Our Obsession With Airport Lounges

Our Obsession With Airport Lounges

Richard and I look forward to our summer travels all year long. We spend January to June planning and September to December reminiscing. Like many of you, we can't sleep the night before we are set to go away. We are like little kids at Christmas, excited beyond belief. When we do travel, we do it well. We strike a good balance between splurging and budgeting when necessary. Our very first year we travelled to Europe, we decided to get lounge passes at the airport. We headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge at the Toronto Aiport. We got to choose a 2, 3, or 4 hour package. We went with the 2 hour package for $40. 

The following year we had the BMO World Elite Mastercard, which gave us free access to the Plaza Premium Lounges with up to four visits a year. 

When you enter the lounge, the space is filled with lounge chairs, couches, workstations, and more. The furniture is modern, simple, and chic. The environment is fairly quiet, with businessman following up on emails or other travellers reading or chatting with their travelling partners. 

There are large washrooms with basic toiletries and showers if you wish to freshen up before (or after) your flight. You can find numerous magazines and international newspapers to read while you pass the time in an area much more relaxing than the traditional airplane terminal. Don't be afraid you will miss your flight, because the departures are live on the lounge screens and the receptionist will remind you if they do not see you checkout in time. 

There are outlets to charge your electronics and computers to use if you wish to confirm hotel reservations, read reviews, or just email your family before boarding the plane. 

You will notice a wide variety of food choices available. This variety aims to please travellers from all over the world. There are soups, salads, sandwiches, meats, rices, pastas, deserts and more. When you are visiting a Plaza Premium Lounge in other countries, you will notice that the foods available will strongly but not solely reflect that specific culture. There are often small snacks or pieces of fruit you can take with you onto the plane to ease any hunger as you wait for your in flight meals. 

Pearson International Lounge
Photo: @conciergecouple

The lounges also serve a variety of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Many lounges have a bar and bartender on sight or a self serve bar area. Cocktails, tea, coffee, wine, beer, juice, etc. are all available to you in unlimited quantities. Richard and I like to have a few drinks before we board the plane to celebrate a new journey ahead, and for Richard to calm his flying nerves. 

Top 3 reasons to visit a lounge on your next trip:

1. Drinks

2. Healthy and nutritious food choices

3. Comfort

If you tend to buy a drink and a meal at the airport you will likely spend close to $15. Yes, you could budget here, but for us the extra money is so worth it and it sets the tone for the glamorous and special trip ahead. When it comes to lounges, we splurge. 

Grand Fiesta Americana, Puerto Vallarta: Resort Review

We did it again. We took our chances on a new hotel for our Spring break vacation. Did it pay off? You bet! There were four of us who travelled together and we all deemed this hotel one of our favourite all-inclusive hotels. It was a legitimate luxury hotel that truly catered to an “adults only” crowd.

We arrived and were taken to our room on the 8^th floor. The ocean views are incredible from each room, and streaming music through the Wi-Fi allowed us to watch the sunset with music and drinks on our balcony. You were asked to make dinner reservations, but there was never a problem getting the time and restaurant we wanted. There are 3 a la carte restaurants and a buffet to choose from for dinner. Which may not seem like many, but the menus are extensive and you could eat there several times without repeating entrees.

The Mexican restaurant was delicious and offered Mexican dishes that are not “typical” Mexican foods for North Americans. It was great to try flank steak with chimichurri, Mexican fondue, and seafood stuffed poblano peppers.

The Italian restaurant was our least favourite, but a wonderful space and some choices that will please you. I would recommend not going for the traditional pastas and pizzas and aim for what they do well: seafood.

The Asian restaurant was hands down the best restaurant I have ever eaten at of any hotel. It is called Yuu, and we were not sure what to expect. We were thinking dinner would be served teppanyaki style- like so many other resorts do. We were pleasantly surprised. There was an extensive sushi menu, and the sushi was wonderful and made fresh to order as you should expect.  The Jalapeno sushi was a favourite. Rich and I have travelled through Southeast Asia so we were so excited to see that they had a page on the menu catered to some of the major cities in Asia. Under each city they had a traditional dish from that area. I have never seen anything like it. We sampled the chicken satay dish from Kuala Lumpur twice! The men in our group fell in love with the Pad Thai as well.

For lunch be sure to skip the buffet, room service, and pool service and eat at the ceveceria. Their grilled fish sandwich with fried and jalapeno aioli is fresh and delicious.

The views and pools are beautiful. We took so many pictures of the ocean with the mountains in the background. The inflatable loungers available in the pool are a nice touch. We had no problem getting loungers in the morning. There is an option to lounge on the dock beside the pool, facing the ocean which is neat.

We like to have quite a few drinks when we are away, and this hotel did not disappoint. All ingredients were fresh, no syrups slush or purees. They had any drink you can imagine and they make it with top of the line alcohol. We were introduced to the raspberry mojitos at the beach bar. The bartender there even taught me how to make a pineapple margarita using fresh pineapple chunks.

They have a martini lounge, tequila lounge, sky lounge, lobby bar, and a mojito lounge. All spaces are great to sit with friends or significant other before or after dinner. They are themed lounges and the drinks are incredible. They have a variety of tequilas infused with different fruits and flavours you can try, or you can stick to the standards. I sampled the jalapeno tequila with a splash of pineapple and it was great!

The sky lounge on the rooftop is a large bar and there are places to sit and relax. There are 2 large hot tubs on the rooftop which are open late, allowing you to enjoy the stars. There is music being played and special performers are also scheduled throughout the week.

We also like to work out in the mornings on vacation (I know... it’s not for everyone), and the gym is awesome. Not too big, not too small. It has almost everything you can need. A variety of weights, cardio machines, etc. The hotel even runs various classes in the morning!

We were lucky to get upgraded to the Governor suite. If you can splurge on it, even just for a couple of nights it is worth it. The rooms are on the top floor and I am sure you can imagine the views. The room has 2 bathrooms, dining area, living area, wet bar area, 2 balconies, and a patio with a hot tub outdoor dining table and loungers. We had our breakfast brought up to us and ate breakfast on the deck while sipping mimosas. What a wonderful way to start the day!

We had a wonderful time and although will not return again, as it is our rule to never visit the same place twice, we hope you experience the same memorable time as we did. 

Grand Fiesta Americana, Puerto Vallarta
Photo: @conciergecouple

Would You Rather Wednesdays!

Would you rather spend your time sipping cocktails and relaxing by a pool or at the beach?

The beach is a beautiful place. White sand, turquoise water, and the sound of the waves makes it a unique experience. If you are like us and live in the city, you often don’t get the chance to spend your days at the beach. Or if you live somewhere with four distinct seasons, you may not have more than a month or two to enjoy any local beach. The downfall here is:

•          You are often far from the bathrooms
•          There is no music pumping (a pro for some and a con for others)
•          You can’t just jump into the water to cool off
•          You get sand everywhere
•          Local entrepreneurs will ask you to buy just about anything

The pool on the other hand is less picturesque, but it has its benefits as well:

•                     Close to restaurants, hotel room, and bathrooms
•                     Swim up bar…need I say more?
•                   Music and activities (again, a pro for some and a con for others)
•                    When you are roasting hot, you can just jump in for a cool down.
•        No hot sand tip toeing slow beach entry 

Our choice: Richard and I are pool lovers. Maybe it’s because we have great memories of travelling with our friends in University: dancing poolside to music, participating in the silly games at resorts, and loitering at the swim up bar. Also, if you can find a resort with loungers built into the pool….you are set!

Riu Santa Fe, Cabo San Lucas
Photo: @conciergecouple

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