Air Canada Star Alliance Gold Lounge Vancouver Int’l Airport

Atmosphere: 2 stars. Cold and staff won’t turn down the AC. Old lounge — not enough space during busy times. Tired facility needs updating. Peeling wall paper in both ladies and men’s bathrooms.
Drinks: 4 stars. Good drinks selection. 1 Real coffee machine. Also 2 coffee machines that put out instant coffee for the 1% of people who prefer instant!
Food: 2 stars. There is a breakfast service in morning. Poor quality pastries, muffins and croissants. Boiled eggs and some Asian soup. I think it is purposely poor so people leave the lounge. Lunch is pasta from a jar, dried out veggie tray and salad with dressing poured on top (not tossed).
Facility: 2 stars. tired, old with dark entryway and scruffy looking staff. The opposite of what a nice lounge entry should look and feel like. Did I mention the chill? Brrrr! Bring a jacket and a sweater! Sandals not recommended.
Reading materials: 2 stars. Lots of lifestyle magazines to browse for about 5 minutes. Then what. Excellent selection of local and Canadian newspapers! Not one international paper except for a Hong Kong paper. Bummer city.
Competition: the competing airline lounge is for airlines like KLM Air France, Air China and is far superior — cosy, warm, modern, well run.
If I were a frequent Air Canada first/​biz class passenger I would be really unhappy. Right now it is just a lousy layover that should have been a nice rest.