worldflyer2011

Thank you all for the responses and help! Im currently sitting at the F club .. fingers crossed no C gate swap last minute! Safe travels everyone!

cyclogenesis

For me F>B6>C>B16
I'm out of B20 today and will probably still use B6

MBS MillionMiler

The only downside to F for me is the lack of a Coke Freestyle machine. I drink non-sugared drinks like plain iced tea or flavored sparkling waters (no artificial sweeteners)...The extremely limited selection and the hassle of having to deal with the bar is enough to make me avoid F when all else is equal (99% of the time I transit F to B/C due to Express-Mainline most of the time, so I'll usually walk by the F club on my way to B/C or heading home, stop at B9 on my way to the F concourse).

fumje

This tells us that you assess F "minus" B6 < 15min walk and B6 minus B16 > 5min walk.



Suppose I'd agree.

Say Vandelay

I just did that today too! But if I am low B or have a lot of extra time, I typically go to F. Least crowded and best view.

goodeats21

I was surprised to see the flight assistance area of B6 still walled off and no help available. Thought they reversed course on this and were going to staff the United Clubs?
The temp door was open so you could see inside, and the counter setup is still intact, including the chairs.

MBS MillionMiler

They dismantled it before the reversal, and I’m guessing since it’s Chicago, they need 89,000 permits and 3,000 politicians to sign off on it and profit off of it before they can “rebuild” it.

fumje

I've had a peep in there as well several weeks ago, and it looks ready to go just as soon as they take the plywood wall down. Computers, chairs, everything set up. Not sure what is the delay.

goodeats21

Don't think this is accurate...or they already rebuilt everything. The door to the space was open yesterday, and looked exactly like it did before they walled it off.

Yeah, same impression yesterday.

iluv2fly

This is correct. Same as before.

lincolnjkc

When I peeked in there a couple months ago and had a conversation with an agent and a "Regional Manager - Premium Services" re: not liking not having that there not only was it completely intact but I was able to see at least one agent logged in to the PC and doing "something"; I can't imagine they dismantled anything, but the manager did reference some "redecorating"

legalalien

​​​​​​
​​​​​The wall was down and the area was staffed with agents when I stopped by last Tuesday. Apparently that happened about 10 days ago.

goodeats21

Yes, thanks. I saw that reported in a different thread as well. Good news!

augkor

Is the remodeled C lounge open yet?

Answering my own question. No, it is still the small lounge. New one not yet opened.

DNAWilly

Apparently, early morning thunderstorms sent ripples of delays throughout the day at ORD today (July 24). Thanks to the UA policy of not updating delay status until the last possible minute, when my flight finally arrived at ORD I was very hungry and concerned that I would not have much time to get something to eat. I decided to grab something at the B clubs, as the meatballs had been a very satisfying option when I passed through two weeks ago.

My first option at ORD is always B6 - I have lots of memories from pre-COVID times of this club having the best food options - eggs for breakfast, pasta for lunch, all of it at least decent with a bit of extra hot sauce. But the weather delays left O'Hare with more people than seats, and when I got to the B6 club at 1400, there was a line a dozen people deep, something I had never encountered before. I decided to try my luck at the B18 club - historically smaller and with less food options, but still better than the C club.

B18 was less crowded but still very full. I was disappointed to see that the only hot food options were soup - on the warming tray where the meatballs had been on my last visit to B18 two weeks ago, sat the tray of brownies and cookies (warmer was turned off). Chicken-lemon-orzo soup was still good as always, but the tomato tortilla soup left my tongue feeling like I had licked a spoonful of Crisco. A couple of dings on my phone told me I had notifications from United, and, lo and behold, my connecting flight had been pushed back, this time claiming a maintenance issue.

With a little extra time and an empty belly, I decided to try my luck in search of a little better food spread and returned to B6 and found no line in the terminal. Upon climbing the (non-functioning) escalator, I discovered that while the entry was quick, finding a seat would take some time. B6 was packed, and it was hard to tell which seats were occupied but currently up to get food or drinks thanks to the number of half-empty glasses left around everywhere.

But considerations of seating and crowding are not the purpose of this post. My main purpose of the clubs is food, and to my horror I discovered that B6 was serving the same items as B18 - two options of cold sandwiches - a veggie wrap or a pretzel bun looking cold cut thing, two soups, tired salad, and cookies or brownies.

Oh, how I thought that the meatballs from my previous pass through ORD were a sign of improvement on the hot food front! The photos I have seen from other clubs lead me to believe a return to normalcy was around the corner! Even the breakfast options at the small club at SAN three weeks ago were better than what I found in my two attempts to get decent food at a UC so close to corporate headquarters.

In days gone by, my ranking at ORD was B6, F, B18, and C, based on seating, food, and atmosphere. I haven't been to the F club in two years, but right now I see no difference in the F&B between B6 and B18, and the crowding issue puts me slightly more in favor of B18.

There was a time when I took a little bit of pride in the UC. I thought it was a treat taking my family on an unexpected visit the clubs when we had a connection, or convincing our company's travel coordinator to hook up an overseas colleague with a UC pass for their layover at ORD when they were heading back to BRU. But anymore, at least at ORD (and DEN), if I am travelling with someone else, I will skip the UC. The fact that I have a membership makes me feel compelled to stop in when I travel solo, but it is no longer something that I feel is worth sharing to make my traveling companions feel as if it is a special experience.