I’ve been refreshing my reviews of domestic United Clubs lately and noticed that I had never published a review of the United Club in Atlanta, which I visited just a month before the pandemic began. While this lounge is currently closed, this review will give you an idea of what to expect once it re-opens.
United Club Atlanta (ATL) Review
Location + Hours + Access
The lounge is located in the North Terminal, Concourse T, of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport between Gates 11 and 12. Due to the pandemic, it is temporarily closed.
Access is reserved for United Club members, Chase United Club Visa holders, Star Alliance Gold travelers, and international business or first class passengers traveling on any Star Alliance flight.
Furthermore, one-time passes from Chase are accepted or can be purchased for $59. Note that if you hold a Star Alliance Gold card from United Airlines (Premier Gold or higher), you can only access the lounge when traveling in conjunction with an international itinerary.
Those who have a Star Gold card from other programs can use the lounge when traveling on any Star Alliance flight in any class of service. Also note that from ATL, United does not give premium cabin passengers access on domestic flights without status.
Global Services passengers are also allowed complimentary entrance.
To access the lounge, you’ll need to take an elevator or stairs to the lower level, walk down a hallway lined with classic United photos (and an army of Delta jets out the window), and then check-in.
Seating
This is a smaller lounge in a non-hub airport. As such, the lounge is on the small size and seating is limited. Still, you’ll find the lounge in the style of other recently refurbished United Clubs, with a mix of chairs and a dining area with round tables. Along the windows is a long table with tall chairs.
Food + Drink
Remember, my visit was about a month before the world closed down. At the time, United still offered a full selection of soups and salads along with hummus and pita chips, carrots, whole fruit, and candy.
When this lounge re-opens, which I predict will be in spring 2022 (though hopefully sooner), I would expect something similar, though United is currently offering only pre-packaged food in its airport lounge network.
Whatever happens with the food, I do expect the drinks to remain unchanged. Unlike most United Clubs, there was no bartender: all alcohol was self-serve (which included beer and wine only). Coffee, tea, soda (or do they say “coke” in Atlanta?), juices, and water were available too.
Staff
Just a shout-out to the United staff in this lounge: they were great. Very kind, chatty, wanted to know if I needed any help (agents are rarely proactive at other lounges)
Restrooms
Restrooms are available. No showers.
CONCLUSION
This is a small lounge at a non-hub but important United station. The staff here were simply lovely and I look forward to returning to this lounge after the pandemic.
I love flying United to Atlanta! Between Clear/Pre-Check putting you out right at the T gates and United’s gates being next to the club, it practically feels like flying from a community airport.
The burritos at Willy’s in Concourse B are great, too.
This is such an improvement to the former ATL lounge – which was so small I rarely bothered. Even this new lounge can get super crowded when there are those inevitable summer thunderstorms in ATL, ORD, EWR, or IAD. Still a nice place to wait for a flight compared the terminal at this end of T gates.
This is the club at my home airport. Can’t wait for it to reopen. It’s not fancy by any stretch but gets the job done. Lounge agents are friendlier than other United Clubs (EWR, I’m looking at you) and some of them have been there for decades. BTW, one thing I love about the T Gates is that you don’t have to take the train. So I love flying AA & UA as both are at the T Gates. And no we don’t call soda pop in Atlanta. 🙂
Not open, Helpful? Duh?
It will be. Duh.
In Atlanta pretty much all soda is called “coke.” Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Mello Yellow… It’s a coke.
Great lounge though. Always appreciated the self serve drinks. UA really beat AA out for the views. The AC across the way is a dungeon.
Of course the saving grace of being a UA/AA flyer in Atlanta is the blessing of getting to fly out of the T Gates.
Despite its size, this is a nice lounge @ ATL for UA. In fact, the bathrooms alone are cleaner and more modern in appearance than, for example, the UA lounge review you recently published at IAD. The overall decor, cleanliness, and charm of the staff are again surprising because you don’t get that typically from many of UA’s hub lounges. The strangest UA club location and pretty disappointing in terms of size, food and drink (excluding the great tarmac views) is the UA Club at SAT. It’s the ONLY airline lounge at the airport, definitely not a major international airport like ATL — just found it really strange UA opted for this airport to get a lounge. The only reasoning I can see is the business traffic between SAT and IAH which there is a ton of. Have you ever been to the UA lounge at SAT, Matthew?
I have not, but I’d like to visit it!
@Tom SAT used to be a focus city (I.e. mini-hub) for United Express. Perhaps that’s why they have a United club?
Maybe time for an article of your top 5 or top 3 favorite United Club lounges? Though given how similar they all are, it might be hard to differentiate them for a list like that. I guess the metrics used would be things like tarmac views, how good the staff is, wifi issues, etc.
Aaron, here is it:
https://liveandletsfly.com/favorite-united-clubs/
Matthew.. have you heard anything in general about the reopening of non hub UA Clubs? Maybe it’s just me, but does UA seems much further “behind the curve” with the lounge reopening of their lounges when compared to other airlines here in USA? Here in AUS, the UA Club is still closed while AA and DL have both reopened.
I’ve asked and UA has refused to provide a timeline. I would hope more domestic UCs would open by summer, but I don’t expect Polaris Lounges to open until next spring.
Thanks for reply!
Ouch! Was hoping the SFO Polaris lounge will open in time for my scheduled ANA flight in F in late August.
Quick clarification re: UA Clubs access policy : does Star Alliance business class passenger connecting from an International flight onto a UA flight in Economy granted access ?
No access.
This should be a model for all UA lounges: get rid of the bartenders and allow self-serve, the way UA lounges outside of the US do.
Paying pax should be the focus of the lounge, not the paid bartender.
This lounge is beautiful! Now, if only it were bigger…even better! BTW, the UA lounge in MEX is a true hidden jewel.Matt, you ought to check it out when it reopens and write a review!