uclacolumbiaunc

Does either of Aspire Lounge at YYC serve hot food? If so, what kind of hot food do they serve. If not, do they at least serve deli sandwiches?

I have traveling plan passing through Transborder terminal E returning to US. I am just wondering if I should go to Aspire Lounge (using Priority Pass) for dinner or buy at one of the restaurants in Terminal E.... ?

I believe these two are the first Aspire Lounges in North America... I wonder how Aspire Lounges compare to normal US or Canadian domestic lounges (or even AMEX Centurion Lounge)..??

24left

Those who live in YYC or transit through there regularly will have a better answer, but this review might also help

Some very nice photos but I noted the line:

"The only thing that was a little disappointing about this lounge was the food."

http://pointsnerd.ca/review-aspire-lounge-calgary/

uclacolumbiaunc

I saw a few websites including the one you posted (but there aren't that many reviews, since I think these two lounges are newly built with the new international terminal at YYC)...

another site I found suggests the food is good,... https://excelstillmore.ca/2016/12/26...lounge-at-yyc/

otherwise, the information is quite limited... maybe someone who was there can chime in...

TravellingGypsy

Although I've only been in this lounge a handful of times to date, I would definitely not recommend holding your appetite to wait and eat there. Most recently, breakfast option consisted of an odd mix of steamed vegetables and shoestring potatoes plus some bagels, with which you could have any flavour of cream cheese you'd like as long as it was onion (barf). I can't remember the last dinner option I saw there (it was that memorable), as I skipped it entirely.

Hard liquor selection was adequate however wine options are limited and low grade. There is however 2 types of draught beer avail, can't remember which exactly.

Therere's one or two decent restaurant options in the new terminal, if you want a decent meal I suggest going there instead.

rehoult

The food is the exact same as the old YYC TB lounge, so generally considered weak. OTOH, I can get cereal, toast and coffee in the morning, and a wrap and drink in the afternoon, so it meets my simple requirements.

Braindrain

Moved to Canada forum as thread isn't about AC/AP.

FlyerJ

Here's what I posted a few days ago in the New YYC International Terminal thread: ASPIRE LOUNGE

I won't rehash my full list of pros and cons from that post here, but in summary:
- Hot food = yes. Dinner options I've seen are a butter chicken w rice, and a tortellini with a red sauce.
- Sandwiches = no

I do dinner in the lounge. It's not gourmet, but it's good. And I like it being quick and easy. Plus that lounge really is a beautiful space.

Restaurant options in terminal E, if you'd rather: there's a full service Wolfgang Pucks, plus a wine bar and a Belgian beer cafe. Plus, there's a food court with about 5 options, a Starbucks, and a cute little frozen yogurt place.

On par with or better than most U.S. airline lounges. Hot food (and the great space) puts them over the top.

But nowhere as good as the Centurion lounges. Not even close, sadly. The Centurions are the gold standard in both food and professional service.

I disagree. That definitely hasn't been my experience. YYC's old TB lounge was limited to cold food (pretty much just pre-made sandwiches) and packaged food like bags of chips and factory-wrapped squares of cheddar. And it was a ugly, dingy little room stuck in the 90s.

That's absolutely not the case in this new Aspire lounge. There's always hot food out, and there's a decent selection of meats, cheeses, nuts, etc.

I do like the Aspire Lounge. They're still going through growing pains, though. They need to get better - substantially better - at keeping their food options properly stocked. Ditto for keeping cutlery and glassware stocked. And while their service is friendly, it's nowhere near the level of professionalism in the Centurion lounges or even the more professional airline lounges like DL.

And I agree with TravellingGypsy above: the wine served in Aspire is some pretty nasty, low end plonk. They really cheaped out here.

FlyerJ

It's an Air Canada contract lounge!?