The new C10 United Club at Chicago O’Hare represents a huge upgrade over the old club in Concourse C, though at 2:45 pm I struggled to find a seat in a lounge that is still too small to accommodate passengers comfortably during peak periods. Nevertheless, the space is quite attractive and the food improvements are substantial.
United Club Chicago ORD C16 Review
I arrived after stepping off my flight from Los Angeles at 2:40 pm, which in the past has been a more quiet period ahead of the busy bank of European departures in the late afternoon and early evening. I can only imagine how crowded it must get later.
Location + Hours + Access
Located next to gate C10 in the C Concourse of Terminal 1, this lounge is currently open daily from 5:00am to 9:00pm.
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 theoretically accepted or a single-visit pass can be purchased at the reception desk for $59. Do note, however, that I found a large sign outside the lounge stating that one-time passes were not currently being accepted.
Also 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 ORD, United does not give premium cabin passengers access on domestic flights without status.
Global Services passengers are also allowed complimentary entrance.
Like the new C120 lounge in Newark, as you enter you can scan yourself in via your boarding pass and bypass an agent all together. Even if bringing a guest in you can use the automated entrance to register your guest as well.
Seating
As you enter the lounge there is cozy seating on either side of a large hall that leads to the dining and bar area on the left or a more traditional seating area on the right.
Seats are varied, with a mix of chairs, couches, large shared tables, and individual tables.
In all cases, power ports are easily within reach and these include both USB-A and USB-C ports.
There’s plenty of natural light, great tarmac views, local artwork, and some green plants, all of which give the lounge some unique character.
Food + Drink
The lounge shines when it comes to food and drinks and is a massive upgrade over the old lounge.
- soup
- salad bar
- sandwiches
- cooked vegetables
- potato wedges
- whole fruit (apples, bananas, oranges, grapes)
- cheese slice
- bratwurst
- macaroni & cheese
Kudos to United for using real dishes and cutlery in this lounge, which gives the lounge a much more premium feel than using disposable items.
I also liked a little snack station by the bar with large jars of nuts and gummy bears and ramekins to put them in…it felt like a Lufthansa lounge.
The U-shaped bar was crowded with a number of passengers parked there to work and hunched over their laptops while drinking.
Here’s a list of complimentary drinks:
Other drinks and cocktails are for purchase.
Sadly, United chose not to add a barista coffee station to this lounge, which was a missed opportunity. Coffee machines are readily available to dispense drip coffee and espresso-based drinks.
Showers + Bathrooms
Restrooms are located in the rear of the lounge and include automatic soap dispensers, faucets, and hand dryers at every sink.
I realize there probably simply was not space, but the lack of showers are a missed opportunity as United tries to surpass its competition when it comes to lounge space.
There is a “wellness room” available for nursing mothers.
Robots
You’ll notice a number of “robots” monitoring the lounge. The goal, it appears, for these devices is for you to place your dirty dishes or trash on them. I’m not sure this is going to long-term solution to cutting labor costs…
CONCLUSION
Kudos to United for the beautiful new lounge space and nice upgrade when it comes to food. Unfortunately, the lounge space is still too small to handle peak crowds. Hopefully United is already looking at ways it can double the size of this space in the years ahead. But even with crowds, it represents a far better experience than the old lounge.
Have you visited the new United Club C10 ORD lounge? What were your impressions?
They improved the complementary beer list from just coors lite or miller lite.
Definitely a major improvement over the old, and it is quite nice, but I still think United missed the mark with this lounge. It falls a bit short of the standard of the new EWR United Club. It is an all-new construction so I don’t really buy the lack of space argument for showers or the barista station… sadly those appear to simply be cost cuts.
The space is nice, but when I compare it to the new AA lounge at DCA, I do see it as a missed opportunity.
Agree fully re: new AC at DCA, which is superb. Delta’s competing lounge across the airport at T5 is also a few notches better than United’s new-build. The UC is disappointing by comparison.
I found the lounge to be a big disappointment like most things related to UA. It was dirty. Employees were just standing around chatting. The food is subpar compared to the Sky Club in Terminal 5. I found the employees there to be friendlier and actively working. I was surprised at tables stacked with dishes and that UA wants guests to bus their own tables to dedicated areas for dishes or put them on the gimmicky robot that was wheeling through.
The issue is they need more than 1 club in the C concourse. B, which is a smaller concourse, has 2, and while those get busy too, they can handle the crowds a lot better, especially the one off to the left in the corner in B.
I heard they are using the old club space to expand the Polaris lounge. Seems like they should have used it to expand the club.
Still, the ideal solution is to build another club on the other end of C.
@ Jared I heard the same thing too. However, the space is nice and has a more modern feel to it. I visited the new Admirals at DCA and I’m still not buying it like that’s the way to go. To me, it’s a fall looking lounge, nice but nothing special. The food options have been beefed up at the new UC, no question about it. However, it seems it comes at the expense of the Polaris Lounge and its food options. That’s what pisses me off about United, the fact that no good deed goes unpunished!!
Jared: if you mean the United Club by Gates B16-18, there’s a good reason for that. That’s the Club that services the big LH and ANA widebodies that use B16 and B17. So unlike the Club near B6, they need the extra space.
To my shame, I haven’t flown out of C Concourse since the new Club opened, so I haven’t had a chance to visit. But C120 at EWR has spoiled me, and I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed.
The tile wall wall behind the food is giving high school cafeteria vibes. For a new club it does not feel current or lux.
I agree with your assessment of the new United Club. It is a well-designed space, thought it would’ve been quite nice if it had about 20% more square footage. However, like many United Clubs, it’s moving in the right direction. It was a bonus seeing you there as you were researching this review. Safe travels!
Mathew, this is a related but completely random question about United’s original, new lounge: at EWR. Have you noticed that club management abruptly removed the fussball (sp?) table. I had the mid fortune of sitting next to it a few times when the seats in front of it were the only available seating in the lounge. After about 15 min of the high intensity hitting, quite loud sound, and players’ yells, I was beginning to feel wildly uncomfortable with my PTSD (from too many deployments to the Middle East). At any rate if you know why management removed the fuss all table, I’d be interested to know. Finally, pls be safe in Ukraine. Not sure what you have planned. But no where is absolutely safe. Before you think about going out on a patrol, thing about your family first, who are expecting you back safely.
I’ll try to find out – you’re the second one who has asked me about this.
Food poisoned at the United club in Denver 3 weeks ago.
By 2027, or so, the Polaris lounge space will free up as international flights move to the new terminal and presumably a new Polaris lounge. But, they will lose the lounge in Terminal 2 as those flights move to Terminal 1 while both international arrivals and departures (other than Canadian flights with customs preclearance) move to the new International terminal. It will be interesting to see what United will do with the old Polaris lounge.