Xyzzy

Lounges in the US no longer offer bag storage rooms. The few that existed were closed a year or two ago. I'd suggest trying to see if the bellman at the ORD Hilton (landside - connected underground to the terminal) will hold your bag.

br2k

Finally got to this one. Funny thing - that signature United club giant pile of cheese cubes is here too

rankourabu

Family member just had a 5 hour layover in ORD, arriving on AC and departing on LO to KRK. No problems accessing the Polaris lounge with an AC-issued LOT boarding pass, and then taking the bus over from G17 saving the hassle of TSA. Lounges in T5 were apparently pretty pathetic.

greene

As this will probably be my only time getting in - how did you like the food or restaurant in the ORD Polaris lounge?
Ania

Does anyone know or have a picture of the dinner menu at the Polaris ORD lounge?
Thanks!
Ania

chavala

Hey guys, My (non-status) sister + niece are traveling thru ORD today and should have lounge access (EVA J class / UA Awards from my account)....however, when they checked in online they got one of those "this is not a boarding pass, please proceed to the EVA Kiosk".
They're arriving from BUF at 6PM-ish, (6 hour layover), but the EVA counters won't be open until 8:30 (in T5). I'm traveling a different route so won't be with them.

Will they have problems getting in?

And any idea why they couldn't check in? Yes, I know a Q for the BR forum, but any advice would be appreciated. We are all nervous wrecks due to the possible ORD weather delays.

StuckinITH

Maybe the airline needs to check that they have a passport that is still valid. Or are they citizens of a country that requires a visa that needs to be checked? I would think that they should be able to access the PL with their reservation as it must be a common occurrence to not have the boarding pass when traveling on a foreign airline where the counters are not open all the time.

chavala

Thanks Ithaca, I'm hoping you're right about the Lounge. I've been going on and on (and on) about it to them! (They are both US citizens)

StuckinITH

They'll have to tell the person in the PL entrance who checks the boarding passes that they need to get their boarding passes inside at the desk.

truncated

This was the lunch/dinner menu on 6/1, presumably hasn't changed since:


had the tuna tataki, rib eye and the fried chicken:




The tataki was meh and more chewy than anything, rib eye was really good but the portion was tiny so got the chicken as well — was very greasy and not really a fan.
Service was excellent and cocktails were great though.

uber1K_Flyer

My experience has been the same - portion size is small, service is highly variable (pretty poor if in the accessory sitting area) and there's nothing healthy. I don't understand why they don't have an actual salad.

StuckinITH

FWIW, the portions are small too in the BA Concorde Lounges. Recommendation on the BA threads was to ask for two orders of the dish (or dishes) you like.

TCD

I guess smaller portions make sense for those customers going on to eat a full meal on their flight as well? Not for those connecting to short-haul though.

seacarl

They allow and even encourage you to order multiple items. But given that service is fairly slow, if you are in a hurry or want to eat a lot, probably easier to do that at the buffet. There is plenty of food and much of it is good at ORD

Thunderroad

Thought I'd add my two cents worth to this thread. Late last month my wife and I spent a few hours (about 2:30 to 6 pm on a weekday afternoon) at the ORD Polaris Lounge after arriving on a UA flight and departing on an evening LH flight. We parked ourselves in the a la carte dining area, which, like the rest of the lounge (perhaps 60 percent occupied?), was never full during that time. (We spent so much time there because we got into some fun conversations with folks at the neighboring tables.) So, based on that one experience, perhaps the early problems with overcrowding have been alleviated by the expansion of the facility.

We found both the service and the food very good. Never had to wait long for a waiter, both of whom were friendly. Nice (though tiny) tuna appetizer, rib-eye and fried chicken, among other dishes. Entree portions on the smallish side, but you can order as much as you want so that helps avoid wastage and allows for some fun sampling. And the wine selections were fine as well.

We didn't hang out at the bar, but it seemed like a comfortable place to have a drink and catch a game if the timing is right.

I wouldn't call this one of the great lounges in the world, given the very high quality of some first class lounges across the globe. But it's the best domestic lounge I've been in, and I'd highly recommend it for folks who can access it.

eng3

Went here on my flight back from italy.

I had just gone to the EWR lounge, I think the ORD lounge was a little more busy.
I mainly wanted to goto the dining room area after a long flight. The area was quite dark compared to the EWR lounge. Service was quite slow, but I did get in a lengthy conversation with the person at the table next to me so it took longer. I was going to use the shower but ran out of time.





Food was great but the portion sizes seem to vary from tiny to huge.