LOUNGE REVIEW: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Vancouver Airport, where I met my husband

• TRIP REPORT: Oh Canada! Introduction
• LOUNGE REVIEW: Qantas First check-in and Lounge, Sydney
• TRIP REVIEW: Qantas B787-9 Dreamliner, QF75 Sydney to Vancouver in Business Class. Oh Canada!
• HOTEL REVIEW: Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver Airport. An indulgence. Oh Canada!
• LOUNGE REVIEW: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Vancouver Airport, where I met my husband

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Let me put you out of your misery. Maple Leaf Lounges are not industry-leading. But they get the basics right and can be a haven for pre-flight relaxation. My main issue with this lounge was that it was very crowded, so there was nowhere I really wanted to sit. The crowding extended to the food selection, which made it a bit of a scramble to get anything to eat.

Introduction

I had arrived in Vancouver after my flight with Qantas the previous day, and spent the night at the Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver Airport, sleeping and watching action on the apron and runways. This morning, I was off to the lounge prior to my flight onward to the nation’s capital, Ottawa.

Location

The lounge is located after security in the domestic departures area of the airport in Pier C, adjacent to Gate 52. Put it this way, once you have passed the water feature below, you are pretty close.

You enter on the same floor, and then take the lift of stairs up a level to the main lounge. The evacuation plan below gives you a rough idea of the size, layout and facilities of the lounge.

Design & Experience

I think it is not unfair to say that this lounge would not have won any design awards, even if judged nearly 10 years ago, in 2017, when it opened after an 18-month renovation. It is designed to host 258 guests in a variety of seating arrangements, from lounge areas to long table/desk areas.

It uses a lot of dark wood and other dark surfaces, and a stone-look floor that just looks dirty. For a lounge that has windows on two sides, it sure feels dingy, especially around the main corridor.

The best part of my lounge experience was meeting my husband there. He had travelled on a separate Air Canada flight overnight. In all the excitement of departure, we had both forgotten that we would meet in this lounge to join the same flight to Ottawa. So, we literally surprised each other by meeting, actually, opposite that evacuation plan you see above.

A more pleasant surprise, I have not had in a long time!

We found it hard to find seats with power points nearby, until we stole some lounge chairs from some departing passengers. Even we seasoned travellers forget to charge our devices sometimes.

Food & Drink

There is a central area with hot and prepared food, with a self-serve beverage and pastry area to the left of the image below.

Here is the serve-yourself beverage and pastry area. For those of you who have visited, it is giving Auckland Qantas First Lounge, before the renovations this year.

It’s a bit worn all round, and cold do with a bit of a refresh. That said, it was clean, and well kept.

Bathrooms

It has bathroom and shower facilities. No photos, since the lounge was teeming.

Comfort

We didn’t stay long in the lounge, and frankly, we were more concerned with catching up with out travels of the last 24 hours rather than admiring the surroundings. Because the lounge was pretty much full, our seating options were limited. Although we would have preferred the lounge chair area, we ended up at some work tables having a brief bite, and a cup of drip coffee. We sort of had to trade chairs with people to get a seat at the table.

So for us, comfort was not to the max. But hey, we weren’t there for long.

Departure

We monitored the screens and headed to our gate at around 8:30 am, in good time for our flight. It was an unfamiliar terminal to both of us, and I always prefer to err on the side of caution when arriving for boarding. The way to the gate was filled with shopping opportunities, which is the way of the world with airports these days.

On our way out, we passed this Air Canada Café, which frankly looked more enticing than the Maple Leaf Lounge.

2PAXfly Takeout

Putting the crowding aside, I think this is a borderline-acceptable domestic lounge, with all the essentials to be fed and watered before a domestic flight. It’s not award-winning, and its food and beverage offering could be better. But it is serviceable.

Looking around on socials, it sounds like overcrowding and cleanliness are regular complaints, and having visited, I can understand that.

This is not a lounge I would fight to revisit or design my schedule to spend some pre-flight time in. But it is an OK lounge in need of a refresh and a lot more capacity.