Flying Machine

A little lackluster. I was on a podcast with Maximilian Riedel, He stated that a champagne flute is not the perfect vessel to serve champagne. A wine glass is a good substitution. Riedel is making varietal specific glassware these days, they have a bulbous looking champagne flute which seems quite interesting to try. So if they ever run out a flutes just ask for a wine glass, I think you�ll be in much better shape than a martini glass.

However UA if you�re listening this is really bad what happened to the EWR Polaris lounge. I�m going to be there in a few weeks I think the new lounge at C123 may be a better option!

PsiFighter37

First time back in a Polaris lounge since April 2019�no more cocktail / drinks list! I loved getting a Paper Plane in my past experiences here and was really looking forward to it again. Instead sipping on an unnamed glass of Napa Chardonnay. Massive thumbs down

ETA: also given a half-hour wait time for a seat in the dining room even though there�s plenty of seating available�never happened to me in the past. When there was an open seat, you were seated right away. Unsure what other Polaris experiences are like in other locations but this feels like a very nice United club, decor-wise, but a big step down from what it used to be.

United747

Dis you happen to ask for the cocktail? I�m curious what their level of bartending skill is -

PsiFighter37

I asked if they made cocktails. Response was �no, there is no menu�. Saw him later making a G&T but that�s not my jam / past experience with UC bartenders freestyling cocktails is not�great, to put it kindly.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

WIth the operation being staffed/managed by an outside contractor, my expectations have been low since the opening of the Polaris Lounges. When they first opened, one could find a bartender who could make the menu cocktails (Cloud Cover was my favorite). Most of the bartenders have, at best, minimal skills - if they were better, they wouldn't have to work for a contractor at a PL. I was at SFO once and I asked for one of the menu cocktails and the 3 bartenders looked distressed because the one who knew how to make it by memory wasn't there. Pour beer and wine? No problem. Order something conveniently named like "rum and coke"? No problem - mainly because the name says what's in it. Anything else and it's like watching bartenders make drinks in the first 10 minutes of a Bar Rescue episode. There is a serious lack of knowledge and consistency. Keep your bar requests simple and you're likely to be less disapponted. I was on a Celebrity cruise last week - the knowledge and consistency was very noticeable. Celebrity's bartenders are hired and trained, PL bartenders are hired.

United747

Figured as much. Might as well make the beer and wine self-pour

Flying Machine

I sent an email to the operator of the PL at EWR today. Hopefully I�ll get a reply, I wanted to make them aware of us at Flyertalk and the concerns that we all have based on actual experience along with what we are posting/reading of late regarding the EWR PL lounge. If I get any traction I�ll let you know

United747

IMO, as long as they�re meeting their metrics with UA, nothing will change

EDIT: I�m not saying they are; in fact, I hope they are underperforming. My visits have been not good

Flying Machine

SLA? Who determines the service level agreement? Secret shoppers, united management, or the bartenders?

United747

Sorry, service-level agreement - I updated my post above

stimpy

As noted above, that isn't Champagne. It is an average mousseux wine. Like a prosecco.

unitedbusiness

glad you did! Care to share your main concerns you voiced about the EWR PL and UC in your email?

hirohito888

I think it's a staffing issue, either wait staff or kitchen. From sitting there, I could observe they were stretched, but that's no excuse to make passengers wait when there's empty tables.

Another tacky thing they did was that they primed the tip jar (the candle decoration) with $10 and $20 bills. And left it there so passengers would tip. I usually leave a few dollars.

narvik

Interesting. I hadn't noticed that.
Could be worse, I guess: $50 and $100 bills!

dogloverjb

It was a zoo August 28 when I was there. Hard to find seats. There was no chardonnay left in the club. A friend arrived on an earlier flight and booked us a dinner reservation. Honored on time. Food was served quickly and was pretty tasty. We left after eating and went to the regular club for half an hour, as it was nearer to our gate. It was an oasis of calm compared to Polaris. I was glad to have the chance to check it out.