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Home  >  Lounge Reviews • San Francisco SFO • Star Alliance • United Airlines  >  Review: United Polaris Lounge San Francisco (SFO)
Lounge ReviewsSan Francisco SFOStar AllianceUnited Airlines

Review: United Polaris Lounge San Francisco (SFO)

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 27, 2018April 27, 2018 43 Comments

The beautiful new United Polaris Lounge in San Francisco offers immense space and superb amenities that places it in contention for the best airline lounge in the United States.

This 28K square foot lounge can accommodate 442 guests at a time, offering sufficient capacity for even the busiest times of day. Join me on my photo tour, highlighting every square inch of United’s largest and most luxurious lounge.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Access

Access is reserved for longhaul business class passengers on United or a Star Alliance partner. Access is not permitted to Global Services or Star Alliance Gold members traveling in economy class.

As you enter the lounge, your boarding pass will be verified by lounge agents.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Seating

Spread over two floors, the new Polaris Lounge has 440 seats seats, including 19 different seating types.

On the first floor, you’ll find a large seating area that has a library-like feel.

Outlets at each seat:

Take the escalator upstairs and you can turn left or right for ample more seating.

On the left in the picture above is a help desk if rebooking or other travel arrangements are needed.

Upstairs seating:

My favorite seating area is upstairs on the far left side called “The Studio”: I love the telescope and vintage plane model. I also love the couch and lighting. It’s just my style.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Work Rooms

Four work rooms are available on the second floor. Ideal for phone calls, the small offices have closing glass doors and plugs for your USB and larger devices.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Shower Suites

Downstairs past the seating are eight shower suites. An attendant will escort you to a shower suite or quite suite based upon preference. Should there be a wait, you can add yourself to a waitlist. The goal of this lounge, however, is for minimal wait times.

The hallway to the showers is lit like a constellation of stars, befitting of the Polaris name. Each suite is spacious, offering not just a toilet, sink, and shower, but some space to move around or re-pack bags.

Cowshed Spa products from Soho House & Co are available.

The towels and even the floor mat are Saks Fifth Avenue branded with United tags…look for those to disappear. The towels are plush…I hope they hold up well over time.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Restrooms

The first floor features one bank of restrooms while the second floor features two. All restrooms are private and gender neutral.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Quiet Suites (Sleeping Rooms)

Adjacent to the showers is a rest area with four relaxation rooms. Each has a pre-reclined chair that is nearly flat along with amenities like a cooling gel memory pillow, blanket, and eyeshade. Also on the nightstand: an alarm clock so you don’t miss your flight that will also charge your mobile phone. The suites do not have doors.

Blackout curtains will soon be added in order to darken this space.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Buffet + Noodle Bar

With the exception of a small beverage station with light snacks, all of the food and drink is found upstairs.

Downstairs snack/drink station:

Upstairs, a large buffet will offer both hot and cold items from around the world. A noodle bar will also be available.

United Polaris Lounge SFO A La Carte Dining

The dining room is beautiful and resembles a fine restaurant (arguably, I suppose, it is a fine restaurant).  The 16 tables will accommodate up to 40 people at a time.

The a la carte menu offers traditional favorites like the Polaris Burger but also menu options specific to San Francisco like cioppino.

I love the place settings and menu cover.

There’s even power and USB ports at each table so you can charge your devices while eating.

Here’s the a la carte menu:

I highly recommend the Tiramisu espresso cup!

United Polaris Lounge SFO Sushi Bar

On the other side of the second floor, the Polaris Lounge will offer fresh sushi.

Adjacent to the sushi is a wine bar (same wine as in the bar and dining room):

Behind it, soft drinks, light snacks, and cookies.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Bar

A well-stocked bar offers a wide selection of alcoholic drinks including wine, beer, and cocktails. 50% of the wines are from California.

Some of you may remember Mike from the American Express Centurion Lounge and more recently the American Airlines’ lounge at SFO. He has now been recruited by United and you can find him at the Polaris Bar. I enjoyed speaking to him.

But a friendly young man named Elmer made me both a Mai Tai (which originated in California, not Hawaii) and cappuccino. He’s a pro too. Indeed, the Mai Tai was delicious.

Here’s the full beverage menu:

United Polaris Lounge SFO Coffee + Barista Bar

More important to me than the alcohol was the coffee and the lounge has a great new Italian coffee machine with barista-made illy coffee. My cappuccino was excellent.

United Polaris Lounge SFO Tarmac/Apron Views

Finally, it merits mentioning that the lounge also has excellent views of the tarmac from both floors:

CONCLUSION

The lounge is open daily from 6:30am to 1:00am and is located across from the Gucci store in the international terminal (G). It’s an excellent lounge that represents a substantial investment in United’s premium product and commitment to San Francisco. I look forward to returning as a passenger, hopefully in the near future. Lastly, I must give credit to United for not skimping: this lounge did not cut corners.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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43 Comments

  1. Mo Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    This really isn’t an honest review as the lounge is not open yet. One of the most important factors when I visit a lounge how busy it is. Obviously you had an amazing experience with the staff to guest ratio, but would you opinions still be the same if the lounge is at capacity?

    • Matthew Reply
      April 27, 2018 at 1:43 pm

      Hi Mo, This review is primarily about the facilities. I did not even talk about the service beyond the bartender. I’m sure the service dynamic will be different when the lounge has a couple hundred people in it, but the facilities and amenities will be unchanged.

      • Mo Reply
        April 27, 2018 at 2:30 pm

        I respectfully disagree. The showers and other amenities will be changed if you have to wait for them. I will not be visiting this lounge until later this year and I like to search for lounge reviews prior to visiting (as I would any lounge for the first time). If I stumbled upon this review when searching I would have assumed there are plenty of seating, bar looks stocked, and the sushi looks fresh and I would adjust my schedule accordingly. Sorry, but this article is a preview, not a review.

        • Matthew Reply
          April 27, 2018 at 3:00 pm

          What makes you think there will not be plenty of seating, a fully-stocked bar, and fresh sushi when you are there? This is what United is promising and this is why they made the lounge so huge–to avoid the overcrowding issues that have plagued Chicago.

          • Mo
            April 27, 2018 at 3:35 pm

            “This is what United is promising…” Sorry, I stopped reading after that.

          • Matthew
            April 27, 2018 at 3:43 pm

            To your detriment.

        • jferguson Reply
          May 18, 2018 at 7:20 pm

          You are one of those pathetic people that will never be satisfied with anything no matter how hard people try. Why don’t you just go sit on the tarmac and wait for your flight?

          • Matthew
            June 26, 2018 at 2:45 pm

            Mo: try this one:

            https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2018/05/18/united-polaris-lounge-sfo-dining-review/

    • Tom Reply
      October 19, 2018 at 8:25 pm

      I am a 1K and found this lounge severely lacking. It was crowded and the service less than memorable. I tried to get my wife and I a drink at the bar and was ignored by the venerable “Elmer” who waited on a gentleman behind me for a beer and a woman next to me. I protested that I was waiting in line and “Elmer” stated that “Ladies are first”. That is not an ideology with which I disagree, but to be fair, I was waiting in line and “Elmer” ignored me. To me, the SFO and other lounges are not all that great — they are crowded. Forget about having a seated dinner — you will have to have at least 2 hours of layover to make it work.

  2. hbilbao Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 2:01 pm

    @Matthew: thanks for the pics. It looks awesome.

    • askmrlee Reply
      April 27, 2018 at 5:22 pm

      Since this lounge is open only to those actually traveling in business class and economy, in theory this should be less crowded than the mad houses of the current Untied Lounges?

      • Matthew Reply
        April 28, 2018 at 11:29 am

        It absolutely should be. I will be very disappointed if this lounge gets so crowded people cannot find a seat. I don’t expect that to happen.

  3. Jeremiah Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 2:15 pm

    It always amazes me how stretched 757-300s look (in your third to last picture)!

  4. Mike Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    Matthew, great post. Thanks very much. Have a wonderful weekend.

  5. Jay Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    The photos this time are much better than your last post. I can see why you now say it is stunning. It does look very nice in brand new condition.
    Not to be cynical, but if it gets used as much as it most likely will, and United maintains it the way they usually maintain things, then sadly it won’t be so nice in a few years. The combination of mediocre maintenance and the many inconsiderate travelers out there will wear down this beautiful lounge in no time.

  6. Jesse Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    Is there any way to reserve a table in the dining room?

    Athe quiet suites for a limited amount of time? Seems if there is no attendent monitoring these that people would be coming into your suite constantly to see if it’s available since there are only 4 for the 400 people that could be in the lounge.

    • Matthew Reply
      April 27, 2018 at 5:40 pm

      No way to reserve a table, but there is an attendant desk for the suites and showers.

  7. GDL Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 7:19 pm

    Is there any official word yet on whether AC J pax will be allowed into this lounge?

    • phoenix Reply
      April 28, 2018 at 6:40 am

      “Access is reserved for longhaul business class passengers on United or a Star Alliance partner. Access is not permitted to Global Services or Star Alliance Gold members traveling in economy class.”

      Survey says ‘yes’

  8. Greg Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 8:07 pm

    FYI, no menu covers at today’s soft opening.

    They are aware that they’re going to have to do something to manage people wanting to eat in the a la carte dining area, and they’re working on it.

    Tons of management there today taking lots of notes based on comments people were giving them.

  9. Jerry Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    I thought this looked a whole lot like a CX lounge in HKG, and that was even before I read about the noodle bar. That’s’ not a bad thing at all as HKG is always pleasant. Nice work, UA. I’m eager to check this place out.

  10. Belinda Reply
    April 27, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    Matthew, thank you for the thorough description of the new lounge. I still appreciate that at least one of the major bloggers is a UA fan!

    One thing, though. Re the showers, you wrote “The goal of this lounge, however, is for minimal wait times.” How? How is UA going to minimize wait times for the showers? Timers like Emirates on-board showers? Properly staffed so rooms get refreshed immediately?

    I tend to agree with @Jay, once this lounge actually starts being used it will turn into a cesspool unless UA has the right staff and right maintenance routines in place. History isn’t on their side.

    • Matthew Reply
      April 28, 2018 at 11:45 am

      I don’t know. I never wait too long at AMEX lounge when they have one lounge for 200+ people. This lounge will have eight showers. It shouldn’t be too bad.

  11. John Reply
    April 28, 2018 at 2:57 am

    Matthew, thank you for the comprehensive review and bounty of pictures. I am keeping my fingers crossed that United will be be able to maintain the experience with what is guaranteed to be heavy use on a daily basis. I am a big fan of the GFL in LHR, but traffic is comparatively light, the atmosphere calming and attention to individual patrons very high–potentially a very different situation from SFO. I am pulling for this to be a success for UAL since it will be high profile and should incorporate lessons learned from ORD (and I hope to use it as well!)

  12. Dan T. Nelson Reply
    April 28, 2018 at 10:12 am

    Outstanding look at the new lounge, thank you. The hard product looks great, but, as others have suggested, United will probably fail in the service area. In the United States today, service is never king, because it requires hiring additional people, and companies just don’t want to do that. In the United Clubs an important measure of service is how long it takes attendants to remove used food items from tables, and it generally takes a long time. Unfortunately, many of us suspect the same thing will happen in the Polaris Lounge. I hope we are wrong.

  13. Dennis Reply
    April 28, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    Are the drinks and ala carte options complimentary, or will it be like other domestic United clubs where they have limited complimentary options and you pay for the good stuff?

    Will you be able to visit as an arriving passenger from a long haul business class, or only as a departing pax? I was denied entry to the temp First Class lounge in SFO as an arriving business class pax back in March.

    • Matthew Reply
      April 28, 2018 at 1:46 pm

      All complimentary.

      If you are arriving from a longhaul business or first class flight, you will have access.

  14. Boraxo Reply
    April 29, 2018 at 11:27 pm

    Great photos! All I can say is Wow – looks even better than the Chicago lounge. I will definitely be getting to the airport a bit earlier for my TATL and TPAC flights.

    I don’t see how you will get access on arrival because all arrivals go straight to immigration without passing Go (or this lounge). And then you would have to get a gate pass and re-clear security. Not that it couldn’t be done, but makes no sense when there is a perfectly decent arrivals lounge. So even if possible the only arrivals that would use it are transit passengers, and even then most would have flights departing from T-3. So the shower traffic will be minimal.

    I predict that it will not be as crowded as the old lounge, because NO access for the *G and UA Explorer types. Also much larger being spread over 2 floors.

  15. Daniela Reply
    April 30, 2018 at 9:27 am

    I guess some people are never happy………This lounge looks fabulous very similar to the United Club at London’s Heathrow Term 2 (incredible food/drinks selection) …… With the addition of a sit down restaurant it’s on the same level as Lufthansa First Class lounges at JFK and FRA. I can attest to this since I’ve been in both. Bravo United you have set the bar for all the other american airlines now where almost nothing is offered!!

  16. Brian Reply
    May 1, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    Can you bring a guest if you are Polaris and your guest is not?

    • Matthew Reply
      May 1, 2018 at 9:45 pm

      No.

      • uid Reply
        May 22, 2018 at 6:39 am

        That’s not correct unless you are a first-class passenger. You can’t bring a guest to the Polaris lounge as a business class passenger. https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/airport/lounge/access.aspx

      • Solange Powers Reply
        December 13, 2018 at 4:40 pm

        Wrong. Please check your resources, as below.

        • Matthew Reply
          December 13, 2018 at 5:13 pm

          I’ve corrected my comment above.

  17. DK Reply
    July 22, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    I booked an award flight from LAX to LHR on a business class Star Alliance itinerary. I am planning on booking a separate (cash) ticket on United from SFO to LAX on the same-day. Would I receive access to the lounge?

    • Matthew Reply
      July 23, 2018 at 12:40 am

      Are you flying from LAX to LHR on Air New Zealand or United?

      • DK Reply
        July 26, 2018 at 12:30 am

        Air New Zealand. I don’t think I have access because it’s not a polaris flight, but just out of curiosity, if I had booked a polaris flight from LAX to LHR, and I booked a separate United ticket (economy) from SFO to LAX, would I have access?

  18. Debora Reply
    August 20, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    We have a 14+ hr. wait before our NZ flight. Arrive at 8a and leave at 10:45p. Can you go in & out or once in that’s it? We’d like to grab a bite before going to the Japanese gardens then back to Polaris to chill before the long haul.

    • Matthew Reply
      August 20, 2018 at 3:37 pm

      No problem! Enjoy both visits to the lounge.

  19. Tom Campbell Reply
    October 19, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    Um, Elmer ignored my waiting for a drink to serve someone behind me with a beer. He then asked a woman next to me what she wanted who arrived after me. I protested and he said “Ladies first”. Okay so Elmer does not consider a line for a drink at his bar. Good job United. Elmer is not a mode you want to push.

  20. Bill Pass Reply
    November 17, 2018 at 6:23 am

    we are riving on monday from Australia business class then transferring to go to medford OR business class. can we us the international lounge while we wait?

    • Matthew Reply
      November 17, 2018 at 7:45 am

      Yes you can. Enjoy your visit!

  21. Pingback: Review: The United Club at London Heathrow (LHR)

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