The United Club at San Francisco International Airport near Gate F11 is near and dear to my heart and remains on the of the last “vintage” United lounges. This review not only showcases the lounge, but will give you an idea of what sort of amenities you can expect during COVID-19.
United Club SFO Review – F Gates
This lounge has a special place in my heart because I used to stop by here almost every Sunday night when I was in law school. Although I attended law school in Philadelphia, I would spend most weekends (after my 1L year…) in Los Angeles. Sunday night my routine was to fly from Burbank to Philadelphia via San Francisco. My upgrade almost always cleared and unless there was a delay, I spent about an hour a week here.
The lounge has not changed since then, and I’m thankful for it. The beautiful rotunda, woodwork, and ship models is something unique; a far nice alternative than the bland new cookie-cutter United Club design that will age about as well as cassette tapes in 20 years.
Location + Hours + Access
The United Club at SFO is located in Terminal 3, Boarding Area F, in the rotunda near Gate F11. During the pandemic, it is open daily from 5:45AM to 7:00PM (but some days as late as 11:00PM).
Access is reserved for United Club members, Chase United Club Visa holders, Star Alliance Gold travelers, business class travelers flying to Newark or Boston on United’s premium transcontinental service, 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 (currently on sale for $39). 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 United does not give premium cabin passengers access on domestic flights, with the exception of the premium transcontinental route noted above.
As you enter the lounge, you’ll notice a plaque dedicated to Tom Lantos, the first and only Jewish Holocaust survivor elected to Congress who served the SFO area. Inside is a long walk to the front desk. Prior to the pandemic, lines would sometimes stretch almost this long. But not any longer…
United Airlines has three club locations at SFO, but only this location is currently open during the pandemic.
Seating
I mentioned the decor. It reminds me of an older Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, which is to say dated, but still nice. Walk past the rotunda and you’ll come into the main seating area, with tarmac views. There’s a quiet room around the side (it was one a Westin-branded relaxation room) plus a large work area with cubicles. I’m a creature of habit and have used the same cubicle for years…you know where to find me if I’m in the lounge.
Food + Drink
With state and county restorations on indoor dining, food and beverage options have been restricted, but there is a limited number of selection of snack items at the bar. Drinks are also served behind the bar.
The selection seems to rotate a bit, but expect something like this for breakfast:
- Yogurt
- String cheese
- Hard boiled eggs
- Granola bars
- Muffins
- Cereal
- Apple sauce
- Chocolate pudding
Or this later in the day:
- Apples
- Brownies
- Cookies
- Edamame
- Marshmallows
- Chocolate chips
- LifeSavers
- Twizzlers
Tip: if you are traveling in Polaris Business Class, you have access to all wines and spirits for free and there is an “enhanced” snack available upon request only; a cheese/salami/almond tray.
During the day, a “barista” is available to make espresso-based drinks…from the machine. Hey, better than nothing!
Restrooms
Restrooms are kept clean and I love that you have control over the faucet…so much better than the stupid automatic sensors that do not work half the time.
Service
Agents are available in the rotunda area if you need help with a flight delay or cancellation. While their job is certainly not redundant, the new and improved United app has made self-rebooking so much easier.
Business Center
A business center…how quaint! I wasn’t surprised the lights were off!
COVID-19 Precautions
Masks are required unless eating and drinking and you’ll see social distancing marks and certain chairs and couches cordoned off throughout the lounge. Hand sanitizer stations are located all around the lounge. I’ve been there both in the morning and afternoon recently and the crowds were minimal both times.
CONCLUSION
I’ve loved this lounge for 15 years and still love it. Dear United, don’t mess it up! Don’t expect a nice soup and salad bar during COVID-19, but it is a nice place to wait for your flight.
Hillshire “premium” snack goes for $2.99 at retail…nothing but the best for Polaris customers!
Agreed, though better than Ritz crackers or string cheese! 😉
If lounges had “sisters” as cities do, this lounge’s sister would be the United Club at NRT.
Very true.
Thanks for the memories! What year did this lounge open?
The lounge was fine but outside the better seating and the views there was nothing else to differentiate it. Until the AMEX lounge got so crowded I preferred to walk there rather than sit in the UA lounge. Sure, it looks very nice, but if the offerings were better it’d be much more of a draw. I’d never pay to use this lounge.
AMEX food is FAR better, before and during the pandemic…
Matthew, thanks for making me smile. That is a great lounge for sure. I spent many hours in those business cubes working before boarding an ASIA flight.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Same to you and yours Mike!
There was a fantastic bartender named Chu who used to work there (she was previously at the international United club before it changed to Polaris). Don’t know if Chu is still around. The lounge is great but I’d never sequester myself to a cubicle to work: the tarmac/runway views with all the wide-body planes taking off is too good of a show!
Chu is still there!
Yikes, if you have Priority Pass check out the AS lounge in LAX, their food offerings are almost back to normal.
Is the barista back making coffee?
I love that lounge! There’s an alcove past the bar on the way to the former quiet area that I always go to. I think it was a TV viewing area at one point. It’s a perfect little corner for my routine 2-3 hour layover to go home.
Call me crazy but even when I had flights going out of International G terminal, I would hike all the way to this lounge before my flight. Yes I know there’s a Club Lounge in the Int’l Terminal but I like the ambience, large seating capacity and good views of the ramp of the Club Lounge next to F gates.
Talk about memories. I used to fly IAH-SFO-HKG-SGN (back when UA operated 747 on that route) for business quiet often and it was a treat to visit this lounge when arriving from IAH. Seeing the photos of decor and the tarmac views really take me back to different/exciting times in my life. UA introduced me to east/Southeast Asia on the 747 from SFO and this lounge. Memories I’ll always fondly think back on.
@Tom: I used to to SGN via SFO and HKG also. As you mentioned, at the beginning UA operated HKG-SGN route by using the 747 (continue on of the aircraft either arrive from SFO or ORD). The arriving time in SGN was good. Later, UA decided to downgrade with a 737, arriving from Guam and changed the departure time to 2-3 hours later. It is sad that UA stopped flying to SGN. Now the only option is connecting to an NH flight from NRT.
I totally agree with your comment “a far nice alternative than the bland new cookie-cutter United Club design that will age about as well as cassette tapes in 20 years”. This SFO lounge is a class act which I have spent many hours in over the past 25+ years. I used to have my favorite reservation agents there to assist me with rebooking and upgrades. Agents were so nice and pleasant back then, and they were so patient even during chaotic travel times. I too had 2 favorite seats where I used to hang out. If my first choice was taken, I would head to my second choice. I wish the new UA Clubs would each have a design influence from the city that they are in, but oh well.
A regular stop for me for many years – I enjoyed the “visit!” I still like this lounge a lot more than any of the newer UA clubs, although ditching the Passo-Guava juice dispenser for a Dasani machine was a disappointing downgrade.
Wow, I had forgotten about that guava juice dispenser. Good memory!
So you flew every weekend home to LAX from PHL ? Law schools usually cost enough( I have a daughter and son in law who went to law school in Calif and have mega student loans to prove it) so how did you swing weekly cross- country flights? Miles? Wow impressively! What Law school?Philly is my hometown.
I had a scholarship, so tuition was covered. Went to Drexel Law school (they recruited me, hence the scholarship). Never used miles for these flights — this was back in the $200 r/t days, which I could make from one client in a day. Have not been back to Philly since I left law school! I hope to take my wife and kids some day.
Philly is a liberal extremist dump. You’d be better off skipping.
Thanks for the review! That’s my “home” United Club (I still think of it as the RCC, though), but I usually am able to time my airport drive such that I only stop in there to use the restroom before my flight. Still, I miss it, not having been there since February.
And while I wasn’t flying back and forth every weekend, I definitely did plenty of trips to the east coast for law school, also. It was the golden age of mileage runs, like using the first *A upgrade coupons to fly round-trip YYZ-LHR-SFO to get to my upstate New York law school for Thanksgiving week.
Thanks, Matthew. I loved this United Club as much as you. Always got wonderful service at the service desk. But calling the closet with a photocopier a “Business Centre” is a bit imaginative!
I’ve used this Club numerous times. I don’t consider it “dated” at ALL. I’d rather have a comfortable, relaxing place like this than a lounge that tries to be hip and happening and all glam. And yes the staff there are very kind indeed.