do so for the island setting, the river walks and the event calendar, and treat the rest as optional.
- Island setting on the Saint Lawrence
- Former exposition pavilion
- Live performance venue
- Multiple restaurants on site
Suite 02
Fallsview Casino Resort
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Fallsview is built into the escarpment above Niagara Falls, and its entire layout is organised around that fact. The public levels step down the slope so that the falls stay in view from lobbies, restaurants and a good share of the guest rooms; the higher floors look directly across the Horseshoe. Few hotels anywhere have a view this fixed and this famous.
The resort runs as a large destination property — a theatre that books established touring acts, a spa, a spread of dining rooms from buffet to steakhouse, and direct covered access to the tourist district so nobody has to cross a February car park. A gaming floor sits within this complex, on its own levels, as one facility among many. Families and concert-goers make up a large part of the guest list, particularly in summer.
- Direct Horseshoe Falls views
- Theatre with touring programme
- Spa and multiple dining rooms
- Covered access to tourist district
Suite 03
River Rock Casino Resort
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
River Rock sits on the Fraser River in Richmond, a short distance from Vancouver's international airport and connected to the city by the rapid transit line that runs past its door. That position explains much of its business: it functions as an airport-adjacent conference and events hotel that happens to have an unusually full set of facilities attached.
The property includes a marina, a large show theatre, several restaurants weighted toward the Cantonese and Pacific Northwest cooking the area is known for, and a spa. Rooms in the main tower are generously sized by Canadian standards, and the river frontage gives the whole site a calmer feel than its size suggests. The gaming floor occupies the ground level of the complex and is not something guests need to pass through.
- Fraser River frontage and marina
- Rapid transit to Vancouver
- Show theatre and event space
- Close to the international airport
Suite 04
Casino Rama Resort
Rama, Ontario, Canada
Casino Rama stands in cottage country north of Toronto, on land belonging to the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, and the property has been shaped by that ownership rather than simply sited on it. Indigenous art and design run through the public spaces, and the resort is among the larger employers in the region. It reads as a resort hotel in a lake district, not as an urban tower.
The entertainment centre is the best-known part of the operation, with a concert programme that has drawn major touring artists for decades. Alongside it are a spa, several restaurants, meeting facilities and a hotel tower with straightforward, comfortable rooms. Summer guests generally pair a stay with the lakes and trails nearby; winter guests come for the shows. The gaming floor is one component of a property that works without it.
- Chippewas of Rama First Nation property
- Lake-country location north of Toronto
- Long-running concert programme
- Spa and meeting facilities
