A getaway at River Cree Resort & Casino

The short version

Since October 2006 this Enoch Cree Nation resort, just over Edmonton's western boundary, has gathered three kinds of guest: hockey families bound for the Twin Rinks (two NHL-size ice sheets with public skating and youth programmes), food lovers with a reservation at Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen, the country's original, and the casino crowd.

Which room to book

The existing building has 249 rooms (11 are suites) and bills itself as a full-service hotel of 4½ stars. In the room you'll find a microwave, a Keurig and a mini fridge, and the kitchen will send food up whenever you like. You can book a Traditional King or Traditional Two Queen, or step up to the Luxury Family Suite or Luxury One Bedroom Suite; rather than written specs, the official website shows each type on video.

The tower on the way

Shovels went into the ground in September 2024 on a $200 million project. STAY Magazine and GlobalData describe the result as an 18-storey tower holding roughly 230–240 rooms, 30-plus of them suites, along with a large event space and a pool with two waterslides. By June 2026, according to the trade press, the shell was finished, with July 2027 pencilled in for opening.

At the tables

In numbers: 1,665 slots, 46 tables, and 14 more in the poker room. No smoking on the main floor; that's what Embers is for — a separate room with 14 tables and 405 slots. Alberta's minimum age is 18. Membership in the River Cree Players Club costs nothing and takes 15% off the best available hotel rate.

Eating in

Hell's Kitchen serves lunch and dinner, and the Ramsay classics are all there — Beef Wellington to start the conversation, sticky toffee pudding to finish it. Families tend to eat at The Kitchen, which runs a $19.99 breakfast buffet on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 am to 2 pm, and buffet nights each Friday and Saturday. Sport on the screens at Tap 25; after midnight, Fatburger serves until four and Cree Subs until five.

Families, shows and getting around

Since a rule change on 29 July 2024, children with an accompanying adult may go anywhere that isn't gaming — the rinks, the restaurants, community events. With a pool and whirlpool to splash in, a gym that's never locked and a complimentary shuttle that reaches West Edmonton Mall in about five minutes, nobody gets bored. The Venue is configurable, from 500 people up to 2,500. Allow 20–25 minutes by car from Edmonton International Airport. Parking is free, and so is the valet between 9:30 in the morning and 3 at night.

The getaway verdict

Alberta's most family-friendly casino resort, and a dinner booking worth the drive. Come now for the ice and the Ramsay dinner, and again after the tower opens — July 2027 is the aim — if you fancy its new rooms.