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Three 55-storey towers carry a single boat-shaped deck across their roofs, and that silhouette has done more for Singapore's skyline than any other building of its generation. Moshe Safdie drew it. The SkyPark on top holds gardens, an observation deck and the infinity pool reserved for hotel guests.

Below, the property works as a small district: a convention centre, the Shoppes mall along a canal, a theatre, a long list of restaurants, and the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum on the waterfront. A gaming floor occupies the lower levels. Gardens by the Bay is a footbridge away, and the central business district sits directly across the water.

Atlantis spreads across Paradise Island, just over the bridge from Nassau, and is less a hotel than a collection of them — the Royal Towers with their linking arch, the Coral and Reef buildings, and the quieter Cove. Room standards and prices vary sharply between them, which is worth checking before booking.

The draw is what sits between the towers. Aquaventure is a water park of river rides and slides; the open-air marine habitats hold rays, sharks and reef fish and are among the largest of their kind. There is a marina, a golf course and a spread of restaurants. The casino sits in the central building between the towers.

Arrival is the set piece here. A cable car runs in slow loops over a performance lake at the front of the property, carrying guests from the road to the entrance while fountains work below. Inside, the atrium is filled with oversized floral sculptures that are rebuilt seasonally.

Rooms are large by regional standards and the public spaces carry a collection of art and antiques rather than generic decoration. Restaurants run from Cantonese to European; there is a spa and a retail arcade. The gaming floor is part of the main level. Cotai's other resorts are within walking distance.

Sun City sits in the bush two hours or so north-west of Johannesburg, and the Palace is its flagship — a domed, heavily ornamented building put up in the early nineties around an invented legend of a lost African kingdom. Whether that reads as grand or as theatre depends entirely on the guest.

The resort around it is large: two golf courses laid out by Gary Player, the Valley of Waves wave pool and beach, a spa, several other hotels at lower price points, and a gaming floor in the main entertainment centre. The real neighbour is Pilanesberg National Park, in the crater of an extinct volcano, minutes from the gate.

Crown Towers stands on Southbank, along the Yarra, in the tallest and quietest of the three hotels in the Crown Melbourne complex. Rooms face either the river and the city grid beyond it or back over the bay, and the river-facing side is the one to ask for.

The complex underneath holds a long promenade of restaurants and shops, cinemas and event spaces, with the gaming floor on the main level. The city centre is a two-minute walk over a footbridge; the Botanic Gardens, the arts precinct and the MCG are all close.

Fallsview is built into the escarpment above the Horseshoe Falls, which gives the hotel its defining feature: a large share of the guest rooms look directly at the cataract. The tower rises from a broad podium set into the slope, so arrival happens well above the river.

The resort carries a hotel of several hundred rooms, a spa, a 1,500-seat theatre used for touring concerts, a shopping promenade and a spread of restaurants. A gaming floor sits on the podium levels. The tourist strip, the Skylon Tower and the boat landings are all within walking distance.

An hour from Kuala Lumpur, the road climbs into the Titiwangsa range and the temperature drops by ten degrees or more. Resorts World sits at roughly 1,800 metres, reached by that road or by the Awana SkyWay cable car, and the cloud often closes over it in the afternoon.

It is a hillside town rather than a single hotel. Several properties share the site, among them First World Hotel, which has long been one of the largest hotels anywhere by room count. Theme park rides, an arena, cinemas, food courts and a shopping mall fill the levels between them, with the gaming floor in the main complex.

The complex stands on Île Notre-Dame, in the middle of the Saint Lawrence, inside the former French and Québec pavilions of Expo 67. That origin is still obvious from outside: an angular, tiered structure of glass and concrete, surrounded by parkland and water rather than streets.

Inside, the property runs restaurants across several levels, a cabaret-style performance space and banquet facilities, with the gaming floor occupying the central atrium levels. Downtown Montréal is a short drive across the bridge; the island itself holds the Olympic rowing basin and the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

River Rock sits on the Fraser River's north arm in Richmond, minutes from Vancouver International Airport and on the rail line into central Vancouver. It has its own marina, which is unusual for a property of this type, and a floatplane dock.

The hotel divides between a main tower and a quieter low-rise wing. A show theatre programmes touring acts, and the food operation ranges from a buffet to a handful of full-service restaurants. The gaming floor occupies the main level. Steveston's fishing village and the river dyke trails are close by.

Rama lies in Ontario's cottage country, near Orillia and Lake Couchiching, roughly ninety minutes north of Toronto. The resort is owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and sits on their land — context that shapes both the artwork through the public spaces and the property's role locally.

There is a hotel of close to 300 rooms, a spa, conference space and a large entertainment centre that has hosted touring musicians for decades. Restaurants run from casual to steakhouse. The gaming floor is part of the main complex. Outside, the surrounding lakes are the region's real draw.