| ◘ Champlain Hotel | ◘ Comfort Inn | ◘ Casino Rama | ◘ Highwayman Inn |
|---|---|---|---|
| ◘ Best Western | ◘ Econo Lodge | ◘ Stonegate Inn | ◘ Knights Inn |
Casino Rama Hotel
5899 Rama Road
Rama, ON L0K 1T0
(705) 329-3325
Bookings: 1-800-832-7529
Hotel Website
This local hotel is one that I have not taken the opportunity to stay at - it's reasonably expensive and since we live nearby, we've never opted to spend a night here, although it would probably be a nice "get-away"...it's a little too close to home. My Aunt (who lives in Orillia too) has stayed here on numerous occasions. One of her friends will often give her a night at the hotel on her birthday. She has never used the indoor pool, but she did check it out. Her opinion is that it's "nice", but a little dark in the pool area. She has taken advantage of the spa treatments (she loves those), and used most of the other offerings from the hotel, all of which she quite liked. She felt the rooms were very nice (her words were: "quite lovely, really"). She has eaten in most of the restaurants, but...given these restaurants tend to change "hands" (ownership, or chefs) it's a little difficult to say which of the restaurants were there when she's been there...her usual "eatery" while visiting there is the buffet restaurant, but she has eaten in the "sit-down" restaurants during her stay at the hotel.
When I asked her if she's go back again to stay at the hotel, she said she wouldn't hesitate to stay there again, so all-in-all I'd say she was reasonably happy with the service she got, and the rooms.
While there are many things to do and attractions to see in the general area, you cannot "walk" to most of them, unless you like a really serious hike now and then. From the hotel, you can drive along Rama Road to Washago (about 15 mins.) . A small hamlet - very quaint along the main street, and a few interesting shops but on the whole it might take you half an hour to 40 minutes to see most of the main area of Washago...if that. BUT - if you are visiting during the "on" season (mostly late spring to early fall) Washago has a very nice cruise of the area that you might find worth taking. Visit the Washago Cruise Lines for more info.
Heading towards Orillia from the Hotel (see the area map below - it's about 10-15 mins. from Orillia) you'll find a few other things of interest. There's the Rama Moccasin Shop (sort of a kitchy-souvenir/gift shop) where you can stop and pick through some interesting bling if you like that sort of thing (mostly native designs), but keep in mind that most of this stuff...isn't made here anymore. At one time, the Moccasin Shop had a lot of local "hand-made" native designs, some adornments and some really interesting clothing (I once saw a white suede/skin dress in there - hand made for a native bride), but today it is like many other businesses and although almost of the stuff in the shop uses native designs, not much of it is made on local land anymore.
You'll also come across "The Fish Weirs" - a National Historic Site (more info on this here)before you hit the "bridge" heading into Orillia.
The Basics:
Hotel amenities include gas fireplaces, two phones, large TVs with cable and movies, the usual array of includes for the higher priced hotels like irons and ironing boards, hairdryers, etc. and the deluxe suites have rather fancy baths with marble finishes, soaker tubs and even separate glass showers.
The hotel offers an indoor pool, a fitness faciity, sauna, jacuzzi, steam room and garden deck (and these are not on the main floor as in many hotels, but on the third floor), they also offer a full-spa service.
On the grounds you'll find about ten restaurants & food areas, and of course the hotel provides room service (24-hour room service).
In the rotunda area between the two facilities are a few shops where you can spend time gawking at some of the fine local artwork (and some of these are really marvelous) at the art gallery or visit the gift shop and take home some reminders of your trip. There's also a clothing shop.
Area Map:
View CasinoRama Hotel in a larger map