Casino Hotels

The building gives it away. The Casino de Montréal occupies the former French and Quebec pavilions from Expo 67, on Île Notre-Dame in the St. Lawrence River.

Visitors come for the architecture, the river views and the restaurants as much as anything else. The gaming floor spreads over several levels of the old pavilions.

Parc Jean-Drapeau surrounds it, with walking paths, the rowing basin and the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve close by. Downtown is a short trip across the water.

Height is the point here. The hotel tower at Fallsview Casino Resort rises above the Canadian side of the gorge, and the best rooms look straight down the Horseshoe Falls.

The resort opened in 2004. A spa, a large theatre for touring shows, a string of restaurants and a shopping gallery all sit inside the complex.

The gaming floor is large, and it is only one of the reasons people book. Many guests never leave the window.

River Rock stands on the Fraser River in Richmond, just south of Vancouver. Vancouver International Airport is minutes away.

The hotel mixes standard rooms with suites, many of them with river views. There is a marina, a theatre used for concerts and comedy, a spa and several restaurants.

A Canada Line station next door links the resort to downtown Vancouver by train. The gaming floor sits within the same complex.

Lake country, about an hour and a half north of Toronto. Casino Rama Resort sits on the lands of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, near Lake Couchiching and the town of Orillia.

The hotel tower has a spa and several restaurants. An entertainment centre stages concerts and comedy through the year.

Most guests pair a night here with the lakes and trails nearby. The gaming floor is one feature of the resort, not the whole of it.