halls120

How can you tell if it is summer in DC? They roll out the temporary air conditioners in the Dulles UCs.

The D8 club is the worst of the 3 at Dulles. I believe the C17 club was recently refreshed.

iquitos

Last time i tried to use it it was closed due to flooding after a heavy rain storm. Nobody at check in bothered to tell anyone. It was too late to hum to the other one.

Cuchulainn

Yes and no. The one near C7 is far worse especially in the summer as there is something wrong with the A/C and it is smaller than the one at D8.

I always find that the back area (past the bar) of the D8 lounge tends to be better. At least it is a bit quieter and less crowded.

At the risk of getting flamed off the map, UA could do a couple of simple things to make the UC experience better. First of all, stop the two free passes with the credit card thing. I guarantee the conversion rate to fully paid UC membership is less than zero and it is the single biggest contributor to lounge overcrowding.

Second, enforce some basic rules like don't put your feet on the furniture, keep your conversations to an acceptable level and, most importantly, auhorize the staff to instantly seize and destroy the mobile device of any person watching videos, having speakerphone calls or skyping/facetiming without headphones!

Sadly the "Kettleization" of the UC experience is creeping into the GFL too.

Hadrian35

How do you figure the 2 passes on the chase card is culprit in over crowding the clubs? I'm genuinely curious how you come to that conclusion. For myself I'd like to see UA stop selling one time passes altogether or, cut access to the club for *gold (keeping intact UA gold) on int'l travel.

I'd suggest they go the way of DL and make the cost prohibitive to casual travelers but I don't trust UA to make improvements at the same time.

I'm with you on enforcing some rules, although to my eyes there are a lot of people that take an overly familiar attitude with the club and those people often look to be my fellow elites yapping loudly on conference calls and the like. People watching videos without headphones drives me nuts.

seenitall

Maybe I'm selfish, but I would not recommend cutting off *G access on international itineraries. If UA did that, I must assume that other *A airlines would follow suit. Getting access to (much superior) lounges at foreign airports due to my MP Gold/*G status is one of the most important MP benefits I receive.

mh3265a

All the clubs at IAD are subpar but not sure the D7 one is the worst, but it definitely gets crowded. I've never really like the one at C5 but they would all be better if UA and MWAA agreed to build a new terminal C/D.

MatthewLAX

The D7 is my favorite United Club at IAD because I like the little tables by the bar in which I can plug in my computer, work, and watch the tarmac at the same time.

All I care about in the UC is wi-fi - if I want food I'll go to the LH lounge.

Duke787

Simple solution for IAD. Go over to terminal B and use the LH Senator lounge which you have access to as a *G (or the LH Business Lounge which you'd have access to on a *A J itinerary even if not *G). Problem solved. If you know how to move around the airport it's pretty easy and straightforward. You just need to give a little buffer to get to your gate for departure.

Internet is pretty crappy especially right before the afternoon departures (I was there before going I left on an OS J flight last Thursday and the Senator side was completely packed and I had to resort to my company WiFi card) but otherwise it's a solid lounge and the bartender gives you a full glass of wine (in a big wine glass, not the tiny one they have at the UC)

ZZYZXROAD

Amazed people are still complaining about the UC. Every few weeks someone starts up a complain thread about a UC experience and blah blah blah. Listen, you are the guys paying for this experience. What have you told United? Their response? That's the better thread. We all know the UC stink. Worst value in the world IMO. The old days, the best value. I canceled my UC membership 6 years ago and never looked backed. While I do understand the service it offers on 4+ hour layovers, it's just not the same. Kind of reminds me of the Springsteen song, My Hometown, what the UC club of old was to me.

Also, agree no way CC passes are filling these places up. It's simple math and CC guy is not impacting your experience.

Duke787

Agreed though potentially irrelevant here. The OP is *G (according to the bio which lists 1K) and arrived at IAD aon an international flight so any UC membership of the OP was irrelevant to his/her access to the club (aka OP may not have been paying for it via the UC membership but rather via the J ticket)

cova

Lots of international flights and lots of *G (Premier Gold +) passengers - makes for lots of people in the lounge at peak times.

Go to the lounge on a Saturday morning - the lounge and terminal are like a ghost town. More employees in the terminal than passengers.

chitownflyer

There is always the Lufthansa lounge between Gates 49-51 in the B terminal, and it makes IAD seem like a completely different airport than the C & D areas.

lazard

UA is not gonna stop selling one time passes because it's lucrative and cutting access for *G would hurt UA frequent fliers more than alliance travelers.

FlytheTail

This is the lounge that had the biggest influence on me starting this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...olute-pit.html

itsMoe

I'm still unclear on how this works, so please forgive me if this is a stupid suggestion: Since OP was on an international ticket and *A Gold, would he not have access to the LH lounge?