Kacee

Spent about 2 hours here before heading over to TBIT for NH departure. Overall a really nice lounge. Had breakfast in the dining area, food and coffee were very good and service was great. Buffet selections also looked nice . . . way better than SFO. Lounge peaked at about 2/3 full before the UA NRT departure. Still plenty of good seats. Though I wish they would copy CX and LH and put footrests in front of the otherwise very comfortable lounge chairs that look out the windows at the tarmac. The only negative was a fair bit of poor guest behavior, including shoes on leather seats and several really loud cellphone users.

filmwill

Will be flying LAX - SFO - AMS in Polaris and wondering if I'll get access to the Polaris Lounge @ LAX as that first leg is in domestic First (but not Polaris).

Seems like a no-brainer in SFO, but unclear about LAX.

Also, slightly off-topic, but on the return it's AMS - EWR - LAX. The EWR - LAX *is* actually in Polaris even though domestic, so, again, assume access in EWR won't be an issue.

Thanks in advance!

764toHI

You have access to all Polaris lounges on your outbound and inbound itineraries (including LAX on the return if you want to freshen up before heading to your final destination).

findark

Yes to outbound. EWR-LAX is not Polaris (marketed as United Business), but you will still have access at EWR assuming that AMS-EWR is operated by United.

The rule is you have access to the PL along your same-day routing (origin, connection, destination) if flying UA J overwater (Polaris-marketed).

threeoh

If SFO-AMS is on United metal, which seems likely, then yes you'll have access to the PL in LAX and SFO.

The EWR-LAX in J by itself only gets you into the UC, not the PL. But again if AMS-EWR is on United metal, then you'll have access to the PL for your entire journey (including at EWR).

If your overwater J segment were on partner metal, you'd only have access at the departure airport for that flight.

filmwill

Sorry, you are correct. Guess cuz it's on a 787-10 with the Polaris product, it isn't technically a Polaris flight...just a Polaris product.

Thanks to you all! And, yes, all flights are on UA metal.

Kacee

I would quibble with "Polaris product" because "product" refers to service as well and EWR-LAX is not Polaris service. "Polaris seat" would be accurate.

UA couldn't have made this more complicated if it tried

At least Delta is more consistent with its D1 branding, which also applies to the premium t-cons.

1P

Data point: Mrs 1P and I used the LAX Polaris lounge at the end of last month (just a few days ago). I tried to steer her away from using the dining room, having read the reports in this thread. I told her it would be a minimum of a 45-minute wait for food. She found a waitress who guaranteed to have food on the table in 20 minutes, so in we went. Result: it took over an hour for anything to appear. Part of the problem was (a) waitress taking orders in the wrong order — people who entered the room after us had their orders taken and food served while we were still waiting to order a drink! (b) waitress disappearing for up to 15 minutes at a time — what was she up to? It looked as if the others were not that much better. We and other two diners were given amuse-bouches at the 45-minute mark, presumably to keep us quiet. If our flight had been leaving earlier than it was, we would have walked out and used the (very appetising-looking) buffet instead. As it was, we barely had time to do duty free shopping before boarding. I know, 1st World problems, but if you are going to have a dining room at all, at least get the speed of service up to scratch. The food we eventually received, incidentally, was not that wonderful (taco trio and the bibimbap). It will be the buffet for sure next time!

IAH-OIL-TRASH

They should issue pagers like Shake Shack. Grab a table, place you order, head out to lounge proper, and head back to restaurant when buzzer goes off / food deigns to show up. I'm there next Wednesday for fish 'n chips. I think I'll place my order immediately and head out to bar for a half-hour. I'll tell the waitperson where I'll be.

transportprof

A hybrid strategy, which I will employ as necessary next month, would be to set up camp in the restaurant, place an order, and make forays to the bar and the buffet during long pauses in service.

worldclubber

worldclubber

Brief update on the LAX Polaris Lounge.

Food menu is still the same, but they are "trying out" two new dishes for the upcoming summer menu. One is an "ahi poke" which was described by the server as "seared" but arrived, as poke usually does, raw. Not a bad addition to the menu.



Drink menu has already been updated. The two "local" signature drinks (on sunset and let's rumble) have both disappeared, which I find odd as they were featured so prominently at the opening, and replaced by two cocktails that are both based on blackberry-infused vodka. (berry nice and black + blue mule)

The server at the dining room was not very knowledgable and the food took forever to come out. We were alone in the dining room when we ordered and the first plate came out after more than 30 minutes. Not even bread or something else to nibble on while we were waiting. Then first my companion's starter and my entree, and then my starter and my companion's entree. Food was so so, some was really good (crispy mushrooms and the poke), some was not so great, such as the soggy "fries" that came with the burger and some of the street tacos.

Asked for future visits whether they would also serve the a la carte food at another table near the windows or the bar, as I travel by myself most if the time and would not want to sit in the bleak dining room with a view of the entrance to the shower area alone for a longer period to wait for my food, and they said they would not. However, it would be OK to take food from the buffet there. Quite disappointing.

I would rate the experience a 3 out of 5, but there is certainly a lot of room for improvement.

hirohito888

Visited on 27APR, I was told that this is the new menu:

Tuna poke:

Bibimbap - it was pretty good, wish they served it on the plane as well

Dessert - lemon tart, it was mediocre, reminded me of the lemon tart in AC Signature Suite, which was equally lackluster


It seems like the Polaris Burger is still the favorite, was in the dining area and heard 7 other passengers order the burger. I was the only one not eating the burger.

Another issue with LAX Polaris lounge is that the space is small; the bar area and lounging area are close to each other and creates a lot of noise, especially at 8-9pm when lounge is packed with the 2 LAX-Australia flights. Maybe I'm just used to some of the more quiet areas in the SFO or EWR Polaris lounges.

Weatherboy

I see they dropped the fried mushrooms off the LAX menu; that's a shame, that was my favorite dish there.

flyme2

I'm glad that I fly through EWR often (no comments from the peanut gallery please ), as the PL there is my favourite. I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a meal, no matter what the time. The staff know me, and are always very accommodating and responsive to my requests. I love their salmon
It has always been prepared au pointe, succulent with a crisp exterior surface. I love the smoky brocolli rabe that accompanies it. When I think about the original CO President's Clubs that used to proliferate EWR and the NJ wiseguys' attitude I would so often encounter, I appreciate the PL that much more.