We’re heading to Europe for Thanksgiving this year. We’ve done this for nearly a decade and really love the little tradition. This time we’re connecting in Chicago to Lufthansa in Business Class so we got a chance to check out the the United Polaris Lounge. The Polaris Lounge is United’s most premium lounge offering that’s exclusively for Polaris and Business Class passengers. We get to use it because of our onward travel in Lufthansa Business Class.
Bottom Line: The United Polaris Lounge at ORD is one of the best lounges in the US. The Polaris Lounge has great food, amazing service, solid drinks, and even a full restaurant. The Polaris Lounge makes other domestic lounges look like a Chuck E Cheese. The only downside is the Polaris Lounge closes somewhat early.
United Polaris Lounge ORD Location
The United Polaris Lounge at ORD is located in Terminal 1 Concourse C. It’s near the middle of the Concourse at gate 18. It’s a slightly understand entrance, tucked down a little cove.
United Polaris Lounge Access Rules
United’s rules for access to the Polaris Lounge are more strict than the more common United Club. The full list of access requirements can be found on the United Website Here. We gained access because we are flying with Lufthansa in Business Class on an international flight. Lufthansa is a Star Alliance partner of United, this gives each of us traveling access, but no guests.
There are no memberships or credit cards that allow passengers access to the Polaris Lounge. It’s exclusively for people flying in Business or First Class on long haul flights.
United Polaris Lounge Directory
The Polaris Lounge here at ORD is very large and broken up into a few different section. The biggest areas are the seating area, dining room, bar, and buffet.
United Polaris Lounge Buffet
The Polaris Lounge has an amazing buffet. Seen here are some cold items like charcuterie, cheeses, and sandwiches.
There’s a salad bar with a few different types of lettuces, plenty of toppings, and dressings. One thing to point out is how clean and well stocked everything is.
In the middle of the buffet room is the hot selection. There were several options that rotate. When I visited, there was a crusted chicken, rice, mushrooms, cauliflower and greenbeans, finally soup.
There were a few deserts along with soft drinks in a cold case.
On the opposite wall there was coffee, tea, and then more self service drinks.
I made myself a small plate. We’re going to get a meal on our next flight so I didn’t want to eat too much. The spicy green beans and cauliflower were my favorite part. The Polaris Lounge does have a full made to order dining room, we skipped that as it’s late and we didn’t want to overeat.
United Polaris Lounge Bar
In the center of the Polaris Lounge is the bar. They do have a few more options than a standard lounge bar would have, but nothing too excessive. Just their well liquor is a little bit better. They did also have a few local beers on draft, I had an IPA.
United Polaris Lounge Seating
When you first enter the bar you’ll look down a corridor that has cubical like seats. Behind me is the entrance. To the left are the bathrooms. The bar is down on the left and the buffet the right. At the very end is the bulk of the seating area along the windows.
When we were looking around for a place to sit, one of the lounge attendants came around and helped us find a nice place to sit. He then brought us some water bottles. The service here is fantastic.
If you’re a solo traveler, I think these little sitting cubicles would be perfect. They have a nice comfy chair, side table, power, and a coat rack. It’s also nice and private.
This area has seating at the bar itself but then also bistro tables. The buffet is behind me.
Along the windows is more seating. This is less unique and more what you’d find in any airport lounge. This is where Val and I settled because I like to watch out the window.
You can see the space pretty well from this picture. The bar is to the left and the buffet is behind me. At the very end of the hall is the dinning room. We were here around closing time and didn’t want a full meal.
Near each seat is an outlet. Many of them are these lamps with USB and 110v power built in.
United Polaris Lounge ORD View
There’s a nice view outside to the planes from the Polaris Lounge. Not from the whole lounge, but any of the seats near the window will have a good place to watch some planes.
United Polaris Lounge ORD Bathrooms
Near the entrance there’s a hallway with the bathrooms. The Polaris Lounge uses non-gendered individual bathrooms.
Each bathroom is very nice and well kept. The entire lounge was extremely clean.
United Polaris Lounge Final Thoughts
The Polaris Lounge is probably the best lounge offering by any of the US airlines. The service is just outstanding. The buffet is top notch. All of the seating is clean and comfortable. While I didn’t get a chance to try the cooked to order dining, it is an option.
While the access to the Polaris Lounge is much more strict than other airline lounges, that means that it’s not crowded and extremely pleasant. I don’t like that the lounge closes very early. Our departure flight to Frankfurt is at 10:30pm, but the Polaris Lounge closes at 9. I feel they should extend the hours instead of shuffling everyone out and into a generic United Club.
I cannot wait until I can visit a Polaris Lounge again. It really is that good.
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