Review: Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto

I just lately had the prospect to go to the Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto previous to a global flight on Air Canada Signature Class.

This unique premium lounge is reserved completely for choose passengers travelling in Air Canada Signature Class. I had been eager to go to the Signature Suite ever because it opened in 2017, so I used to be delighted to lastly have the chance to test it out.

Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto – Entry

The Air Canada Signature Suite is located throughout the worldwide departures space of Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport, subsequent to Gate E77.

The second you see this gate, you’ll see a modest signal on the left pointing within the course of the lounge space.

From right here, you possibly can take the elevator to the higher degree, the place the Signature Suite is positioned subsequent to the Plaza Premium Lounge.

The Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto upholds a strict entry protocol to take care of exclusivity.

Entry is granted to passengers who’re travelling on paid enterprise class fares or these on an Aeroplan Enterprise Class (Versatile) fare, en path to Europe, Asia, or South America.

Understand that there aren’t any guesting privileges, and also you aren’t capable of entry the Signature Suite when travelling with Air Canada’s companion airways, Aeroplan Enterprise Class (Lowest) fares, eUpgrades, or operational upgrades.

Moreover, entry is granted to holders of the unique American Specific Air Canada Card, which is accessible by invitation solely, who’re travelling in any class of service. These cardholders are ready to herald one visitor. 

In my case, I had managed to snag a favourably priced enterprise class fare on Air Canada, partly for the needs of sampling the Air Canada Signature Suite: Vancouver–Toronto–Barcelona on the outbound, adopted by Amsterdam–Toronto on the return, for round $2,600 (CAD).

By way of opening hours, the Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto is accessible every day from 6:30am till 11pm.

Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto – Seating

The doorway welcomes you with slatted wood partitions, accented by smooth black parts and distinctive Air Canada particulars. Persevering with previous the reception space, a marble characteristic wall adorned with dwell crops captures your consideration on the correct.

After I entered, a employees member provided to maintain my carry-on baggage within the storage room, which appears to be an ordinary coverage on this lounge. There isn’t all an excessive amount of room to maneuver round within the hallways, and the lounge would simply turn into clogged with luggage in any other case.

Divided into roughly three separate sections, the sprawling 6,400-square-foot suite can accommodate as many as 160 passengers.

Earlier than coming into the principle lounge, a comfy round seating association awaits on the left. Designed to supply a way of seclusion for bigger teams of travellers, this area options ambient lighting, leather-based benches, and charming floral pillows.

Then, there’s a spacious eating space, that includes the lounge’s gorgeous signature marble bar.

On the far finish, an association of sales space seating and tables extends throughout two rows. As a backdrop, a ravishing nature-inspired mural by famend Ottawa artist Gavin Lynch captures your consideration.

The seating right here is the place the à la carte eating takes place, proactively set with elegant desk settings.

Nearer to the bar space, there are two extra rows accommodating extra informal two-person eating tables. Right here, a charming chandelier crafted by Toronto’s Moss & Lam takes centre stage, cleverly dividing the room lengthwise.

There’s a separate personal eating room at the back of the lounge, which is often reserved for choose passengers holding Air Canada VIP standing.

(For the reason that personal eating room was unoccupied throughout my go to, Air Canada invited me to briefly check out the VIP eating expertise throughout this go to to pattern the expertise, which I very a lot appreciated.)

An elongated passageway stretches from the lounge entrance throughout the lounge, and performs host to extra lounge seating, within the type of armchairs, recliners, and two-person seating clusters.

Furthermore, the lounge is well-connected with a mess of discreet AC and USB-An influence retailers distributed all through the lounge, together with at nearly each seat.

One draw back to the lounge is that there’s a noticeable absence of home windows and pure mild, given the area that the lounge occupies on the inside higher degree of the Terminal 1 constructing.

That is considerably counterbalanced by the very nice inside décor, characterised by an ethereal ambiance, plentiful greenery, and ample Canadian-inspired artworks.

Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto – Eating

The principle draw of the Air Canada Signature Suite is the beautiful foods and drinks choice, which certainly ranks among the many greatest in the case of North American enterprise class lounges. Certainly, I’d say that the one potential rival on this regard is perhaps American Airways’s Flagship First Eating expertise.

The Signature Suite affords a complimentary à la carte eating expertise by a full-service restaurant-style menu, curated by famend chef David Hawksworth of Hawksworth Restaurant in Vancouver.

Furthermore, a formidable choice of Champagne, wines, and cocktails is accessible, together with two premium Champagnes: Laurent Perrier Rosé and Taittinger Brut.

The choice rotates each six months, so you could anticipate finding different top-shelf Champagnes if you happen to’re visiting the Signature Suite sooner or later.

Understand that self-service drinks aren’t out there. As a substitute, you’ve got the choice to order drinks on the spectacular marble-clad bar, which boasts a choice of premium top-shelf alcohol. Alternatively, the employees can deliver your chosen drinks on to your seat.

Likewise, the à la carte eating menu can also be very spectacular, and portion sizes are cheap to encourage diners to strive a number of objects.

The menu showcases 4 appetizers and an equal variety of entrées. Throughout my go to, I sampled two appetizers together with three principal programs.

I began with the tuna tataki, which was mild and refreshing with equal hints of zest and spice to it, thanks to some sprinkles of lemon juice and pepper. Truthfully, this was most likely the very best tuna tataki I’ve had in my life!

Subsequent up was the Quebec foie gras terrine. This dish was a mouthwatering deal with that completely accompanied the Henry of Pelham dessert wine, which was a really useful pairing by the very educated in-house sommelier.

The ratio of foie gras to brioche leaned a tad extra in direction of the previous, although it’s value noting that the server kindly provided to deliver some extra servings of brioche. Nevertheless, I opted to go away area for the upcoming dishes.

Among the many principal programs, I ordered the shrimp with a crispy panko crust, the seared halibut, and the Canadian beef tenderloin, which have been all extremely scrumptious. I additionally sampled a choice of each white and crimson wines to accompany the dishes.

If I needed to choose a favorite, it’d be the seared halibut. This dish was superbly introduced, the gleaming white slice of halibut floating harmoniously within the yuzu dashi broth, and it tasted simply nearly as good because it appeared. Nevertheless, I can’t ignore the truth that the shrimp and beef tenderloin have been very a lot simply as beautiful.

To wrap up the meal, I ordered the strawberry lemonade sorbet, which completed issues off on a delightfully candy be aware.

General, you possibly can’t go unsuitable it doesn’t matter what you order within the Signature Suite, and I’d even enterprise to say that there’s an actual case to be made for filling up your urge for food right here on this lounge and skipping the onboard meal service – particularly if you happen to’re embarking on an in a single day transatlantic flight, the place this could assist you to maximize relaxation onboard.

Past the à la carte choices, there’s a small buffet with a pretty number of objects, plus after all, the bar the place you possibly can hang around.

After I visited, the choice encompassed steamed rice and dumplings, grilled greens, stew, and some soups. An assortment of cured meats, cheeses, and smoked salmon have been out there, in addition to a salad bar and a choice of desserts.

By way of the meal choice over the course of the day, breakfast is served within the Signature Suite till 10:30am, after which the à la carte and buffet choices transition to an all-day eating idea.

Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto – Different Amenities

The restrooms on the Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto characteristic six distinct particular person stalls, every with a classy mix of darkish, smooth, and gold aesthetics. Inside, there’s a single vainness with an outsized mirror and an adjoining bathroom.

Hand towels are offered within the restrooms, alongside Molton Brown toiletries.

Regrettably, the lounge doesn’t characteristic bathe services. Nevertheless, Air Canada Signature Suite passengers obtain precedence entry to showers out there within the close by Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, albeit a little bit of a distance away.

This is perhaps thought of a disadvantage of the lounge in comparison with different main enterprise class lounges all over the world, however alas, there isn’t a lot that may be finished resulting from area limitations on this a part of the airport facility.

On an identical be aware, the Signature Suite can get pretty crowded throughout its busiest hours, particularly in the course of the night financial institution of transatlantic departures, which may affect the extent of service in the course of the eating expertise. In mild of this, I’d say it’s pretty unlikely that the lounge’s relatively restrictive entry necessities might be loosened sooner or later.

Conclusion

The Air Canada Signature Suite Toronto is a top-notch enterprise class lounge that meaningfully elevates the Air Canada Signature Class expertise when departing out of the airline’s largest hub.

The standout characteristic of this lounge is undoubtedly its distinctive à la carte nice eating. Each appetizer and principal course I indulged in was beautiful, and I used to be additionally very impressed with the vary of wine and Champagne on supply.

The calibre of service additionally stood out, because it was clear that the employees on this lounge are educated to a better normal of service than what’s provided in most North American airport lounges for the extra premium clientele.

Regardless of some weak factors just like the crowdedness in the course of the evenings and the dearth of showers, there’s little doubt that the Signature Suite affords a far superior expertise than a daily Maple Leaf Lounge.

For those who’re an Air Canada frequent flyer who often books paid enterprise class flights out of Toronto, this lounge little doubt serves as a welcome retreat previous to takeoff, and a possible avenue to getting extra relaxation onboard by indulging in a higher-quality meal on the bottom as an alternative.

In the meantime, if you happen to sometimes fly on factors, I’d say that the Signature Suite is definitely value making an attempt out at the very least as soon as, and also you’d handily recoup the incremental factors required for an Aeroplan Enterprise Class (Versatile) fare by diligently working your approach by the foods and drinks menu.