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.
On a very recent flight from Chicago to Albany, I had the opportunity to visit the United Club in Terminal 1 near gate B5. Special thanks to my mom for giving me her United Club pass and allowing me access. And speaking of United Club Lounges at ORD, I’ve crossed three of them off the list and have one more to go after completing my stay at this one. This lounge is located at Concourse B, so you don’t have to go through the underground tunnel at Terminal 1. The same rules apply to this lounge if you saw my last review of the United Club Lounge near B18.
Entrance
This lounge is located near gates B5 and B6. Once you have cleared security, take a left. The agents at the front desk will scan your one-day pass and boarding pass or just your boarding pass if you’re flying international business class or first class on a United Airlines or Star Alliance partner flight. If you have a United Club credit card, you have complimentary access as part of your card benefits.
The escalator will take you to the main seating area
Food
Three-bean salad and Mediterranean salad
I wasn’t expecting much in the food department because that’s not what United does well at their Club Lounges. They don’t really offer the hot meals you would find at Centurion Lounge and certainly not the variety you would find at their upscale Polaris Lounge. This lounge had a variety of cheeses, veggies, three-bean salads, and a Mediterranean-style salad. The cheese was okay at best, and the three-bean salad was average. They also had delicious hot broccoli-cheddar soup. But honestly, it’s really hard to mess up broccoli-cheddar soup. Food should be canceled at their Club Lounges if they have done that.
Variety of cheeses but no crackers. Come on, United.
The brownies were fresh and tasted pretty good.
If you wanted snacks, they had a decent variety of salty and sweet.
Broccoli-cheddar soup. This was good.
This touch-screen Coca-Cola machine was one of my favorite things about this lounge.
Their espresso machine served a variety of caffeinated or decaf beverages, from lattes to cappuccinos.
Seating
When you go up the escalators, this is the main seating area you will come across.
As far as United Club Lounges at ORD go, this may be the largest. There is no shortage of seats and they have a variety of seating options.
Almost every seat at the lounge has access to a plug outlet
This was my favorite seating area. Not too bright and facing towards the TV (not pictured) in the bar area.
Seating area near the barOpen seating area in the middle of the loungeBar
It is important to note that I visited the lounge at about 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and it was about 40% full. The lounge may be near capacity on a weekday during peak business hours.
Miscellaneous
The bathrooms were super clean and United does put to keep it that way.
The Wi-Fi speed was awesome. This might be the most appealing aspect of the lounge, particularly for business travelers. Video conferencing would be seamless, and if you wanted to stream Netflix or music, you’d have a really easy time doing it. This lounge is certainly better than the United Club near B18 and very much on par with the United Club in Terminal 2. Just like that lounge, this one has the potential to be very good. It’s spacious and has excellent internet connectivity, clean bathrooms, coffee, and decent snacks. The only thing holding it back is the lack of hot meals and sandwiches. It’s not worth the $59 you’d have to pay for the one-day pass, but if you have the pass that comes complimentary with the Chase United Explorer credit card, you’d rather be here than in the waiting area near the gate. I’d rate this lounge a 4/5.
As far as United Club Lounges at ORD go, this may be the largest. There is no shortage of seats and they have a variety of seating options. 
Almost every seat at the lounge has access to a plug outlet
This was my favorite seating area. Not too bright and facing towards the TV (not pictured) in the bar area.
Miles for places 