Casino Hotels

Île Notre-Dame sits in the Saint Lawrence, across the water from downtown. The building here began life as the French pavilion for Expo 67, and its angular aluminium shape is still the first thing visitors see.

As a hotel stay it works best for people who want the island itself. Parc Jean-Drapeau's paths, the Biosphère and the summer race circuit are all nearby. Inside there are restaurants and a cabaret room for touring shows.

The licensed gaming floor is spread across several levels of the old pavilion. It is one of the building's facilities, and a stay doesn't depend on it. Summer brings the busiest calendar.

• Île Notre-Dame
• Expo 67 pavilion
• Cabaret room
• Parc Jean-Drapeau

Height is the point. The resort stands on the escarpment above the Horseshoe Falls, and its upper floors look straight down the gorge.

This is a large hotel with a full set of facilities: a spa, a theatre that books international touring acts, a shopping galleria and several restaurants. Many of the public rooms face the falls, so the view isn't limited to the top suites.

One level holds the licensed gaming floor. Because everything is indoors and connected, the resort works well in winter, when the rest of the town slows down.

• Above the Horseshoe Falls
• Theatre
• Spa
• Shopping galleria

Transport makes the case for River Rock. It sits on the Fraser River in Richmond, close to Vancouver International Airport, with a Canada Line station that runs straight into downtown Vancouver.

The property includes a marina, a show theatre and a large conference centre. Richmond's Asian restaurants, among the most varied in North America, start just outside.

Its licensed gaming floor is one part of a bigger resort. For most travellers the hotel is simply a convenient, full-service base for early flights and late arrivals.

• Fraser River
• Canada Line
• Marina
• Near YVR

North of Toronto the city gives way to lakes and forest. Casino Rama Resort stands here on Chippewas of Rama First Nation land, near Orillia, in Ontario's Lake Country.

Concerts are its best-known feature. The entertainment centre draws audiences from across southern Ontario. Guests also have a spa, a hotel tower with several hundred rooms, and restaurants ranging from casual to table service.

The licensed gaming floor is one facility among the others. In practice it reads as a lake-country resort with a strong events calendar, most useful on a summer trip north.

• Lake Country
• Chippewas of Rama First Nation
• Entertainment centre
• Spa