After arriving in Vancouver, I had a couple hours before my redeye to Toronto and spent most of that in the Air Canada domestic Maple Leaf Lounge.
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver (Domestic) Review
The domestic lounge has a cool mountain-like facade on the outside, with a towering entrance you cannot help but to notice when entering.
Hours + Location + Access Requirements
This lounge is currently open daily from 4:30AM to 10:30PM except for Saturday, when it closes at 11:30PM. It is located near Gate 29 in the domestic terminal.
Access is reserved for Star Alliance business or first class passengers as well as Star Alliance Gold status holders traveling on a Star Alliance flight. United Club and Maple Leaf Lounge members also have accesss, as do Aeroplan 35K members (which are Star Silver, not Star Gold).
Seating
Upon entering and scanning your credentials, you can proceed upstairs where you will find seating to the left or right of the landing.
The lounge is split into two seating areas and a dining area. Seats were widely available at 9:00PM, though power ports were in short supply (I found a wall plug…it seems the consoles between chairs do not have any).
I chucked at all the no smoking signs…hasn’t indoor smoking in Vancouver been banned for 15 years? (and I bet even longer in this lounge)
Food + Drink
This lounges uses a combination of buffet and an on-demand a la carte service called @ la table service.
Each table in the lounge has a sticker with a QR code. Scan that your mobile phone and it opens a menu, from which you can order a number of tapas-sized hot dishes. These are delivered directly to your table.
I had ordered a cheese quesadilla and chicken flatbread with cheese, tomatoes, and green onions.
Both were soggy – but the problem was less the food and more simply that they were not left in the oven long enough (or at all – they tasted like they had been microwaved).
The buffet included an identical selection to the Maple Leaf Lounge in Los Angeles, with pre-packaged food and soft drinks self-service while alcohol was located behind a plexiglass barrier and served by a pair of bartenders.
Sadly, Air Canada has the the same deplorable (yes, that’s a strong word, but appropriate) coffee machines in its Vancouver lounge as it does in Los Angeles. Trust me: stay away from cappuccinos or lattes, because the machine cannot foam milk.
Restrooms + Showers
Restrooms are located in the rear of the lounge and were clean, with soap and hand lotion from Molton Brown.
This lounge does not offer shower facilities.
Service
I’m generally pretty good with technology, but I could not get the a la carte menu to open, so I asked for some assistance from a roaming staff member. For whatever reason, the menu would not load on my phone, but he pulled his out his phone and we ordered off his. I thought that was a very kind gesture and a display of excellent service.
Business Center
Printing, scanning (to email), and copying is available.
Tarmac Views
The lounge has excellent views of the tarmac, ideal for plane spotting.
CONCLUSION
I was able to enjoy a light meal and get some work done during my layover in Vancouver and appreciated that this Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge has already restored some self-service elements.
It was only a short walk to my connecting gate, where I would shortly fly to Toronto.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe this used to be a Canadian Airlines lounge way back in the day. It needs a renovation, but it’s a solid domestic lounge with showers and great views of the tarmac.
There were not showers that I noticed.
Maybe they closed them off for Covid but I’ve definitely used them before, albeit several years ago. They didn’t exactly advertise them. You had to approach a member of staff in the upstairs area (not the front desk) and ask to be let in. They were tucked away in a corner.
I just checked the AC website and showers are still listed as an amenity for the YVR domestic Maple Leaf Lounge. My past experience was that unlike the MLL showers I’ve used at YVR transborder and YYZ international, I’ve had to request access from a roaming staff member and not the front desk.
There are showers. I’ve used them. They are currently closed due to Covid. Same story in Toronto and doubtless elsewhere.
There are showers, one would think you would at least get the basic facts right to write an article and get paid for it, after having reviewed some of your other articles it makes sense.
Can someone explain how this lounge catering managed to make the cream of mushrooms soup orange colored?
When you used the word approbate, could it be you meant appropriate? It makes more sense that way…
Yes indeed. Thanks Philip.
We used this lounge twice within recent weeks, very disappointing. The staff were pleasant and helpful but the food we ordered delivered to the table was cold and soggy. In the day we found a lot of noisy families, I like children but please parents please make an effort to keep them from bothering other passengers, as I always did when my children were in public. As for our late evening visit, the adults were much worse behaved than children, with large groups of passengers attempting to down as much free hard liquor in as short a time as possible, and no attempt to ration them. Why do people think it appropriate to wear baseball hats indoors, as your photos illustrate so well? When I pay thousands of dollars for a business class ticket I do not expect this in a lounge. Sorry call me a snob, but I don’t care. Air Canada, perhaps you need to recategorize your lounges like other airlines do. One lounge for actual fare paying passengers holding premium class tickets as you do for international flights. Another for status and frequent flyers travelling economy.
That lounge is so TIRED! My god all that old “orange” and fake black leather and multi coloured slate floors! It’s so 1990. I used to use it all the time when I lived in Vancouver. How can they just let this go so “un-renovated”? Tired and old fashioned. Guess Vancouver still light on decor and design sense.
Try westjets vancouver lounge. Absolutely god awful.
Embarassing actually.
Have used this lounge, at the height of covid, its service, food and decore, are pretty bland for a business class ticket. The food to seat idea is good, but only the mushroom soup and beer made the grade. Cookies to go and didn’t spend too long in there. Sadly im using a direct flight out of my home town more often to use the YYC lounge more.
Interesting. The menu was similar in the international and trans-border lounges at YVR back in November/December, and the food was actually quite decent! Everything was piping hot and fresh back then, and it was an improvement over pre-COVID Maple Leaf Lounge food imo!
The lounge was originally the Canadian Airlines lounge. I was an agent for Canadian and then Air Canada and worked some shifts there.
The question of a dress code is always an awkward one to handle not just in airport lounges but in society in general.
The person wearing the baseball cap could also have paid thousands of dollars for his ticket. Try telling him to take that cap off.
Re a special lounge for passengers actually flying in business class (there is no first class on AC) I believe there is a super duper lounge at YYZ. I retired some years ago so I’m not aware of the details.
YVR now has one too – it’s called the Signature Suite (currently closed, with AC blaming the pandemic).
It a hat dude. Chill out. It’s…. A…… Hat…..
This lounge has gone downhill for sure. I only stop in because it’s free with my credit card. The food sucks compared to any other lounge or restaurant in the airport imo. The staff are nice at least. Don’t even bother coming here if you have an early flight… pro tip: they don’t even serve liquor until 11am. Meanwhile you can grab a brew elsewhere if you’d like, makes sense. I couldn’t imagine spending actual money to stay at this lounge.
Grab some snacks and some water for your carry-on and head to Stanley Park Brewing IMO.
Use Lounge Key or Priority Pass for a reasonable credit there. Decent drinks and airport food, better than Maple Leaf lounge at least.
…or swap that order and head to the Maple Leaf Lounge after Stanley Park.
Only decent airport lounge in Western Canada is probably Elevation Lounge in Calgary. It did have a low point as well during the pandemic though.
Rant over