On a recent trip to Portugal, my wife and I had the privilege of visiting the Polaris Lounge in Chicago. The lounge was unlike any other airline premium airport lounge we had ever visited in the United States. Before United launched Polaris Lounges in the U.S., American carriers did not have a product that could compete with the business-class lounges of Qatar Airlines, Etihad, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, etc. United has expanded this product to San Francisco, Newark, Houston, Los Angeles, and Washington Dulles. Many travel experts and bloggers consider Polaris Lounges among the best airport lounges in the U.S.

To gain access, you must have a business class or first class ticket on United Airlines or any Star Alliance partners (Turkish, ANA, Lufthansa, Singapore, etc) In addition, you must be on an international long-haul flight that departs from Chicago O’Hare (or SFO, EWR, and HOU to access the Polaris Lounge in those cities. A premium cabin flight to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America will not allow you access to the lounge. If you have a first-class or business-class ticket to London and are connecting in Newark, you won’t have access in Chicago, but you would in Newark. Chicago must be your international departure point to access the Polaris lounge at O’Hare. I booked a business class ticket on Lufthansa to Lisbon, Portugal, using United miles, and thus, I had access to the Polaris Lounge with my wife. It’s not often that a place that’s been hyped up so much manages to live up to the lofty expectations. In this case, it lived up to and exceeded it. My wife and I arrived at the lounge five hours before departure to experience as much of it as possible.

Location and Entrance

Polaris Lounge is located in the C concourse of Terminal 1 at O’Hare. This is NOT the international terminal. However, United has its hub at Terminal 1, so all United International flights and Star Alliance partners ANA and Lufthansa (except LH437 to Munich, which departs from Terminal 5) depart from Terminal 1. If you are flying on another Star Alliance partner in a premium cabin (Swiss, Turkish, EVA, etc.), you must walk over to Terminal 3 and take the Terminal Transfer Bus (TTB) to Terminal 5. This allows you to bypass another security check. Returning to the Polaris Lounge, once you clear security at Terminal 1, take the escalators down to a tunnel with quirky rainbow lighting and automated people movers. When you reach the end of the tunnel, go up the escalator. The Polaris Lounge is located on the left near gate C17. If your flight departs from the B concourse, you’ll have to make the 5-minute walk under the tunnel to get to the C concourse. Since the lounge is airside after security, you don’t have to worry about budgeting time to get through security and to your gate. Once you enter, the receptionist will scan your boarding pass, and you’ll be on your way.

PolarisLobby — The Polaris-themed light fixture in the lobby was a great touch

PolarisLobby2 — View of the front disk from the corridor

Polaris Lounge – Seating

One of the best attributes is the amount of seating this lounge offers. Since United only grants access to international travelers flying on long-haul flights, this lounge will never have to worry about crowding issues. When my wife and I were there, the lounge was only about one-third full.

Polaris General Seating Area — Not a single person in this area of the lounge.

As you can see in the pictures, there is absolutely no shortage of seats. United did a nice job with the variety of seats and lighting offered. If you prefer a darker environment, they have that. And if you want a lot of natural light or like to watch planes take off and land, they have optimal seating for that as well.

Polaris777view — This was my favorite seat. Near the window and watching various jets take off and land.

PolarisSingleBooth — I was a big fan of these personal work areas that provided privacy but didn’t make you feel confined to a closed space. Excellent touch, United.

Polaris Lounge- Buffet

This was one of my favorite aspects of visiting the lounge. If you’re going to visit any Polaris Lounge, come hungry and pace yourselves. Their selection was the best I had ever seen at a U.S. lounge—and this was only the self-serve buffet!

PolarisMozarella — Stacked caprese salad with fresh mozzarella. This was delicious

PolarisSalmonTeriyaki — The salmon teriyaki was excellent. Never had it before.

PolarisShrimpPasta — The shrimp-baked pasta was also delicious. At this point, I had to keep it to a few bites if I wanted to experience the sit-down dining

PolarisPastries — Eating any of the desserts meant there would be no hope for further food consumption. It was a tough mental battle, but I willed myself to avoid any of the pastries and desserts.

PolarisMiniBar — The minibar was stocked and had just about anything you’d want.

PolarisInfusedWater2 — Fruit-infused water

Polaris Lounge – Full-Service Dining

This is another aspect of the lounge that differentiates it from other lounges. It has a full-service dining option, allowing you to pick from a menu and make your meal to order.

Since my wife and I were there during the dinner hours, we chose to share a cheese tortellini and have our own ice cream. The tortellini was terrific, and the ice cream was great as well. I wish I didn’t sample as much from the buffet before dining, but lesson learned for next time. Please don’t make this same mistake. Just a reminder that even though the dining is complimentary, remember to tip the waitress/waiter. They go above and beyond at Polaris Lounge and help make the experience what it is.

Polaris Lounge – Bedroom and Shower

This lounge has four dedicated bedrooms if you want to catch a snooze before your flight. Linen from Saks 5th Avenue is provided for your comfort. None of the rooms were occupied during my time at the lounge, and there is a 3-hour limit if there is a queue.

PolarisStarCorridor — The corridor leads to the bathrooms. This is separate from the shower rooms, which are behind the buffet area. United’s Polaris-themed lighting on the ceiling going down the corridor was a great touch.

The shower area and bathroom were well-maintained, and the receptionist was kind enough to give me a tour.

Polaris Lounge – Bar and Buffet Area

PolarisBarArea — The bar area was relatively empty, and United did great with the blue ambiance.

PolarisBuffetArea2 — The buffet area was exquisite. Synced perfectly with the type of dishes that were being offered.

Polaris Lounge – Conclusion

As I mentioned above, this lounge exceeded my expectations, and I had some very high expectations. Even though I forgot to measure the Wi-Fi speed, I can assure you it was fast when I connected through my cell phone. This lounge has excellent dining, comfortable sleeping rooms, spacious shower rooms, various seating areas, fast internet connectivity, a vibrant bar area, and more. The Polaris brand of lounges is the standard for U.S. lounges, and I hope to have the opportunity to revisit one soon. This lounge gets a 5/5 rating.