Access
On the way back from the beautiful Maldives last November, I had the opportunity to visit the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport during my short layover.
Access to this lounge is complimentary for Air Canada passengers travelling in business class so I was able to enter for free. You are also granted complimentary access if you are flying first or business class on a Star Alliance Airline. For example, passengers in a premium cabin on United Airlines can access the lounge with their boarding pass. You can review their full policy here. The Maple Leaf Lounge is located in Terminal 2B at London Heathrow, next to the Singapore Airlines Lounge. Follow the signs for the Lounge and take the elevator.
They will quickly check your boarding pass at reception and allow you in. If you are planning to shower (more on that below), ask for the key right away while you are at reception.
Seating
The lounge featured plenty of seating with a view of the planes on the tarmac. It felt very spacious with comfortable seats. Some sections are better suited for working on your laptop, however I did not manage to grab a photo of the desk areas. At the seats were outlets to charge your electronic devices.
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Food and Drinks
The food at the lounge was the standard buffet offering that's common in Airport Lounges. There was a selection of hot meals, salads, pasta dishes and for dessert, there were some cookies and sweets. There is an island behind the buffet where you could sit to enjoy your meal, although the main seating area with the couches felt more comfortable.
Towards the left of the buffet, there is a full service bar along with a self serve section next to it. At the bar, you have the option of ordering mixed drinks and cocktails from the bartenders. Some beers were available on tap at the self serve bar as well. Next to the self serve bar were coffee machines where you could make yourself espresso based drinks like cappuccinos. There was also a soda fountain.
Showers
One of the things I loved most about this lounge was that there are several showers available. I was really looking forward to this after my long haul flight from Mumbai to London. It's great to be able to freshen up during a layover, ready for the next part of the journey.
To access the shower, you'll need to ask for the key at reception since the showers are cleaned after each use. You will also be handed two door signs to indicate when the shower is occupied and when you are done. Towels and toiletries are complimentary.
Overall, this was a decent lounge to kill a few hours during a layover. The shower followed by a hot meal and cappuccino helped make this layover a very pleasant break from the crowds at Heathrow Airport. The Maple Leaf Lounges by Air Canada are decent but I think Westjet is going to give them a run for their money after the launch of their latest Elevation Lounge that offered a la carte dining!
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