Cedar & Crown is an independent guide to great-value Canadian casino hotels for a midweek stay. Here is exactly how we choose the hotels and score them.
Every hotel in this guide has a real, licensed casino on the property — that is the entry ticket. From there, we stay where we can, walk every gaming floor, eat in the restaurants and judge each hotel against the same four measures, so the scores mean the same thing across the region.
Our ratings are an editorial opinion, not an average of user reviews, and we take no payment for a place in the ranking or a higher score. Room counts, casino sizes and other figures are approximate and change often — always confirm the current details with the hotel before you travel.
How good the gaming is for the money — the table games, the poker room and the slots — and how comfortable it is to play, especially midweek.
The comfort and value of the room itself, and how easy it is to get from the felt to a good night's sleep without paying a resort premium.
The restaurants, bars and other reasons to stay that round out a stay-and-play without running up the bill.
Where it sits, how easy it is to reach, and — above all — whether the midweek package is genuinely good value.
Scores are out of ten, to one decimal. A hotel scoring above nine is, in our view, a genuine destination worth planning a trip around; the low eights are still strong stays where the casino is one good reason among several. We re-score as hotels renovate, expand or change hands.