United Polaris Lounge ORD

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I was on my way to Frankfurt from Chicago while flying Lufthansa First Class so I decided to stop in to the new United Polaris Lounge. Access to United’s Polaris lounges are restricted to business and first class passengers flying United Polaris or business or first class on Star Alliance partners. Lufthansa is a Star Alliance partner so I was good to go. I was greeted by an agent at the front desk and she mentioned they would call my name to be escorted to the gate by a Lufthansa First Class agent. Wow! Excellent ground service.

Entrance @ United Polaris Lounge ORD

I explored the lounge a bit before settling for the in-lounge full service restaurant. It’s a smaller area in the back of the lounge, but well worth the visit for “real” food. I tried the Seared Tuna Tataki, Shrimp & Grits and the Warm croissant bread pudding. All 3 dishes were amazing! I could’ve ordered more Seared Tuna Tatki, but I wanted to save room for the inflight meal on Lufthansa. The drink menu was extensive too so I tried one of my favorite beers, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, as well as The Paper Plane cocktail. The food and beverage service was better than the AMEX Centurion Lounge @ SFO.

There is plenty of comfy seating throughout the lounge as well as shower suites and daybeds available for use. If sit down dining service isn’t your thing there is still a buffet available.

They now have Polaris Lounges at ORD, SFO, EWR and IAH. LAX is due for later this year. You can track the progress of future lounges here.

Conclusion: United finally has lounges which are up to International First Class service standards. I’d highly recommend trying them if you get access. I can’t wait to try out the Polaris Lounge at SFO next month.