Review: United Club Orlando (MCO)

United Airlines’ outstation club lounges tend to be better than at hubs, with unique offerings and very friendly service. The United Club in Orlando is no exception, with gregarious staff and a nice spread of food and drink.

United Club Orlando (MCO) Review

Location + Hours + Access

The Orlando (MCO) United Club  is located in Concourse B, near Gate 43. It is open daily from 5:00am to 8:o0pm. From the concourse, you can take either an elevator or stairs up to the lounge, which is located one level above departures.

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. 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 (like me) can use the lounge when traveling on any Star Alliance flight in any class of service. Also note that from Orlando, United does not give premium cabin passengers access on domestic flights.

Furthermore, one-time passes are accepted. These are distributed to Chase MileagePlus Explorer credit card holders or can be purchased at the door for $59.

Seating

Upstairs past the reception desk, you’ll turn right and then can proceed left, right, or straight for seating, including a high tables with bar stools, chairs clustered togethers in fours or eights, a rather cool central seating area with mood lighting, and work areas.

In the rear of the lounge is a work area with cubicles and ergonomic chairs.

Food + Drink

The photos in this report are from my trip last December since I had a two-hour layover on that trip, which gives you a great idea of the layout of the lounge, but food has returned to a more bulk buffet service instead of offering each item individually wrapped. Frankly, as much as I like the theoretical superior hygiene of individually-portioned food items, there was simply too much waste and a traditional buffet is the better solution.

Complimentary self-service food is available from a buffet. Breakfast selections included:

• Freshly-cut fruit
• Hardboiled eggs
• Bagels
• Muffins
• Yogurt
• Cereal
• Sandwiches (eggs, sausage)
• Oatmeal

I’ve only visited in the morning, so I cannot report on the afternoon and evening spread.

Soft drinks, juice, water, tea, and coffee are complimentary, as are select beer, wine, and spirits (the bar is located right behind the buffet). You can review the liquor menu here.

One oddity…there was plenty of coffee available in the lounge, but only decaf espresso. For whatever reason, only one of the two automatic coffee machines was working and that one only dispensed decaf coffee.

Service

The staff here were very friendly, particularly a gentleman (I recall his name was Mark?) who checked me in. He seemed to know a lot of the regulars and wished everyone a warm goodbye. I also appreciated how staff were constantly roaming to ensure cups and glasses were removed and the buffet was well-stocked.

Restrooms

The lounge has clean restrooms, but no showers (no United Clubs currently have showers in the USA except for the new C123 lounge in Newark).

CONCLUSION

I appreciate United Clubs at outstations like Orlando and found this a better alternative than the crowded gate area. I look forward to returning to this lounge…though my first stop is always at Zaza for coffee.