Casino Hotels

The house stands on Île Notre-Dame, a river island south of central Montréal that was reshaped for a world exposition. Two of the pavilions raised for that event were later joined, converted and given a hotel building beside them. Loto-Québec runs the site. Restaurants, a show room and event floors are the parts described in this note.

The pavilions keep their angular shells, and the conversion linked them with glazed circulation rather than a new front. Public floors hold several dining rooms, a cabaret space used for live programmes, and terraces that look across the water towards the city. The hotel building sits a short walk away on the same island.

Worth knowing

• Island address; check road and transit access before travelling.
• Restaurant and show-room hours change with the season.
• Write ahead to confirm parking arrangements on the island.

Fallsview is built into the escarpment above the Niagara gorge, so it reads as a hillside structure rather than a tower. Guest floors, a theatre and a spa are stacked along the slope. A covered walkway links the upper street to the public levels. The resort is run by an operator under contract to the province.

Inside, the public parts are arranged as a promenade of shops and dining rooms following the fall of the hill. A theatre carries a live programme through the year, and a spa and pool sit on an upper floor. Several rooms and terraces face the gorge directly.

Worth knowing

• Theatre dates change; confirm the programme with the venue.
• The public floors follow a slope; lifts link the levels.
• Ask the resort about parking decks and shuttle arrangements.

River Rock sits on an arm of the Fraser River in Richmond, close to Vancouver’s airport and on the rail line into the city. The site holds a hotel, a show theatre, a spa and a set of restaurants, with a dock on the water at its edge. British Columbia Lottery Corporation licenses the site.

Buildings are low and long beside the river, with the hotel rising at one end. The show theatre is used for concerts and touring productions. A spa, a pool and several dining rooms occupy the public floors, and the waterfront edge is open to walk along.

Worth knowing

• Rail station and airport are close; check the walking route.
• Show dates are published by the theatre, not here.
• Ask the resort about moorage at the river dock.

Casino Rama Resort stands on the lands of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation in central Ontario, near Lake Couchiching. The First Nation owns the site and it is operated under an agreement with the province. The resort holds a hotel, an entertainment centre, a spa and several restaurants.

The buildings are spread low across the site rather than stacked, with the hotel wing set behind the public floors. The entertainment centre is a seated hall used for concerts and touring shows. Dining rooms range from a buffet hall to smaller restaurants, and a spa sits beside the pool.

Worth knowing

• Rural address; check driving distance and coach services first.
• Concert dates are published by the entertainment centre.
• Ask about accessible parking near the hotel entrance.