Review: United Club Chicago O’Hare International Airport- Terminal 1 Gate B18

July 19, 2018June 30, 2024by milesforplaces1 Comment

On a recent trip from Chicago, my wife and I decided to visit the United Club after the Polaris Lounge shut its doors at 9pm. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 10:45pm, so we still had over an hour to spare. Fortunately, the United Club at Terminal 1 near gate B18 was open until 10pm. United has four United Club lounges at O’Hare and the Polaris Lounge. I visited the United Club Lounge in Terminal 2 several months ago, and you can read about that here. Just remember that this lounge, like every other United Club Lounge, is not a Priority Pass lounge.

Entrance

You will have access to the lounge if you have an international premium cabin ticket on United or its Star Alliance partners or a transcontinental premium cabin ticket. If you have a day pass offered with the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card, you can also enter the lounge. Each person must have their own pass. You can also purchase a day pass for $59, but I strongly recommend not doing that. At peak times, United does reserve the right to turn away day-pass users. Since United does have four of these lounges, you wouldn’t expect crowding to be an issue at O’Hare. Given how crowded the main seating area was at 9 p.m., capacity issues may arise during peak hours. Just remember that this lounge, like every other United Club Lounge, is not a Priority Pass lounge.

Upon entering, the receptionist scanned our boarding pass and welcomed us into the lounge.

We were not in any mood to eat since we both had the full dining experience at the Polaris Lounge. Nonetheless, I checked out the offerings for the sake of the review.

Food

Even though I had no intention of eating, the buffet and food options at this lounge were very underwhelming, both in terms of quality and quantity.

The options available were more like snacking options rather than a buffet. The salad did not look appetizing, and I probably would not have eaten it if I had been hungry.

UClubBuffet — The cheese looked more appetizing, but again, I was full from having dinner just an hour earlier, so I didn’t bother helping myself.

UClubBrownies — The brownie might have been the most appetizing snack that was offered at the lounge

UClubEspressoMachine — The espresso machine offered various drinks, including lattes, mochas, and cappuccinos.

I had the latte from the espresso machine, which was surprisingly good. I confess that my main purpose in caffeinating was to induce hunger for the business class dinner on the Lufthansa flight. The fact that the latte tasted good just happened to be a bonus.

Seating

The bar area of the lounge had plenty of seats available. It may not be the case during peak hours.

The lounge has an “L” shape, and the main seating area was quite crowded at 9 p.m. The seats were very comfortable, and plug outlets were available on the side of the center table. I can only imagine how crowded this lounge would get during peak hours.

Wi-Fi speeds were pretty good, which is important for business travelers needing internet connectivity. Overall, this lounge was unimpressive, and I’d say it was a notch lower than most Priority Pass lounges I have visited. This lounge does not offer showers, does not have a ton of space, and offers subpar buffet options. I’d rate this lounge a 2.7/5. If you’re departing from a gate near B18 and do not want to walk to another United Club Lounge, I guess this is your only option. The United Club Lounge in Terminal 2 is far more spacious and has a much better ambiance. If you have the time, you should walk over to Terminal 2 and enjoy that one instead.

Airport Lounges, Europe, Reviews

Review: KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport

July 11, 2018July 2, 2024by milesforplacesLeave a Comment

While I was checking in for a recent flight from Lisbon to NYC via Amsterdam, KLM offered me a very good offer to upgrade to business class during the Lisbon to Amsterdam leg of the trip: 99 euros per person on the four-hour flight with business class lounge privileges in both Lisbon and Amsterdam. I jumped on this offer since this meant several hours of comfort in the air and on the ground. The KLM business class experience during our four-hour flight was fantastic, and I’ll share that in a separate post. We had access to KLM’s Crown Lounge, its flagship lounge, when we landed in Amsterdam. KLM has two of these lounges, and the one we visited is called Lounge 52, near the F gates and after passport control. If you just follow the sign for Airline Lounge 52, it will lead you there.

Lounge52sign — *Just follow this sign, leading you to the KLM Crown Lounge.*

If you have a flight to the U.S. or Canada, this is the one you want to go to, as you won’t have to worry about dealing with long lines to get through passport control. Even though my wife and I only had a business class ticket for the first leg of my flight and I was going to fly economy on the Amsterdam to NYC, it was sufficient to get into the lounge as KLM only requires one of the legs in business class to grant access. This lounge is not a Priority Pass lounge. It’s open to all passengers flying business class on KLM, its SkyTeam partners, or anyone flying KLM or its SkyTeam partners with status (FlyingBlue Platinum or Gold, Delta elites, etc). Once we entered, the receptionist at the desk scanned our boarding passes, and we were ready to go.

Entrance

This lounge was the largest airport lounge I had ever visited in Europe. It was easily 3-4 times larger than some of the larger ones I had been to in the U.S. Despite its size, this lounge was probably at 85% capacity when we entered. It’s a split-level lounge with a ramp to the second level.

Seating Areas

This lounge had something for everyone in terms of seating. They had areas with a variety of different lighting and seating configurations.

SeatingArea — *I was a big fan of these red lounge chairs. Nice touch by KLM*

The seating area above near the windows was undergoing renovation but this area felt more like a cafe area with a ton of natural light.

If you want to get a plate full of food and don’t want to traverse through the crowd, this is the best option for seating. It’s right near the buffet.

If you have work to get done and need to spread out, they have a perfect area for that as well.

Breakfast

Since we got to the lounge toward the latter half of breakfast and into lunch, we got to see a wide variety of items they had at the buffet.

There was a variety of breads, rolls, muffins, and pastries. I had the croissant and the raisin bread, and both were excellent. The pancakes were good, and the eggs were okay. Overall, the breakfast was very good, and they did a great job replenishing items that were running low.

Lunch

Their lunch buffet had a wide variety of options and something for everyone.

AgedCheeseSandwich — *Aged cheese sandwiches*

Salad&Hummus — *Veggies with feta and hummus*

Coleslaw&Potatoes — Cole slaw with baked potatoes. Pardon the terrible picture quality for this one. Had to rush it because of the growing line behind me.

The lunch was excellent, and since we got to it while it was hot and fresh, I’m sure that made a big difference. The pasta with the tomato cream sauce was delicious. The hummus was top-notch, and even their aged cheese sandwich, as simple as it may sound, was very good. There were many other options, but these are the items I was able to get to discretely without embarrassing myself (lol). KLM Crown Lounge did a great job with its food offerings.

SelfServeDrinks — *This is one of the two self-serve bar areas in the lounge*

The bar area was expansive, and they had fountain drinks available in addition to adult beverages. They also had an espresso machine with plenty of options to suit your taste. I had the cappuccino twice.

Other Amenities

This lounge is equipped with showers, but you have to go to the help desk and reserve a shower room in advance. This lounge also has a designated smoking room and was definitely the quietest room in the lounge. There were plenty of European plug outlets but no USB ports, so be sure to have an adapter if you’re traveling from the U.S. or Canada. Unlike the two premium lounges I visited, this one did not have private bedrooms. If you need to sleep, you can lie on the cushioned booth-style seating near the bar. I’m not sure if it’s frowned upon, but I did see several travelers catching a snooze this way.

I tested the Wi-Fi speed at this lounge, and it was far better than I expected. This is great for business travelers and anyone who wants to stream video.

Overall, this was a fantastic lounge with a lot of square footage and plenty of options for food. It can get crowded during the morning hours between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., but due to its enormous size, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a seat. If you’re traveling through Amsterdam on a business class ticket or have access via elite status and have some time to spare, check out the KLM Crown Lounge.

Airport Lounges, Europe, Reviews, Uncategorized

Review: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt International Airport

July 10, 2018June 30, 2024by milesforplaces1 Comment

As part of our award redemption using United miles for a business class ticket to Lisbon, my wife and I had access to the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge during our 6-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. At Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa has seven business-class lounges and four Senator Lounges (first-class lounges). I chose The business class lounge after passport control near A26 since this was closest to our departure gate.

Upon entering the lounge, the receptionist scanned our boarding pass at the entrance and directed us to the lounge. Since Lufthansa has seven business-class lounges, I didn’t expect there to be much of a crowd at this one. About three-quarters filled when we arrived and became less crowded as the hours went by.

Most of the crowd was fixated on the TV’s and the World Cup match that was being played. The lounge itself isn’t huge by any stretch but has enough seating and excellent amenities.

There were a few different seating areas, and much like Polaris Lounge in Chicago, this one had seating areas with different ambiances. As much as I wanted to take pictures of every single area of the lounge, I tried not to take pictures of an area if there were people who might be looking right at the camera. I wish it was a bit easier to be discrete and thorough at the same time.

The business center was being utilized by only a few people and had relatively new PC’s.

The other half of the business center was completely empty, but having chairs without back support probably convinced everyone to stay away. The wifi connectivity at this lounge was excellent, among the fastest I had experienced at any lounge. Kudos to Lufthansa for really looking out for business travelers.

Like the Polaris Lounge, this lounge also had bedrooms available upon request. My wife wanted to take a nap, so they gladly unlocked a room for her and provided her with a blanket.

I wasn’t tired enough to reserve a room for myself, but she said the beds were very comfortable, and she slept for two solid hours. This lounge also had access to showers upon request. Next up was to check out the food offerings. Usually, this is among the first things I do at a lounge. Since I had breakfast on the plane only an hour prior, I wasn’t all that hungry, and I did not want to eat for the sake of eating. So I waited a few hours until hunger struck.

The bread was bread. Not terrible, but not great.

The potato salad was decent. Their regular salad was subpar and very dry.

The noodles with cheese were surprisingly good. It might not look good from the picture above, but trust me, it was good. Taking pictures of the food near the buffet area is also where I ran into a little bit of trouble. There was a far greater selection than what I could take a picture of. However, one of the employees responsible for replenishing the buffet told me in half English and half German that I was not allowed to take pictures of the food or buffet area. I had no idea why this was the case, but rather than challenge that assertion, I just took her word for it and stopped taking pictures of that area.

The caramel pudding was heavenly. This was so good I had to have it twice.

There’s nothing like having ginger ale where you can actually taste the ginger. The lounge had plenty of drinks, a solid espresso machine, and a well-stocked bar. Again, I did not want to challenge the lady and take a picture, but take my word for it. As for the bathrooms, Lufthansa did a great job maintaining the men’s room.

The L’Occitane soap and lotion that they provided was a very nice touch. Small details like that do not go unnoticed.

Final Thoughts

. This was a fantastic lounge that checked just about every box. Solid food options, high speed Wi-Fi connectivity, enough seating, and added amenities such as bedrooms and showers. Rather than construct two or three large lounges and risk capacity issues, I appreciate how Lufthansa built 7 smaller business-class lounges to spread out the crowd. This issue will come into play for my next review, the KLM Business Class Lounge at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. As for the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge, I would rate it a 4.6/5.