YYZ – Terminal 1 – Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Airline Lounge Review

Terminal 1, Toronto Pearson Airport Canada

Introduction

This is my review of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge.

On my connecting trip through Toronto’s Pearson Airport, I also visited the Signature Lounge and the Plaza Premium Lounge.

This may seem extreme, but I’ve been contemplating a move to Star Alliance for a while, and seeing the lounges offered in YYZ (and flying with Air Canada and United) were defining moments for me.

As I’ve written about in my reviews of the other lounges, as my connection on Air Canada was outrageously late, I was very limited on time.

Visited

September 2022 at 19:30

Opening Hours

The lounge is open daily from 06:00 to 23:30

Entry Conditions

In my case, I was flying in Air Canada’s Signature Business Suite to Dublin, so I was allowed entry.

The lounge is open Star Alliance Gold Members, but there seem to be a large variety of other options to get access.

According to Air Canada’s website, you can even pay to enter!

How to Get There

I won’t pretend to understand how Pearson Airport is laid out – and on my journey I’d come from Washington, so was transiting from the US.

Once I’d been document checked, I went through a door and literally the lounge was in front of me.

As far as I can work out, once out of Security you’ll head towards Concourse E and it will be on Level 2 (which post-Security you may already be in).  

Layout

The lounge has a nice lighter woody décor to it, despite it being dark when I visited it didn’t seem dark and dingy at all. Despite this, the lounge was very busy, but there seemed to be plenty of seating.

Mostly, the lounge is made up for casual seating – sofas, coffee tables and lounging areas.

I found some high-tabled areas for working, close to the soda fountain and coffee machine, which I quite liked.

There is also a ‘business area’ (with printers!!) – but this seemingly had been used as a dining area, for those who couldn’t find seating.

One thing I really liked the look of is the private lounge! I’ve no idea how you get access to it, though.

I also found a few tucked away quieter areas for relaxing in. However, I didn’t find anywhere to sleep.

Around the self-service food area, there is some dining tables and chairs.

The only thing missing for me was somewhere to work take calls – like the Phone Room which Centurion Lounges have.

Food and Drink

I’m always never quite sure what to expect from lounges like this – and I was generally pleasantly surprised.

Food

On the food side, the lounge was serving hot food in the form of meatballs, rice and pasta.

Alternatively, there was sandwiches, salads, and cold items available.

I didn’t really find any nuts, crisps or sweet items – but maybe I should have looked harder?

Drinks

Drinks were also self-service, with choice between a series of red wines, white wines, beer taps and spirits. However, there was no sparkling wine or champagne that I could see.  

Soft drinks are also self-service from the sad-looking soda machines.

Wifi

I briefly used the Wifi and found it to be pretty good, it certainly seemed reliable.

Showers

As I said in my Signature Lounge review – a shower is the one thing I would have loved before my overnight flight. But sadly due to the delays on my incoming flight, I had no time.  

That said, I understand there are what are called shower suites and that they are very nice!

Conclusion

This is a good lounge – especially comparably to the Lufthansa Lounge or United Club in Washington – which are pitched at the same level of user.

With that said, the competition would be an American Airlines Flagship Lounge, or a BA Galleries Lounge, and I still think AA and BA have the edge on their lounges.

So, on this occasion, the lounge did not drive me to consider switching to Star Alliance!