Lounge Review: United Club℠ (ORD – Gate C10)

Chicago is home for most of the year and O’Hare (ORD) is the airport that I find myself at most often. The airport offers four United Clubs℠ (near gates B6, B18, C10, and F9). The United Club℠ at C10 is only about two weeks old as it replaced the older one by Gate C16 (the old lounge will be converted into additional space for the Polaris® Lounge next door). The lounge is much larger at 17,000 square feet and offers seating for around 400 guests. I was excited to check out this brand new lounge and had high hopes it would be as good as the new one in EWR at C123 (full review here). Those hopes were quickly dashed during this visit.

Access

Access is granted for those with United Club℠ memberships, day passes from Chase co-branded credit cards or purchased for $59, Global Services® members, United passengers with Gold or higher status traveling internationally, international business or first-class passengers traveling on a Star Alliance flight, and Star Alliance Gold members regardless of class flown. You can find more information about these lounges and their access rules here. Like the new United Clubs℠ in EWR and DEN, this one has automated entrance gates as well as an attendant to help if there is an issue.

Anthony’s Take: When flying United domestically, I make a point to stop by the United Clubs℠ to get some work done, relax, and have a snack or drink. The lounge near gate C10 is brand new, but already showing some signs of wear on the furniture and it is not being properly cleaned. Tables were dirty, sticky, and often had plates and glasses on them. Staff stood nearby chatting while directing people to bus their own tables or add their dishes and trash to the robot that was wheeling through the lounge. A better use of that money would have been to invest in better food offerings and amenities, but a gimmicky robot busser is what we got. For a new lounge, C10 offers a mediocre food selection, bar, and restrooms. It’s bigger than the old lounge at C16 with lots of seats. Other amenities like showers or a barista (like the one added at EWR) would have been welcome additions, but UA decided against adding those here.

Bar

Moving down the hallway, you’ll find some seating as well as the bar serving this lounge on the right. There is a variety of paid and complimentary beer, wine, and spirits here. The free offerings are pretty basic, but the paid selections are not badly priced.

I like the natural light that floods this side of the lounge. Orchids are my favorite flower, so bonus points there.

Food

The food in the United Clubs℠ has dramatically improved in the past few years and is even better than it was pre-Covid. Part of this is that United is working to keep up with what Delta is offering in the Sky Clubs®. But, when comparing United to Delta there is no comparison. The offerings here are basic and not as good as what Delta offers in Terminal 5 at the Sky Club®. I visited during lunch and found a selection of salad ingredients, soups, sausage, potatoes, mac & cheese, sandwiches, and a few desserts.

Sausage for sausage sandwiches with rolls nearby

Rolls for the sausage

Mac & cheese

Potatoes

Mixed vegetables

Sandwiches

Wraps

Cheese

Salad ingredients

More salad ingredients

Broccoli cheddar and Poblano, cheddar, and tomatillo soup

Condiments

Whole, fresh fruit

Cookies and donut holes

There is a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine near the buffet.

Ice and water were next to it.

An espresso machine was near the buffet and another was closer to the bar.

Second espresso machine

Brewed coffee

Coffee condiments

United has added areas where customers are expected to bus their own dishes. I’m not sure why this was added, but it cheapens the experience. There were multiple employees milling around the dining room and mostly chatting while tables were left dirty and sticky. I heard one employee tell a guest to put there dishes in these receptacles.

A robot (or maybe two) busser was also rolling through the lounge. I don’t see the point of this gimmicky addition and I’m sure the money would have been better spent on adding amenities instead. No one paid much attention and the robot seemed lost as it wheeled around.

Seating

As mentioned, there is seating for 400 here. When I visited, it wasn’t too crowded and there were many options.

Booths for working

A large banquette is near the buffet

More seating

Tables near the windows with lots of natural light.

Departure Board & Agent on Demand

Toward the back of the lounge there were kiosks for an agent on demand, a desk with an agent to direct people to the kiosks, and a departure board. Even though I generally use the United app to check on my flight, I find myself staring at the board often looking at the other departures from O’Hare and planning future travels.

Agent on demand kiosk

The agent’s desk (where she was directing people to use the kiosks).

Amenities

This United Club℠ offers free Wi-Fi, restrooms, and the food and beverages mentioned above. Disappointingly, it doesn’t have the showers or the barista bar you’ll find in EWR or much else. It’s a good spot to grab a quick bite and get some work done before a flight, but uninspired. United seems to have gone through the motions putting this together and none of the employees seemed happy to be there. They mostly seemed bored, which is not good for a brand new lounge. Compare that to the smiles and excitement at the Sky Club® where employees touted the hot dog cart and were happy to help.

Overall Impression:

The United Club℠ near Gate C10 provides basic amenities. It’s a shame as this lounge is brand new, but already feels a bit worn and dirty. That, coupled with bored employees and mediocre food makes it a place to stop if you’re in Terminal C, but not worth going out of your way for a visit.