- Introduction: A Week Above The Atlantic
- Review: Air France-KLM Lounge Toronto Airport
- Review: Air France-KLM Lounge Toronto Airport
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Airport
- Review: Air France A350 Business Class
- Review: Air France Arrivals Lounge Paris CDG
- Review: Le Bus Direct (Paris Airport Bus)
- Review: Icare Lounge Paris Orly Airport
- Review: La Compagnie A321neo Business Class
- Review: United 767 Polaris Business Class
- Review: Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow Terminal 2
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Heathrow Terminal 2
- Review: Brussels Airlines A320 Business Class
- Review: NEW Brussels Airlines A330 Business Class
While I spent most of my long layover in Toronto at the Air France-KLM Lounge (I’m not actually sure why), I did briefly stop by the Plaza Premium Lounge located right across the hall, as I figured I might as well review it.
In this post:
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Location
Plaza Premium actually has seven locations at Toronto Pearson Airport, if I’m counting right. They have three in Terminal 1 and four in Terminal 3.
The reason they have so many is because you have separate areas for domestic passengers, transborder passengers, and international passengers. So this time around I’ll only be reviewing one of the international Plaza Premium locations.
This one was located near gate C33 in Terminal 3. It’s one level up from the concourse, right across from the Air France-KLM Lounge.
Plaza Premium Lounge exterior Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Hours
This lounge is open daily from 4:30AM until 1:30AM. Yow, those are quite some hours.
How To Access Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto
Several airlines use the Plaza Premium Lounge as their contract lounge, though in addition to that you can access the lounge through Priority Pass — that’s how I was visiting.
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Review
The Plaza Premium Lounge was rather small when I visited, though based on looking at the Priority Pass website it appears that the lounge is currently being renovated, so I’m guessing it will be expanded soon.
Furthermore, I should note that there was an entrance to another Plaza Premium Lounge near this one, though it was closed when I first arrived, and only opened later in the evening when I was headed to the gate. Based on the signage it appeared that lounge was used for British Airways passengers.
So I don’t know exactly what is going on at the moment, but I’ll share my experience.
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Seating
The current Plaza Premium Lounge setup was small, though I liked the design. Near the entrance was an area with a bunch of rows with about five seats each.
Plaza Premium Lounge seating Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge seating Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge seating Toronto Airport
Then further into the lounge was a dining area with over a dozen tables, seating two to four people each.
Plaza Premium Lounge dining area Toronto Airport
There were also a variety of reading materials.
Plaza Premium Lounge magazines & newspapers Toronto Airport
The real downside to this lounge is that it lacks any natural light or views, as it has no windows.
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Food & Drinks
Near the first sitting area was a small self serve buffet with a soda fountain, a juice machine, some soup, snack mix, and dessert and yogurt in a fridge.
Plaza Premium Lounge buffet Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge buffet Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge buffet Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge drinks Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge dessert Toronto Airport
Then the rest of the food selection was along the dining area, and it looked pretty good overall.
Plaza Premium Lounge buffet Toronto Airport
They had barista-made drinks, which scores a lot of points in my book.
Plaza Premium Lounge coffee machine Toronto Airport
They had seven hot self serve dishes, which looked reasonably good.
Plaza Premium Lounge food Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge food Toronto Airport
Then they also had Vietnamese-style beef ball pho, as well as a variety of pastries.
Plaza Premium Lounge food Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge food Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Bathroom & Shower
The bathrooms were in the very back of the lounge, and there was a single stall and urinal in the mens bathroom.
Plaza Premium Lounge bathrooms Toronto Airport
Then there was a restroom in the back that doubled as a shower room.
Plaza Premium Lounge shower room Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge shower room Toronto Airport
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto Bottom Line
All things considered I thought the Plaza Premium Lounge was pretty good, and I think this is only a portion of the overall lounge. The decor was nice and the food and drink selection was pretty good.
I would have stayed here longer, but as someone who is solar powered, I liked that the Air France-KLM Lounge had natural light, which kept me productive.
I’ll be flying out of Toronto again soon on British Airways, and I believe they use the other nearby Plaza Premium Lounge, so I look forward to checking that out.
If you’ve visited a Plaza Premium Lounge at Pearson Airport, what was your experience like?
Visited the PPL transborder lounge at terminal 1 Pearson Toronto
This lounge is terrible
Stay away as it will ruin your travel day
Small dirty hot over crowded dark etc etc
Nothing you want to experience
Why offer this American Express
That is the lounge that I've always used when traveling BA. Only difference is that they rearrange the dining area tables a bit to create a dedicated First/Emerald zone for a la carte dining, but it's definitely the same space.
Has BA moved to the nicer Plaza Premium space there - does anyone know what's going on?
The plaza premium lounge in T3 (right near the admirals club) used to do made to order eggs, then they cut that earlier this year.
Looks much nicer and with more extensive food offerings than their Lounge at SIN Changi Terminal 1 which I visited both in January and March this year.
All the PPL's in Terminal 1 are AWFUL...need full renovations including expansion for seating.
Food and beverage (including alcoholic) selection is very limited.
I visited 7 PPL's over the past 5 months at MAD, ATH, FRA, and FCO and found all of them all very poor in terms of overall offerings, seating availability, comfort and customer service.
T3 has three plaza lounges in that area, the small one reviewed, one that seems to always be for BA, and around the corner (with windows). I've gotten into the non BA ones with priority pass/amex platinum. Was just there last week, and regrettably used the AF/KLM lounge out of curiosity.
Based on your photos, I'd guess that this lounge was already renovated. T3 has been undergoing extensive renos, and compared to my last visit to a PPL at Pearson T3 (the domestic one), this looks a heck of a lot more modern.
It's also worth noting that you can't choose which PPL you visit, because of the way Canadian airports with US pre-clearance are set up - there's three in each terminal in both YVR...
Based on your photos, I'd guess that this lounge was already renovated. T3 has been undergoing extensive renos, and compared to my last visit to a PPL at Pearson T3 (the domestic one), this looks a heck of a lot more modern.
It's also worth noting that you can't choose which PPL you visit, because of the way Canadian airports with US pre-clearance are set up - there's three in each terminal in both YVR and YYZ for the same reason - domestic, international, and transborder (US) are each separate secure areas based on your destination. As a general rule, the domestic/transborder lounges are usually a lot crummier than their international counterparts.
@joshua sturm - no, BA does not have a Terraces/Galleries lounge at YYZ. Plaza Premium has two sections in YYZ - one for priority pass and the other section down at the end of the hall past the AF/KLM lounge as a dedicated contract lounge for different airlines. BA uses that lounge for their customers in the evening then at late night this same space is used for CX. The contract lounge section is MUCH...
@joshua sturm - no, BA does not have a Terraces/Galleries lounge at YYZ. Plaza Premium has two sections in YYZ - one for priority pass and the other section down at the end of the hall past the AF/KLM lounge as a dedicated contract lounge for different airlines. BA uses that lounge for their customers in the evening then at late night this same space is used for CX. The contract lounge section is MUCH nicer ambiance-wise with windows. Food/beverages are the same.
Regarding the transborder Plaza Premium lounges I agree with everyone - they are awful. Both of them (T1 and T3) and the one in T3 is even smaller than the one in T1.
You can enter Plaza Premium Lounges with just an AMEX Platinum. I wonder if AMEX has a lower negotiated rate paying the lounge directly than paying Priority Pass.
I checked out the T1 transborder Plaza Premium lounge at YYZ last month, and boy was it disappointing. It was the tiniest space I've ever seen and jampacked with people. The food selection looked significantly better than AC's options, but I ended up going into the AC lounge because at least there was a place to sit.
Why can't Amex / Amex-affiliated lounges address this insane crowding issue?
This T3 lounge looks like a bit better seating wise.
BA ha their own lounge in YYZ