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Play & Stay Canada

Gatineau, Québec · gaming age 18+

Hilton Lac-Leamy & Casino du Lac-Leamy: our review

Last revised · facts verified

Ten minutes' drive from downtown Ottawa, a five-star Hilton sits beside a Loto-Québec casino between two lakes. Pools heated indoors and out that never close for winter, a 17-room Amerispa, an 1,100-seat theatre and 1,400-plus slots add up to Canada's most complete mix of wellness and gaming.

  • Rooms & views9.0
  • Casino floor7.5
  • Dining8.5
  • Shows & events8.0
  • Pool, spa & fitness10.0
  • Getting there9.0

Go for it if: A spa weekend with a little roulette, or a base in Gatineau for Ottawa sightseeing.
Think twice if: Anyone in the party is under 18 and wants to see the casino, the theatre or the bars.

Casino, then hotel, then a resort

Loto-Québec opened the casino in 1996. Five years later, in 2001, came the Hilton, a theatre and a conference centre, and the whole complex became the Hôtel-Casino du Lac-Leamy. Its credentials: five stars from the CITQ, Québec's rating body, since 2001, and a CAA/AAA Four Diamond award since 2002. Hilton operates the hotel; Loto-Québec runs the gaming.

Rooms

Two counts circulate. Bonjour Québec lists 312 rooms and 37 suites; Tourisme Outaouais simply says 349. Book Deluxe for a king and a dressing table at the entrance, or Classic for two queens. Suites go by Junior, Murphy and One-bedroom, and the top three floors form an executive level with a dedicated elevator and service. In every room: a safe, a mini fridge, a 47-inch television, Crabtree & Evelyn amenities, robes and slippers. Windows look out, the hotel says, over Lac de la Carrière and Lac Leamy.

Check-in 4 pm, check-out 11 am; order in-room dining any day between 6:30 am and 10:30 pm.

Water and wellness

Nothing else on our list matches this. Indoors and outdoors, the pools and hot tubs are heated and usable in January as much as July. Amerispa runs 17 treatment rooms. Its Serenity package (two hours) costs $252 from Monday to Thursday and $308 from Friday to Sunday, and spa guests get the steam bath, sauna, whirlpools and pools as part of it. The gym costs nothing and stays open 24/7.

Gaming

Expect 48 tables, more than 1,400 slots, electronic terminals, a poker lounge and a Mise-o-jeu sportsbook. Monday to Thursday the doors close from 5 am to 9 am; Friday to Sunday they don't close at all. Minimum age is 18 in Québec, and staff may ask for government photo ID from anyone who seems under 25.

After dark

Seating at the Théâtre du Casino is 1,100 in rows or 770 at cabaret tables; apart from special events, it's 18+. Three bars, three moods: Aléa, the nightclub, 11 pm–3 am with a dress code; Bar 7, with DJs and bands from 7 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and a Latin night on Thursdays; and Bacchus, all fireplace, scotch and a cigar room.

Where to eat

Arôme leads — grill and seafood, Lac de la Carrière through the windows, a three-course Experience menu and Sunday brunch. L'Instant handles Montréal smoked meat (it turns up on the poutine too) and pasta; Banco Bistro keeps prices down with rotisserie, pizza and steak. Poolside, the TGV snack bar is shut until next summer.

Location

By car, downtown Ottawa is about ten minutes off: Parliament 6.4 km, the ByWard Market 4.1 km, the Rideau Canal skateway 7.3 km. The airport takes roughly 25 minutes. Transit users can ride STO's Rapibus to Lac-Leamy station. Parking outdoors is free (valet is suspended for now), EV charging is available, and pets weighing up to 34 kg are accepted for a $50 fee.

Our call

No casino hotel in Canada is more relaxing, and none is more useful for visiting Ottawa. Go for spa treatments Monday to Thursday — weekends cost noticeably more — and save the casino for a Friday night, when it runs till morning.

Quick answers before you book

Is Lac-Leamy close to Ottawa?

Very. It's around a ten-minute drive, with the ByWard Market 4.1 km and Parliament 6.4 km away.

Is the outdoor pool at Lac-Leamy open in winter?

Yes — the hotel's heated pools, both inside and outside, operate year-round.

How old do you have to be for Casino du Lac-Leamy?

18, as everywhere in Québec. Look under 25 and you may be asked for government photo ID.

Sources for this review

We verified the facts here on October 23, 2026 using the sources listed above. Rates, fees and hours can change, so check with the hotel before booking. Notice anything outdated? Let us know. Keep browsing: Casino Hotels in Québec or the complete top 10.