Plaza Premium Lounge (Vancouver International Departures)

Keeping with tradition of my past trip reports, tonight’s journey started with dinner at the The Globe at YVR, my favorite place at the Vancouver International Airport. The Globe at YVR is the lounge and restaurant at the Fairmont Vancouver International Airport. Its’ accessed via the Fairmont lobby and overhead walkway just above the public US Departures concourse. Always pleasant, I enjoyed a Whistler Lager beer along with a clubhouse sandwich. MrsWT73 enjoyed a vegetarian pizza. I’ve visited here several times over the years, both before and after flights and it’s always been a great visit.









It's not every day you get to drink a beer with a beaver on it. . .



We checked in using the kiosk and had our boarding passes printed. Air Canada, despite their clunky IT system on their public website actually had the ability for their contingent travelers to check the loads on the flight to determine how likely it would be that they would get on. I received my boarding pass, without a seat assignment & with SBY (Standby) printed in the seat area. Still, with only 3 hours before the flight, it was not confirmed that we had seats.









We had a long wait at security (15 minutes) thanks to several wide bodies leaving tonight for Taipei (China Airlines), Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) and Manila (Philippines Air) and only 2 security checkpoints working. The Nexus expedited screening lane was closed for the evening so we ended up waiting with the Asian Kettles.

From the checkpoint, we headed over to the Plaza Premium Lounge. Access is free for Amex Platinum charge card members. It is also the voucher lounge used by almost all other carriers, with a display on the door outside inviting members of Edwiless - Swiss Air, China Airlines, JAL, Eva Air. Only Air Canada, Cathay Pacific and British Airways run their own lounges on the International Pier in Vancouver and most of these lounges are quite small in size given the limited amount of departures.









The website advertised the property as follows:

• The newly opened flagship lounge boasts a whole new airport lounge design by renowned designer Kinney Chan of KCA.
  
  
• The new facility accommodates up to 180 guests in luxurious comfort. Spanning over 6,800 sq. ft., this lounge has multiple seating zones and a separate dining area, with interactive dining booths, serving international cuisine.
  
  
• Two food service areas provide guests with a wide array of hot and cold dishes, including our signature Hong Kong style Fish Ball noodles. Barista service is available at our beverage counter for our specialty coffees and teas. Need a private area for meetings? The lounge makes available a VIP room for rent. The business centre provides 4 computer workstations and the lounge is Wi-Fi enabled throughout. Magazines, newspapers and TV’s allow you to relax and enjoy your time in the lounge.
  
  
• The lounge has multiple computer workstations that are all Wi-Fi enabled, as well as charging stations to make sure guests can stay connected at the airport. For travellers who require a place for a nap – this lounge has 3 nap rooms available for use. Men’s and ladies washrooms and shower facilities are also available.
  
• Location
  
• International Departures (Pier D), Vancouver International Airport (directly after security screening)
  
• Opening Hours
  
• 0830 - 0100 (Sun - Fri); 0830 - 2300 (Sat)

On entry, it was pretty empty. As security took a little longer, and we only had an hour in the lounge, the host was kind enough to pro-actively charge us only one entry fee ($40 CAD) for the two of us. It was a surprisingly service oriented experience not usually experienced in an airport.

The lounge featured a nice, if not unremarkable seating area, with surprisingly the same chairs that we found in the Oman Plaza Premium Lounge from our travels earlier this year. The lounge was decorated in several contemporary shades of grey. The lounge was configured in several room areas, allowing for a private environment.













Probably the neatest feature of this lounge was the indoor terrace that overlooked the departure concourse, allowing for ambient light and open spaces.



There were also separate dining areas. No one was dining on our visit.







The food selection on our visit was pretty meager. A whole bunch of cello wrapped pastries that didn’t look all too appealing. However, this level of offering is pretty consistent for the Vancouver International Lounges, as there isn’t much frequent demand as most serve one or two flights a day. I was glad that we took an earlier dinner at the Globe at YVR, instead of coming straight here and attempting to eat dinner in the lounge.





There was also a simple wine and spirits menu list, featuring the usual well spirits. I didn’t see anyone consuming the famous Hong Kong fish Ball noodles that were advertised in the website, nor were they obvious when I walked around the lounge.





Despite the snazzy write up, it was a pretty plain lounge that was exceptionally clean and new. A bonus was that the hostess only charged us one entry fee at $40 for 1 hour in the lounge. The minimum charge was $40 for two hours. I’d probably find value in it if I stayed the full two hours. Next time, I think I’d spend a little more time at the Globe at YVR and not be in as much of a rush to get over here since there was much more food and beverage on offer at the Fairmont in a slightly nicer setting.