During my quick trip to Japan & Korea, I had the chance to check out the SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport, prior to my Korean Air Boeing 787-10 business class flight to Seoul Incheon. The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver is what most SkyTeam premium passengers will visit, and it’s also open to Priority Pass members.
On the plus side, the lounge has a fairly decent selection of food and drinks. The other good news is that since I visited, my single biggest gripe about this lounge has apparently been resolved. The furniture in the lounge was completely tattered, but it’s my understand that this has changed in recent weeks.
So I wouldn’t arrive early to use this lounge, but it’s a perfectly okay facility, and better than the terminal.
In this post:
SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver location
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport is located in the international portion of the terminal, so it’s not accessible if you’re traveling domestically, or on a transborder flight (to the United States).
The lounge is located near gate 53, so after clearing security, just follow the signage in the direction of that gate.
Once near gate 53, you should see the entrance to the SkyTeam Lounge on the left. The reception desk is on the terminal level, while the rest of the lounge is one level up.
SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver hours
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport is open 24/7, so you never have to worry about if the lounge is open or not. I’m kind of surprised by those hours, since there are some hours in the early morning where there are virtually no flights. But I guess the lounge operator figures that it’s almost more work to just close the lounge for a few hours, rather than keeping it open with a skeleton crew.
SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver entry requirements
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport follows standard SkyTeam lounge access rules, so it’s open to SkyTeam business class passengers and SkyTeam Elite Plus travelers.
On top of that, the lounge also belongs to Priority Pass, and there’s no requirement to be flying a SkyTeam airline if using the lounge with this method. Priority Pass guests can visit the lounge for a period of up to four hours.
SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver seating & layout
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport is around 5,600 square feet (528 square meters), with seating for 126 guests. So it’s not a huge lounge, and during peak periods, expect for it to be crowded. The entire lounge is one level above the terminal, and it’s “open air,” so you’ll hear some noise from the terminal.
The lounge has a bit of an awkward layout, which isn’t a surprise, given where it’s located. As you enter the lounge, there’s first a space with some reading materials, and then around the corner is the rest of the lounge.
First there’s a little space with a communal table and half a dozen workstations, which is probably the most practical place to work from, as there’s also easy charging.
The lounge then has a few rows of seats intended for lounging, facing one another, with partitions between each pair of rows. The bar is also in this area, but I’ll talk more about that in the below section, about the food and beverage selection.
There’s then a long, narrow space with rows of seats on each side, which leads to the lounge’s main dining area.
The dining area consists mainly of high-top seats along counters. The padding in these seats sucks, frankly, and they’re super uncomfortable, but I guess it’s an efficient way to add a lot of functional seating capacity.
Also in this area are a handful of dining tables, which tend to be the first lounge seating that gets snagged up.
That’s the extent of the lounge — as you can see, there’s not a whole lot to it. There aren’t charging ports throughout the lounge, so if you need to charge your electronics, pick your seats carefully.
During my visit, what stood out to me the most was how horribly the furniture was maintained, as so much of it was falling apart. That being said, it’s my understanding that this has been fixed in recent weeks, so that’s great.
SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver food & drinks
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver has a self-serve buffet, a noodle bar, and a (sort of) staffed bar. The main food area and noodle bar are in the very back of the lounge.
I visited toward the end of the breakfast service and the beginning of the lunch service, though the only thing that changed substantially was the hot dishes. Food included cookies and chips, cereal, yogurt, finger sandwiches and wraps, salads, and oatmeal.
For breakfast there were scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and tater tots, and then for lunch there was ravioli, chicken, and stir fried vegetables.
At the buffet there were cans of soft drinks, beer, a coffee machine, and some tea.
Then there was also the noodle bar, open daily from 11AM until 11:30PM.
You can find the noodle bar options below.
I don’t eat pork, and the employee confirmed all the options had pork, though she was able to make me one that was vegetarian, which was much appreciated.
Then back near the entrance was the bar, which was staffed. This isn’t a “true” bar, in the sense that they’re not going to make you fancy cocktails. Yes, they’ll prepare you a gin and tonic, but don’t expect a negroni or dirty martini. I assume the bar is staffed to avoid over consumption, or something.
The selection was actually quite decent for a Priority Pass lounge, with a large number of liquor and wine options.
SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver bathrooms & showers
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport bathrooms are in the very back of the lounge. I very much liked how there was some art in this area, depicting the various SkyTeam member airlines.
The men’s room was clean, and had three sinks, three urinals, and two stalls.
The lounge also has two shower suites, which are clean and functional, without being overly luxurious. Each shower room also has a toilet and sink.
Bottom line
The SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver Airport isn’t particularly big, and has an awkward layout, with seating that isn’t that comfortable. That being said, the lounge has a decent selection of food (including a noodle bar), and a pretty good selection of drinks, so it’s not a bad place to kill some time. The staff were also friendly across the board.
I’m happy to see that the horrible condition of the furniture has been addressed, as that situation was seriously embarrassing.
What’s your take on the SkyTeam Lounge Vancouver?
Definitely one of the best PP lounges in N. America.
Here before ORD comes to bash on SkyTeam
He's literally a United Tim Dunn.
Don't worry, Icarus is here to defend SkyTeam's honor.
It's kind of amusing how the SkyTeam member art display appears to just have had the Aeroflot sign removed hastily.
You’ve rehashed the same review, however the lounge was completely renovated last month
Which he mentions multiple times.
He hasn’t. All he did was upload exactly the same story with identical pictures, and just added the furniture may have been replaced, twice.
What he didn’t do is say that the entire lounge was completely refurbished.
You’re welcome.
Which most of us with basic reading comprehension skills understood. And also not that the furniture "may have" been replaced, but that is was replaced.
You're welcome as well.