When United Airways debuted its first Polaris lounge at Chicago O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) in 2016, it didn’t simply elevate the bar; it reinvented what a business-class lounge might be. On the time, it was the primary lounge designed completely for long-haul business-class vacationers by any U.S. airline (since then, Delta Air Strains has unveiled its Delta One idea, and American Airways launched its Flagship lounges iteration). Now, after a sweeping renovation, the unique Polaris lounge is again—sleeker and extra spacious than earlier than.
Double the footprint of its predecessor, the sprawling 25,000-square-foot area is giant sufficient to accommodate as much as 350 visitors and affords elevated seated eating, a devoted wellness space, and a speakeasy-style bar with premium wine and champagne.
United has been bullish about opening new lounges and revamping older ones lately. The airline has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for 9 airport lounge websites since 2022.
Later this 12 months, United will open a brand new eating room within the United Polaris Lounge at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR), and a renovated and expanded United Membership lounge is coming to Denver’s B West Terminal (a sister lounge to the beforehand renovated and expanded Membership lounge within the B East Terminal). In 2026, United plans to open a brand new United Membership lounge in San Francisco and its largest-ever United Membership area in Houston.
Right here’s what it’s like contained in the refreshed United Polaris Lounge at Chicago O’Hare Worldwide Airport.
Food and drinks
Don’t replenish on stroopwafels or different in-flight snacks earlier than visiting the brand new Polaris lounge—the eating choices are price coming in hungry for.
Vacationers with a brief layover could need to take into account hitting the self-service buffet, the place they are going to discover a mixture of cold and warm dishes, starting from mezzes and salads to entrees like miso-glazed salmon and balsamic braised rooster.
Nevertheless, for these with a while to kill, discover a spot within the 50-seat eating room, the place meals are ordered à la carte from a server. The breakfast menu (served till 11 a.m.) features a dill and smoked salmon flatbread, lemon raspberry mascarpone pancakes, or a made-to-order omelet, amongst different dishes. Lunch and dinner share a menu, which is served as a three-course affair. Suppose a cheese plate or a prosciutto parmigiano crostini as a starter; a shrimp, scallop, and spring vegetable risotto or a beef brief rib burger with Wisconsin brick cheese as an entree; and a chocolate chip skillet cookie or an Aperol Spritz Cake with prosecco-poached rhubarb for dessert.
The lounge boasts two full-service bars. Although the wine and beer lists largely overlap, every bar options its personal distinct cocktail menu. The principle bar, situated in the identical spot it was earlier than, affords a wide array of spirits and signature drinks, together with its Chicago-style Bloody Mary, which mixes giardiniera-infused vodka with ancho reyes chili liqueur, tomato, lemon, lime, Worcestershire, soy sauce, miso, horseradish, celery salt, dijon mustard, cilantro, and Tabasco sauce. There are additionally some artistic nonalcoholic cocktails accessible, together with The Ruth Legislation, a tackle an Aperol Spritz, with Mionetto alcohol-free prosecco, Giffard Aperitif Syrup, strawberry, and lemon.
The opposite watering gap has extra of a speakeasy vibe and affords top-tier bubbles, corresponding to Laurent-Perrier La Cuvee Brut, in addition to a smaller checklist of Chicago-inspired cocktails, together with the Second Metropolis Bitter, a mixture of Rittenhouse rye, Malort, lemon, egg white, and Lingua Franca pinot noir.
Whereas the wine checklist calls upon international vintners, the beer checklist skews native. Presently, there are brews from Chicago-based outfits like Dovetail Brewery, Proper Bee Cider, and Maplewood Brewery.
Design and facilities
Whereas it’s turn into more and more common for airport lounges to faucet native artists to create work, collages, print images, and sculptures for his or her areas (this lounge showcases works from 9 Chicagoland artists, for instance), utilizing an area dinnerware and decor firm isn’t as widespread. For the Polaris lounge at O’Hare, United labored with Chicago-based Crate & Barrel for all the pieces from the glassware and plates to the furnishings and salt and pepper shakers.
The expanded lounge additionally incorporates a wellness and leisure wing, with zero-gravity chairs, marble-clad bathe suites, and quite a lot of Therabody massagers, together with the RecoveryAir JetBoots (a compression boot designed for muscle restoration and circulation enhancement). One other perk for enterprise vacationers is the cellphone rooms, which give a non-public, quiet space to make calls or end a undertaking earlier than their flight. Nevertheless, arguably one of the best amenity for aviation nerds is the view of the runway.
The best way to entry the United Polaris Lounge at Chicago O’Hare Worldwide Airport
The United Polaris Lounge at Chicago O’Hare is situated in Terminal 1 close to gate C18. It’s open day by day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Entry is pretty restrictive: Solely these flying in a United Polaris business-class cabin or an equal (or increased) class of service on a Star Alliance associate airline can enter. These flying United enterprise, however not Polaris, do not need entry, and visitors aren’t allowed except you’re flying firstclass on a associate airline. Neither a United Membership membership nor any stage of elite standing in United’s MileagePlus program grants entry.