The best casino hotels to stay at

Resorts World Sentosa opened in 2010 on Sentosa, the small island joined to the south of Singapore by a causeway and a monorail. It was planned as an integrated resort from the start, so the hotels, a Universal Studios theme park, a marine park, a waterpark and the casino all share one footprint. You choose a hotel by mood: livelier with children in tow, calmer and greener if you want to hear the trees.

What lifts it near the top is how little you need to leave. A day at the theme park, an afternoon at the pool and dinner can all happen within a short walk. The casino sits below ground and is easy to ignore. The mainland is fifteen minutes away when you want it, but many guests find they do not.

Crown Sydney occupies a sculpted tower on the Barangaroo waterfront, on the western side of the city centre. The hotel opened at the end of 2020, and the gaming rooms followed in 2022 as members-only salons rather than a public casino floor — an unusual arrangement that keeps the hotel feeling like a hotel.

Rooms on the eastern side look across to the Harbour Bridge and, depending on the angle, the Opera House. Below, a promenade of restaurants runs along the water, and the pool terrace is one of the calmer spots in the building. The Rocks and Circular Quay are a pleasant walk away, which makes this a genuine city base as well as a view.

Fallsview stands on the high ground above the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and opened in 2004. The hotel tower is the part that matters: rooms on the right side look down on the Horseshoe Falls, and at night the illuminations light up the mist.

Inside the complex there is a theatre for comedy and concerts, a larger concert venue added in more recent years, a spa and a run of restaurants. The gaming floor is big, but it does not have the view, which is the whole point of staying. The walk down to the falls and the gorge path makes it easy to spend most of a day outside.

City of Dreams Mediterranean opened in the summer of 2023 on the western side of Limassol, the port city on the south coast of Cyprus. It was built as an integrated resort: a single hotel tower, a casino, an outdoor amphitheatre, conference space and a large area of pools.

Being new is its main advantage. The rooms are modern and quiet, the pool area is planned for long afternoons, and the spa is a proper one. The old town of Limassol and the seafront are a short drive away, so the stay pairs well with a few days of exploring the island.

SkyCity occupies a block in central Auckland, New Zealand, and opened in 1996. The Sky Tower, completed a year later, rises from the same site and still defines the skyline. There are two hotels in the complex, one more businesslike and one more polished, and guests can walk to the waterfront and the ferry terminal in minutes.

It ranks for convenience more than spectacle. The theatre, the restaurants and the tower's observation deck are all in the building, and the rest of the city is at the door. The gaming floor is one level of many. For a short visit that wants to see Auckland rather than a resort, it is hard to beat.

Casino Rama opened in 1996 on the lands of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, a few minutes from Orillia in Ontario and close to the shore of Lake Couchiching. A hotel tower was added later, and the Entertainment Centre, one of the larger concert halls in the region, now drives most visits.

For many guests the evening is the event and the room is the practical choice afterwards. The rooms are comfortable, the spa is a welcome extra, and the surrounding lake country is worth a morning. It sits in the middle of this ranking because the stay is solid rather than memorable.

Montecasino opened in 2000 in Fourways, in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa. Its interior is built as an Italian hill village, with painted skies, cobbled lanes and shopfronts. The three hotels on the complex range from the smart Palazzo to more budget-minded options.

The Teatro is the reason to stay. It hosts long-running musicals and touring productions, and a smaller theatre on the site takes more intimate shows. Dinner on one of the indoor streets, a show and a room a few minutes' walk away make an easy night out. The gaming floor is woven into the village rather than hidden from it.

River Rock opened in 2004 on the bank of the Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia, a short drive from Vancouver International Airport. The hotel is mostly suites, and the Canada Line station next door runs straight into downtown Vancouver.

The show theatre books comedy and concerts, the pool is a decent place to shake off a flight, and there is a marina on the river. It ranks here because it is practical rather than a destination. As a first or last night in the region, it does exactly what it should.

The Casino de Montréal has no hotel rooms of its own. It opened in 1993 on Île Notre-Dame, in the St. Lawrence River, inside the former French and Quebec pavilions built for Expo 67. The architecture is the attraction: glass and aluminium from the late 1960s, with the downtown skyline across the water.

It is included because the building earns a visit, and it sits last because there is nowhere to stay on site. Restaurants and bars make it a good evening out, the surrounding Parc Jean-Drapeau is pleasant in daylight, and the metro is a short walk or shuttle away. Your bed will be in the city.