A getaway at River Rock Casino Resort

The short version

Location first: Bridgeport station on the Canada Line is next door, which is why this Richmond resort on the Fraser River is so easy to use. Opened in 2004, it celebrated twenty years with a round of improvements, the star being Gordon Ramsay Steak — his first fine-dining restaurant on Canadian soil. Since June 2026 it has belonged to a First Nations-led partnership, which bought it from Great Canadian Entertainment.

Which room to book

River Rock has 396 rooms in two buildings. Standard rooms sit in the Hotel Tower — King, Two Queen or an accessible King, each 325 square feet. The suites live in the Casino Tower, over the sky bridge: one- and two-bedroom layouts of 525 to 650 sq ft, Executives arranged around a sunken lounge, Penthouses of 1,000–1,200 sq ft gazing over the river, and the 2,800 sq ft Presidential Suite, where fireplaces glow and a starlit ceiling hangs above the bed. Every room has a small fridge, a coffee maker, a safe and curtains that shut out the light; whoever checks in must be 19 or older.

Eating in: the main event

At Gordon Ramsay Steak the beef hangs for 28 days before it's cooked, and a newer indoor-outdoor space opens onto the marina. For Chinese seafood go to Sea Harbour, which serves dim sum between 10 am and 3 pm. In 2026 the former Miku space became KOI, a sushi room run by the Kuns Omakase team. Late-night noodles are at Chopsticks Noodlehouse (open till 3 am), burgers at Rock House. On weekends The Chairman's Room puts on its Grand Weekend Dinner Buffet, 4–9 pm Friday through Sunday — $85 per adult, $80 for seniors, $35 for kids — and on Sundays a brunch runs 9 am–3 pm. Privé Bar serves 11 am–2 am every day.

Downtime

Swim 6 am–10 pm daily in a pool with its own water slide. Absolute Spa (level 2, six treatment rooms) keeps 10 am–6 pm hours, and there's a gym plus a riverside marina.

At the tables, and on stage

The casino is 19+, open 24 hours, with a racebook and a poker room. We don't quote machine or table counts because River Rock doesn't publish them. Loyalty runs through Encore Rewards, used across B.C. casinos. Evenings out are on a human scale: The Show Theatre seats 965 — good for comedy or a tribute act, not for stadium names.

Worth knowing

The resort fee is $19.99 per room each day, and it covers your car in the West Lot, roughly five minutes on foot from the lobby. Pets cost $35 each a night, though you won't be billed beyond three nights, and the hotel supplies bowls and a bed.

The getaway verdict

When your journey begins or ends at YVR, nowhere is better placed — and the restaurants alone justify a weekend. Come for dinner, not for an arena show.