Review: Admirals Club Toronto Airport

If THOSE are the "premium" by the glass selections for wine, I shudder to know what the house wines are. In some cases they are charging at or more for a glass than would be the price of the whole bottle!!

The design is nice, but in my experience, it is almost impossible to find a seat in there not at 5:00 am.

I love the new design of the Admirals Clubs, but I wish they'd put more effort and funding into better food selections. I like the chic new feel to the seating areas, but ultimately a chair is a chair and these new ones will get worn out pretty quickly. The food, though, can make or break a club. I'd gladly take slightly shabbier furniture and an updated, expanded, and rotating food selection over their current offerings. I mean, I love three-bean salad and hummus as much as the next complainer, but they really need to up their game. I'm even willing to transit landside from the Centurion Lounge at SFO to the AA gates just for the much improved experience. This sort of form over substance caused me to get rid of my AA-branded card with club access. Just wasn't worth it anymore, even with the overcrowding that happens at the Centurion Lounge.

Pay for stuff in a lounge? That is absurd!!!!

Lucky, I agree with your comment about public TVs in airline lounges being a detraction. I view the lounge as an oasis amid the turmoil of the terminal. I find the blaring public TVs to be an intrusion. I don't understand why they couldn't keep them silent and have audio available by Bluetooth or wired connection-- most everyone will be traveling with some sort of headset or earphones.

I think the lounge at IAH is a bit smaller. Hard for two people to walk past each other in some sections.

That lounge was terrible a few years ago. It looks a little better now, but not great.

At first I thought the wine prices were insane, but then I realized this is (a) Canada and (b) prices are CD$. Every time I go to costco I think of those horrible days of having to shop at lcbo.

@Andy 11235

America can have you. We prefer nice people.

Based on what has happened to the Amex Centurion Lounges - which have become packed spaces full of ravenous people, I can blame AA, UA, or DL for not offering more food in their primarly lounges. Given the huge number of travelers who have access, they would become even more overcrowded and unruly.

I still think it's weird to charge for alco drinks. Or rather, for some or not others.

The lounges of foreign airlines all provide free alco drinks and, in many cases, you help yourself

Looks nice enough - the same decor you see in all of the refreshed Admirals Clubs, so at least AA is being consistent.

It's still puzzling to me, however, that stations like YYZ have a club while other large-ish outstations with healthy business traffic (MSP, SJC, SEA, DTW) do not. Granted, Seattle has an agreement with Alaska that allows you into their miserable clubs, but at the other stations you're out of luck. SJC and DTW had clubs at one point but lost them in the Admirals Club culls of the 2000s. The new clubs in Houston and Orlando were great to see, but there are still a few big holes.

awww, I came in at 12. should of worked in the morning to see you lucky! next time I guess!

This lounge wad a regular part of my life my life as I was Toronto based for a US company in 1997. Fast forward twenty years and it is still the smallest Admirals Club. This little effort is meager at best. Lucky I never know what's going to impress you. You whine about tiny details yet an actually tiny lounge you seem to give a pass. Ahem.

I constantly wonder why American does not elect to offer a monthly payment option like Delta. Seems like this subscription style of membership would appeal to tons of people. Anybody have thoughts or comments on this?

Horrid choice of wines ... anf to have the nerve to charge for such plonk! Last time I looked MJ Malbec was about $10 or less a bottle in BC. The Apothic is undrinkable and about $12 or less.

Unfortunately AClub suck!

For what it is, the YYZ Admirals Club seems adequate, if nothing special. But those prices for food and beverages are insane. $14 a GLASS for middle of the road wine? $4 for sparkling water? $9 for pretzels? $13 for a sandwich and chips? In a VIP lounge? SERIOUSLY?

Who would actually pay those prices for any of that? Given the alternative of what is offered on a complimentary basis, and what other YYZ lounges, like Air Canada's Maple Leaf lounges, offer valued VIP travelers, the food-for-purchase options do nothing but make AA look very chintzy.

Smaller than MCO? Is that even possible?

There was me thinking the AC by gate 4 (iirc) on councourse A at PHL was small. How do they compare?

This is a tiny lounge , but dramatically better than the old one downstairs. This pier at Pearson T3, post US customs, only services AA, DL and WestJet transborder flights, plus the odd charter, so that's not a lot of pax. There aren't any large aircraft using this pier...the days of AA operating MD11s into Toronto are ancient history...and if I'm right the largest machine AA operates here is an A319 to LAX and MIA. Maybe a 737. So yes, the lounge is small, and it does fill up, but in fairness there's not a lot of call for more capacity. As far as pricing on liquor and wine goes, I've never paid for anything and have always found the house selections just fine.

Good afternoon, We are flying with British Airways YYZ to LHR (Business Class) in June.
I think this gives us the choice of using the Admirals Lounge (Oneworld) or Premium Plaza Lounge. Any preferences?

Thanks.

Since this review the windows have been Frosties leaving no view and little natural light which is a shame.