DL has absolutely raised the bar with their business class lounge product, and rest assured that it has not gone unnoticed by United. For what it's worth, it took the better part of a decade (COVID, I know) for Delta to respond to UA/AA, and in my view they knocked it out of the park. But it took DL a very long time, and key hubs/international gateways still lack a D1 lounge... most notably ATL.

I have it on ironclad authority that United is well underway in planning its response, but as noted, it's going to require significant capital investment, and there's only so much of it to go around. UA has some major, expensive lounge projects under construction as we speak (IAD/IAH/SFO), and Polaris Lounge capex comes from the same pot. I don't think United is going to necessarily leapfrog Delta and the D1 lounges when it responds (expect incremental improvement), but the gap will narrow. United of the present day is not going to cheap out in order to compete with DL.

All that said, I agree it is a little tacky for the lounge to have paid booze, even as a premium option. But I'd take it at United for a product that more closely resembles the D1 Lounge, for sure.