REVIEW – Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Vancouver (YVR)
April 13, 2018
REVIEW – Air Canada : Business Class – Vancouver to London LHR (B789)
April 15, 2018
Plaza Premium
- Class: Business
- Access:
- Priority Pass (free with UK Amex Platinum)
- Business Class passengers on non-Star Alliance carriers
- Paid Access:
-
- 40 CAD – 2h
- 50CAD – 3h
- 70CAD – 6h
-
Intro
After the my rather depressing encounter with the sallow and decrepit Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, I was hoping the the Plaza Premium Lounge would restore my faith in humanity.
Plaza Premium has a great reputation and my limited experience of their lounges has been great.
On a lounge hopping tour of Heathrow’s Terminal 2, the Plaza Premium was actually my favourite lounge. Their arrivals facilities in Heathrow are great too.
The Lounge
Upon first entering the lounge, you are met with a bank of computers on your left and a coffee shop style buffet counter on the right. There were a couple of soup options, some healthy quinoa and vegetables and a large glass display of sandwiches and sweets. The difference in presentation between this and the AC lounge was like night and day. Entering this lounge felt like taking a time machine back to the modern day.
I loved the fact that they had a proper coffee machine, where you could order a decent macchiato.
I have to say though, I wouldn’t feel comfortable carrying out any business or even Skyping home, given the complete lack of privacy offered by the computers.
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – snacks.
Not exactly a mind blowing selection of food in the café cabinet but at least that lady from the AC lounge can’t get her dirty fingers all over these …
There is no self pour alcohol in the lounge but drinks could also be ordered from the cafe counter. The menu read as follows:
| Beer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft Pale Ale | Molson Canadian | Kokanee | Corona |
| Budweiser | Heineken | Coors Light |
| Red Wine | White Wine |
|---|---|
| Cabernet Merlot | Pinot Gris |
| Merlot | Chardonnay |
| Liquor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Appleton Rum | Gordon’s Gin | Ballantine’s | Kahlua |
| Bacardi Gold | Smirnoff Vodka | Wiser’s Whisky | Remy VSOP |
| Bacardi Black/ White | Tequila | Canadian Club | Baileys |
| Cocktails | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gin and Tonic | Vodka Martini | Screwdriver |
| Gin and Ginger Ale | Vodka Tonic | Sea Breeze |
| Bloody Caesar | Bloody Mary | Rum and Coke |
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – seating.
The decor in here as far more modern than the AC lounge, a variety of different seating options in soothing neutral tones. Still, it’s hard to ignore how cramped this space is. Those horseshoe shaped chairs by the window are packed in tight.
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – dining.
Continuing past the main sitting area, at the far end of the lounge, you come to a dining area. Once again, the seating here is extremely densely packed.
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – view.
The lounge benefits from a series of floor to ceiling windows throughout, yielding both natural light and fantastic views of the mountains and varied aircraft that visit YVR.
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – snacks.
Some sweet snacks, a soft drinks machine and a nod to the lounge’s Asian owners and the many Asian airlines that fly to YVR…
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – snacks.
…Yam congee with condiments! Seeing a vat of congee with a variety of different toppings, always brings back memories of my time living in China back in 2002.
Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver – snacks.
There were also a few more salad options here, as well as a noodle dish and a chicken dish.
Conclusion
This lounge is a clear improvement over the truly deplorable AC Maple Leaf Lounge; it is far more elegantly furnished, has better food options and better coffee.
Still, in an international context this is by no means a competitive facility. This is not a patch on the facilities of HKG, TPE and NRT that many of this lounge’s guests will be accustomed to.
If you are paying for entry and plan on having a couple of drinks, 40CAD for two hours is a no brainer though. You’d struggle to get a single drink and a sandwich for that price in the terminal. I think the real answer with this facility, given the clearly limited space and overcrowding issues, would be to raise the access price and remove some seats. This would serve to make the space more of a lounge and less of a cafeteria, a distinction worth making given how quiet and peaceful the terminal outside is…
- Part 1:
- Park Inn Copenhagen Airport CPH
- Part 2:
- SAS : Business Class Lounge – Copenhagen CPH
- Part 3:
- SWISS : Business Class – A321 – Copenhagen to Zurich
- Part 4:
- SWISS : Senator Lounge – Zurich E Gates
- Part 5:
- SWISS : Business Class – B777 – Zurich to Los Angeles
- Part 6:
- Hyatt Regency Long Beach : Harbor Suite
- Part 7:
- Star Alliance Lounge – Los Angeles LAX
- Part 8:
- Air Canada : Business Class – A321 – Los Angeles to Vancouver
- Part 9:
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Vancouver
- Part 10:
- Plaza Premium Lounge – Vancouver
- Part 11:
- Air Canada : Business Class – B789 – Vancouver to London Heathrow
