Air Canada Maple Leaf London Heathrow Lounge
The London Heathrow Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is a welcome respite if you're at Terminal 2 heading over the Atlantic. There is a dedicated bar, some OK, if limited catering, a decent work room, TV rooms, and great views over the apron.
True, there are better lounges at Heathrow, but it is a welcome mix among the five Star Alliance lounges at LHR T2. However, the Singapore Airlines lounge next door offers improved catering. And ones with better bars, like United. The two Lufthansa lounges also aren't as worn and tired, unlike Air Canada's offering where all the seats and carpet are showing the impact of ten years of wear.
However, if you can visit at the quiet time, there are plenty of seats, a good runway view, and an upmarket vibe, making the London Heathrow Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge a useful pitstop.
London Heathrow Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge review
The Air Canada Maple Leaf London Heathrow Lounge is one of the furthest lounges from check in at Terminal Two. Indeed, many passengers stop off at the Lufthansa lounge before making the trek to Canada. Almost literally. It is some walk. From check-in and through security, you have to walk through the main part of LHR Terminal 2, down a level, down the escalators to the underground tunnel to T2B, up into the satellite, to the top level, along past Boots, and up in the escalator. At the top there is a small corridor, with the reception desk at the far end, opposite the Singapore Airlines lounge.
You'll need a drink after that, so as soon as you enter, and admire the large wooden calved maple leaf, turn left to the bar. And it's some bar, well worth the walk, with a bar staff who will happily mix cocktails for you. Alas, that is also the downside, as you have to wait for them to get a drink. There is no self-service, if you want a Molson Canadian beer.
Also in here, is the main food area, and dining chairs too if you want to stay in the gloom: alas, this part of the lounge has no windows. Tables are at a premium, and you may have to perch on the middle island bench.
If you carry on walking anti-clockwise, and there is a corridor behind the maple leaf, which opens up to reveal it is actually the main computer room. There are shelves of newspaper and magazines here too, and a couple of computers.
At the far end is the most cosy seat in the lounge, with a great window view, and nice and enclosed. It is rare to find it unoccupied.
As you carry on round, you then get to the main - indeed, the central - part of the lounge, and lovely bright and clean it looks, even if rather hygienic and sterile.
Great floor to ceiling windows illuminate the space, which also has a vast amount of space - 750 square yards no less - all decked out with Air Canada's signature light beige swivel seats. They are incredibly uncomfortable to sit on for a long time, and are also very worn. The seats by the window are far better.
Long and thin, the lounge has a small raised area accessed via a ramp, and vast floor to ceiling windows.
A large model Air Canada Boeing 777 dominates the lounge, except in winter when it is moved into the computer room.
Right at the end of the lounge are some strange triangular benches, and also some reclining seats, which offer a great view of the runway.
Inland for here, and in the dark, is a quiet zone with reclining pods which have small Freeview TV screens, USB ports and Sony noise-cancelling headsets.
The lounge is a vast improvement on Air Canada's old lounge which closed in 2003, and since then Air Canada have shared space with SAS. SAS passengers are now, in turn, given access to the new Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge at Terminal 2, but most head to the Lufthansa lounge. With a United and Singapore Airlines lounge too, you could spend all day at T2 lounge hopping.
Food
There is a large pre-flight dining area including a cooking station.Meals are prepared on request - just ask the barman for a menu. There are usually three or four hot dishes on offer. In the morning of course there are Canadian Waffles. However by lunchtime this has moved onto a dish of the month service. Paninis dominate.
Alternately, walk up to the bistro dining area where there are hot and cold dishes. The salad is good, with four types of ham, and three bowls of salad.
Don't miss out on the coleslaw which seems a cut above the rest. However, cheese is so-so. Also in the fridge are trays of sandwiches. The olives in here are good too.
Further along are four hot tubs. Two contain meat dishes - such as beef or chicken - and two have pasta and rice.
Bar
The bar has - as you would expect - Coors Canadian beer on draft, plus Carling and Guinness and also oddly Cobra lager. This goes well with an in-lounge curry.There is wine behind the bar too, with two types of red and white wine, plus a decent sparkling.
Spirits are, in contrast, rather poor. However the bar staff will mix up cocktails on demand.
There are two bar stools at the bar, where you can watch the huge TV behind the bar if you really want to, but before the evening flights this area gets packed, and bar service can be slow. The real problem is - there is no self-serve bar. You need to stay in the Lufthansa lounge for that.
Business Facilities
There is a small business centre at the far end of the lounge, in the strange oval room, with a couple of old desktop PCs, and a colour laser printer which doubles as a photocopier.
There is free wifi in the lounge, which is fast if not spectacular.
There is a curved bench outside the business centre, which used to be the PlayStation area: now it is overflow workspace.
There is a magazine rack here too, which unusually for a Heathrow lounge is very comprehensive. Not only are the Canadian daily papers here, but also a fair few magazines you might actually want to read.
Bathrooms
There are showers, which the Canuck carrier describes as 'spa-inspired'. This means they have large rain-shower heads.The actually bathrooms themselves are OK, if rather sterile.
Access
Access is given to SAS and Air Canada passengers in Business Class, and Air Canada Altitude Super Elite 100K, Elite 75K and Elite 50K members.
Additional guests may accompany qualifying passengers for London Heathrow Departures lounge cost is 25£ (GBP) regardless of how long you spend in the lounge.
Naturally Star Alliance Gold gets access, but expect your credentials to be carefully checked.
Video: Air Canada Lounge
Small TV rooms
Poor catering