Last updated: February 2023
When this post was initially published, it provided information about all of the lounges you could get access to with Priority Pass. Since summer 2021, Plaza Premium is no longer part of Priority Pass and so lounge options are limited if you do not have an American Express Platinum card or Air Canada Elite status. Currently, at YVR – Vancouver International Airport, there is 1 lounge accessible to Priority Pass members. In this post, we provide reviews about some of the lounges at YVR – International Airport.
Overview:
Here is an overview of lounges at YVR:
- 2 Plaza Premium lounges for Domestic Departures at A, B, and C gates and 1 Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. Some C gates are “swing gates” which means they also service International flights sometimes.
- 1 Plaza Premium lounge, 1 Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge and 1 SKyTeam Lounge for International Departures at D gates and sometimes C gates (see Domestic departures).
- 1 Plaza Premium lounge and 1 Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge for US Departures at E gates. After 20:00, US departures depart from D gates at International departures
All lounges are only accessible post-security.
For a printable terminal map in PDF format, click here.
Domestic Lounges:
Plaza Premium operates two lounges for passengers traveling domestically; the large full service lounge by the B gates and the express lounge by the C gates.
1 – Plaza Premium Lounge near Gate B15 – Domestic Departures:
The full-service lounge by the B gates is usually referred to as the “WestJet Lounge” but you can access this lounge regardless of which airline you are flying on. Guests to this lounge can go through B or C gates screening points; the screening point for the B gates closes at 19:00 so after 19:00, you need to go through security for the C gates and walk over (about a 5-7 minute walk). If your flight is leaving from gate C39-46, plan for 15 minutes of walking time to reach your gate. Insider Tip: If B gate screening is open, we usually chose to go through here as opposed to the C gate screening point because it is usually faster.
Seating/Space: 4/5
The lounge is very spacious and designed to give guests a variety of seating options; there are high bar chairs and tables by the bar, dining seating by the buffet, and lounge chairs with coffee table style seating. It can get crowded first thing in the morning and around 16:00-18:00 but we have never had any problems finding somewhere to sit.
Amenities: 4/5
This is the only domestic lounge at YVR that as a shower but we have never used it. This shower could come in handy if you’re arriving on a red-eye from Hawaii and continuing on to another destination within Canada. There are also 3 women’s bathroom stalls in the washroom that are clean and well-maintained.
There are 3 computer stations that run on the airport-wide free Wi-Fi and are not worth using since they’re so slow.
Food Options/Quality: 4/5
The food servings vary and this lounge offers a buffet with hot and cold options as well as a few a-la-carte made to order options. For dinner, there is usually a protein based hot option with a starch and examples include, tilapia cooked with green curry and rice, beef bulgogi with rice, black bean chicken with rice, meatballs and noodles. Overall, the food is decent and there is good variety, hence why some of those who also have access to the Maple Leaf Lounge come here instead.
Bar Offerings: 4/5
The bar is full-service, not self-serve and has hard alcohol, draft beer, red wine and white wine. The draft beer selection is local craft brewery Steel & Oak’s Royal City Ale, a 5% 20 IBU lightly dry hopped ale that is a welcome surprise to craft beer lovers and a not so welcome surprise to those who prefer beers like Coors and Budweiser. As for the red wine, it’s a Peller Estates Cabernet Merlot and the white is a Red Rooster Pinot Gris. We appreciate how they feature products from local producers.
2 – Plaza Premium Lounge by Gate C29 – Domestic Departures:
This express lounge is easily accessible to those flying out of the C gates, which are mostly Air Canada flights. You can use this lounge regardless of which airline you are flying on. We usually use this lounge after we have left the full-service lounge at B gates and end up with a flight delay.
Seating/Space: 4/5
The lounge is not very spacious and has limited seating options; there is dining seating and lounge chairs with coffee table style seating. We have never seen this lounge crowded.
Amenities: N/A
There are no amenities here; it’s a food and beverage lounge. There is also no washroom; you need to exit the lounge and use the public ones about a 1 minute walk away.
Food Options/Quality: 3/5
This lounge offers mostly cold and a few hot dishes through a full-service setting; you order at the counter and take a seat. They have soup, sandwiches, salads, and deserts served as small appetizers.
Bar Offerings: 4/5
The bar is full-service, not self-serve and has hard alcohol, draft beer, red wine and white wine. The draft beer selection is local craft brewery Steel & Oak’s Royal City Ale, a 5% 20 IBU lightly dry hopped ale that is a welcome surprise to craft beer lovers and a not so welcome surprise to those who prefer beers like Coors and Budweiser. As for the red wine, it’s a Peller Estates Cabernet Merlot and the white is a Red Rooster Pinot Gris. We appreciate how they feature products from local producers.
3 – Plaza Premium Lounge near D gates – International Departures:
This full-service lounge is located near the D gates screening point; once you are done with the security checks turn right and walk towards the duty-free shops.
Seating/Space: 5/5
The lounge is very spacious and designed to give guests a variety of seating options; there is dining seating and lounge chair with coffee table style seating. Compared to the other lounges, you can sit by the window and see outside. Some of the seating is reserved for passengers on some airlines, which can limit the seating options at different times of the day. This lounge can get crowded between 10:00-14:00 and 22:00-00:00 but we’ve never had any issues finding seats.
Amenities: 4/5
This lounge does have a shower but we have never used it. There are also 2 women’s bathroom stalls in the washroom that are clean and well-maintained.
They usually have copies of the award-winning Canadian general interest magazine The Walrus and various Chinese/Korean/Japanese publications.
Food Options/Quality: 4/5
The food servings vary and this lounge offers a buffet with hot and cold options as well as a few a-la-carte made to order options. For dinner, the menu is usually Asian inspired; there is usually a protein based hot option with a starch and examples include, tilapia cooked with green curry and rice, beef bulgogi with rice, black bean chicken with rice, noodles and fried rice. They also have a noodle bar where you can get made-to-order soups like laksas and offer dim sum. Overall, the food is decent and there is good variety. In addition, they have some of the small appetizer style sandwiches and salads similar to those available from the express lounge at domestic departures.
Bar Offerings: 4/5
The bar is full-service, not self-serve and has hard alcohol, draft beer, red wine and white wine. The draft beer selection is local craft brewery Steel & Oak’s Royal City Ale, a 5% 20 IBU lightly dry hopped ale that is a welcome surprise to craft beer lovers and a not so welcome surprise to those who prefer beers like Coors and Budweiser. As for the red wine, it’s a Peller Estates Cabernet Merlot and the white is a Red Rooster Pinot Gris. We appreciate how they feature products from local producers.
4 – SkyTeam Lounge near D gates – International Departures:
This full-service lounge is located near gate D53. Since it’s a SkyTeam Lounge, passengers who are departing internationally on AeroMexico, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta, KLM, and Korean Air can also use the lounge. In addition, passengers travelling to the US on flights that depart out of D gates after US CBP closes down can access this lounge. So far, they have not placed limitations on when Priority Pass members can use the lounge but we would expect they will as the airport gets busier in the summer months. Based on the flight schedule, this lounge gets busy around 10:00-15:00.
Seating/Space: 5/5
The lounge is very spacious and designed to give guests a variety of seating options; there is dining seating, lounge chair with coffee table style seating and full lie flat lounge chairs that are secluded. We have only used this lounge for red-eye departures and it has never been crowded; in some cases, we had the place to ourselves.
Amenities: 4/5
One key feature is that it has a shower but we have never used it. There are also 3-4 women’s bathroom stalls in the washroom that are clean and well-maintained.
They have various newspapers and magazines and a computer workstation area.
Food Options/Quality: 4/5
We think Plaza Premium operates the lounge so some of the food options are similar but there has been more of a European focus on the food offerings; there is always a cheeseboard and smoked fish, hummus, salad, sandwiches, and usually a pasta dish. Since they leave the smoked fish out for too long, it tends to get dry. For their a-la-carte offerings, they offer noodles and dim sum that you place an order for. We are big fans of the fish ball noodle soup which you season yourself.
Bar Offerings: 5/5
This is a self-service bar with hard-alcohol, canned beer, and a wine sampling bar that usually has 6 red wines, and 6 white/rose wines featuring British Columbia wines. In addition, there is always a chilled sparkling wine bottle of brut, usually Gray Monk Odyssey. As for beer, they have a selection of local and international beers: Phillips Blue Buck Ale, Howe Sound Brewing Lager, Red Racer Pilsner, Stella Artois, Heineken, and Tsingtao.
5 – Plaza Premium Lounge near E gates – USA Departures:
We have included both a review of the new lounge and kept one for the old lounge for comparison. Please click here to see a review of the new lounge on its own.
After being closed for over 2 years, the Plaza Premium Lounge at YVR (Vancouver International Airport) in the USA departures area finally re-opened after undergoing an extensive renovation. In this post, we share a review and information about the lounge based on our visit a few months ago.
Located across from Gate E88, and overlooking the arrivals hall below, this lounge serves guests departing to the United States. With upgraded inviting seating, fixtures and lounge – space for around 132 guests, the lounge is well appointed and functional. A food and beverage counter serves a range of hot food items throughout the day, as well as a selection of hot and cold beverages, for those who would like to enjoy a drink or two at the lounge, we serve alcoholic beverages to start your vacation from the airport.
New lounge review:
Seating/Space: 3.5/5
If you read our previous review of this lounge, you may recall us giving the seating/space a 2/5 because the lounge was very small and had limited seating and it was very difficult to find seating without feeling a though you were seated with other people. Thankfully, the renovation of the lounge also included adding more square footage and seating options. There are definitely more seats available for people in general, as well as various options such as high top bar seating, seating at the bar, restaurant style tables and lounge style seating. Even with the extra space, the space in this lounge still feels a little tight and it can be hard to walk around to get food and drinks when it’s busy. It’s an improvement but still not optimal based on the volume of people who use this lounge. The design though it really nice and much brighter than the old school brown basement bar style it was previously: it’s sleek, modern and bright, like a restaurant.
Amenities: 4/5
As part of the renovation, they got rid of the bathroom stall setup and went with individual stalls. There are 2-3 stalls, including one with a shower. The washroom stalls were nice, spacious, clean, and had nice toiletries. The shower room was nice too but there wasn’t a lot of information about how to use it. It might be better to leave the lounge to use the bathroom though as the wait times can be significant due to the number of bathrooms.
Food Options/Quality: 3.5/5
They more or less kept the same food as in the old version of the lounge but added a few things and obviously, the space for the food has drastically improved.
There are usually 1-2 soups, meats, cheeses, bite-sized sandwiches, salads, veggies, and a hot entree item like chicken, meatballs, pasta, or fried rice. They also have dessert bars, jars filled with cookies, pretzels, and marshmallows.
We have never visited the lounge for breakfast and cannot comment about the offerings.
Bar Offerings: 4/5
The lounge is now full-service for all drinks: you order at the bar. They have some Steamworks beers on tap (sometimes), cans of Steamworks and other domestic beers, a few white and red BC wines, and hard alcohol. They also have non-alcoholic fountain drinks.
Old Lounge Review: This is a review of the lounge prior to the renovation.
Seating/Space: 2/5
This lounge is very small and has limited seating; there is dining seating, lounge chair with coffee table style seating, and a few bar-style seats. It is very hard to find a seat in this lounge and when you do, you are always in very close proximity to other guests. This lounge can get crowded between 16:00 to when it closes at either 18:00 or 19:00 (depends on the day of the week). If you can access the Maple Leaf Lounge, we would recommend visiting that lounge as opposed to this one.
Amenities: 3/5
There are 2 women’s bathroom stalls in the washroom that appear to need more servicing due to how busy the lounge is.
There is also a storage area for luggage and coats due to the small size of the lounge and a separate area if you have to make a call and need privacy.
Food Options/Quality: 2.5/5
The food servings vary and this lounge are more limited than other lounges and we don’t usually eat a lot here. There is always 1 soup, chopped pepperoni sticks and cheese, bite-sized sandwiches, a hot item like chicken, meatballs, or fried rice. They also have jars filled with cookies, pretzels and marshmallows.
Bar Offerings: 3/5
The bar is self-service for hard alcohol and wine. Beer must be ordered through a staff member and the beer they serve here is canned and from local brewery Fuggles & Warlock; they usually have the Pixel Pils which is a pilsner and the Destiny IPA, a west coast style IPA. When the lounge is busy, it can be difficult to get a beer which is why I changed the score to 3 from a 4.
Summary:
This post was written pre-COVID and we have had the chance to visit some of these lounges since. Overall, we have noticed quality of food decrease and the beverages, like the beer options have changed. Overall though, the Plaza Premium Lounges still have a better ber selection than Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and the wine and food options are somewhat similar. Lounges at YVR Airport are not particularly great but with a lack of food options and their limited hours, they do come in handy when you want to avoid spending $13 on a sandwich.
Have you visited any of these lounges? Am I missing any important information in my review? Do you disagree with some of my comments?
Related Posts:
WeLeaveToday 
Very informative about Vancouver lounge. I am leaving from Vancouver to Hawaii, can I use the Plaza Premium lounge (International ) or just the US one?
LikeLike
Hi Benjamin, you can only use the US one.
LikeLike