The Air Canada Signature Suite in Toronto is the finest airport lounge in North America I have ever visited. Period.
Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto Review
Note this review is from February 2020. This lounge is currently closed due to the pandemic.
Access + Hours + Location
Put simply, you’re going to have to pay up to get into this lounge.
Access is reserved for longhaul business class passengers (traveling to Asia, Europe, or South America) originally booked in booking classes J, C, D, Z, or P. R-class bookings (upgrades) and I-class bookings (awards) are not permitted access. Even if you are rebooked into an eligible fare class during irregular operations, access is only based upon originally booked fare class. No guests are permitted. This is not an elite lounge or Star Alliance lounge.
You’ll find the lounge in the international departure area, next to Gate E77, on the upper level beside the Plaza Premium Lounge.
The lounge, during normal times, is open daily from 10:30AM to 11:00PM, though times may change based upon Air Canada flight schedules.
Seating + Ambiance
Upon entering the lounge, you’ll notice a semi-cirrcular couch just past the check-in desk. Proceed further into the lounge and you’ll find a seating area on the right intended for lounging and on the left intended for dining. Straight back is the restaurant.
You won’t have to reach far for a power plug, though as we enter the USB C era, they will have to be retrofitted.
I think what I loved most about this lounge was the ambiance. The soft lighting, woodwork, color palette, and artwork were simply a lovely combination. The lounge was designed by Montreal architect Heekyung Duquette. Artwork in the lounge includes works by Pascale Girardin and Nicolas Ruel as well as a stunning mural by Ottawa artist Gavin Lynch. The Cloudscape Chandelier is from Toronto design firm Moss & Lam.
Food + Drink
Beyond its beauty, the highlight of this lounge was the culinary adventure.
Buffet
A buffet offers hot and cold items is available throughout the day. Breakfast choices included:
- Eggs made to order (including omelets)
- Breakfast breads
- Cereal
- Yogurt
- Fruit
- Oatmeal
- Bacon
- Tomatoes
- Sausage
- Mushrooms
- Potatoes
- Smoothies
Lunch and dinner selections included:
- Charcuterie + cheese
- Salads
- Soups
- Braised meatballs
- Chicken sliders
- Polenta
- Brussel sprouts
- Fruit
- Cake
A La Carte Dining
The true treat, however, was the dining room featuring an a la carte menu designed by chef David Hawksworth.
Seating is open and on a first-come, first-serve basis (though the dining area never filled up). Upon taking a seat, I was presented with a food and drink menu:
I began with a salad of winter greens, beets, blue cheese, cranberry raisins, and pecans served over red wine vinaigrette. I also ordered a “Lavender Bliss” cocktail.
Next, I ordered a pasta course: gnocchi with mushrooms, parmesan, and herbs. It was very delicious.
For my main course, I tired the braised lamb shank, served with couscous, roasted eggplant, and cauliflower yogurt. It was tender and brimming with flavor. The yogurt was a particularly nice accompaniment and I loved the crushed pistachios which topped the lamb.
After finishing my main course, I was presented with a dessert menu:
I ordered the sticky toffee and date cake with candied pecans, bourbon butterscotch, and maple ice cream. Wow, was it tasty.
Don’t neglect to dine in the lounge if you have access…lunch was one of my best of the entire year.
Drinks
Throughout my stay I enjoyed coffee. You can also order all of the beverages listed in the menu above. There’s also self-serve Champagne, both regular and rosé, from Moët.
Restrooms
Restroom suites are located in the rear of the lounge. I’d say the one deficiency of this lounge is that showers are not available. If you do need to use a shower, you’ll be escorted to the nearby international Maple Leaf Lounge, which has shower suites. The restrooms include cloth towels and Molton Brown amenities. All restrooms are unisex.
Conference Room
Adjacent to the dining room is a private dining room, perfect for meetings or I suppose people who want to be left alone.
Service
The greatest service came from James Brown, the Signature Suite General Manager. He noticed I was taking pictures and approached me, just to make sure I was comfortable (he did this for other guests too). We ended up chatting for quite some time about the state of travel and the lounge. I just loved the pride he took in this lounge. He took me on a mini-tour, detailing the artwork I explained above and even about how the raw material for the lounge was locally sourced. Air Canada has an asset not only in the lounge, but in James.
Moments after arriving in the lounge, a waiter approached me and asked if I would like something to drink. I ordered a cappuccino and a berry smoothie, which were promptly delivered.
During lunch, service was attentive and courteous. Plates were promptly cleared and the bottle of wine was held for my inspection as I sampled it. Clearly, the staff have been well-trained.
CONCLUSION
I cannot recommend this lounge highly enough. Although I have not yet reviewed the Air Canada Signature Suite in Vancouver, this is currently my favorite lounge in North America (edging out the Qantas First Class Lounge in Los Angeles). Stop by for the ambiance and stay for a remarkable meal.
Have you had a chance to review the Air Canada Signature Suite in Toronto? What were your impressions?
Why would you publish a Lounge review from February when you know when things open up, they will be very different (like no buffets!). On top of that, it’s such an exclusive lounge that very few of your readers would be able to access it! You bloggers are a strange bunch. Stick to credit card deals and aviation changes for the time being, and stop living in the past.
Why don’t you just thank Matthew for this wonderful review and keep your negative energy to yourself? Have you been to Europe lately? Buffets are still a thing. And even if the buffet never returns, that was hardly the focus of this review.
Matthew, thank you for this excellent review and don’t mind the jealous fools!
@Andre: the pandemic is the reason why I delayed this review, as I explained here:
https://liveandletsfly.com/new-trip-reports/
Since it seems life will not be returning to normal anytime soon, I am resuming my trip reports from February and March.
Thanks for reading.
@Giles S: Thank you…
I would just like to add my comments to the above. I agree in that Buffets are a thing of the past and it will be a long time, if ever, before they return again. Even 5 star hotels are cancelling their Breakfast Buffets and back to waiter/ress service. But this Lounge is fantastic and well worth a visit for full revenue passengers
Thank you for the excellent review.
This reminds me of the Virgin Atlantic JFK Clubhouse. But swap out the fun of the Clubhouse for classy in the Suite.
@Matthew. When you first walked in, what did the place remind you of? I’m just curious.
My first thought was a nice restaurant, since you come into the bar and buffet area. The seating area itself is actually fairly limited (versus the two dining rooms).
We haven’t had the pleasure of visiting a lounge quite this swanky, but we have enjoyed a delicious dinner at Hawksworth in Vancouver. We loved that meal, still thinking about it a year later!
I can’t wait to try one of Hawksworth’s restaurants! The food was amazing.
Nice write-up. Please keep it up, and even give us some more retro-reviews. Nostalgia is about the only thing that’s certain right now.
Thanks Jason!
What a great memory. Very Polaris-like.
Flew IAD to YYZ en route to CPH to stop hear nearly a year ago. What a wonderful dinner allowing me to sleep entire flight, which is something I can’t do in IAD until Polaris lounge opens.
I hope United won’t use COVID-19 as an excuse to never re-open the IAD lounge.
Looks nice. How big is it compared to say a Polaris lounge? Assuming it’s some bit smaller (thus no upgrades/awards) but wondering how crowded it could possibly get.
(BTW those spirits look to be in the $30 range…that is pretty weak for a high end lounge)
The lounge is 6,400 square feet, which is about half the size of the Polaris Lounges at LAX/IAH/ORD and less than a four of the SFO/EWR Polaris Lounges.
I appreciate you working hard to entertain and delight us with your experiences. This lounge looks like to role-model for others to follow and be inspired by. Thanks Matthew!
Thanks Darrell. It is indeed a role model!
Really nice review. Who cares that the buffet isn’t available. Im reading this to read a story not to decide which lounge to go to necessarily. Keep the reviews coming!
Btw I think the Qantas f lounge in LAX is grossly overated. Horrible showers to start 🙂
I thought the Polaris lounge in San Fran was Much nicer. And even the aa lounge in Dallas and chicago. Personal preference.
Can we get a post of your top NA lounges?
I will once I visit the VS Clubhouse in JFK and the the new Signature Suite in YVR.
Nice review. I haven’t tried the Signature Suite, but I really liked Air Canada’s other new lounge concept at YYZ: the Air Canada Cafe. As I don’t drink alcohol much, it was great to visit a lounge that focused on fresh fruit juices and barista-made coffee. It’s a lovely, chic space and I love how Air Canada is re-thinking the idea of what a lounge can be.
I can’t wait to try that lounge! When the Park Hyatt Toronto opens, I’m going to take a domestic flight just to try it.
I had an excellent meal in this lounge in October last year before a flight to GRU. Unfortunately it was the only good thing about Air Canada.