United Polaris Lounge

Don't be fooled, money does buy happiness, and as airport lounges go Polaris is one of the best on the US, and with few exceptions one the top lounges in the world, unlike many other airport lounges including United Club, access is limited to long-haul international Business Polaris cabin passengers on departure and arrival, and Business or First class Star Alliance passengers on Departure only.

Let's start with the full bar, complimentary top shelf wine and spirits, and espresso drinks made by skilled baristas, and not super automatic espresso machine, though they still have them if you want to make your own drink.

Food, you have a couple of options, the first one is your regular, but very good self serve buffet, the second option is à la carte dining, limited menu but impressive quality, presentation and flavor.

Lastly, is a two story lounge, the lower level is a bit more quiet, the upper level is a lot busier, you'd notice the difference, there are spaces for people to eat, work, relax, and even take a short nap.

For the time being, United hit it out of the ballpark with their premium Polaris lounge, has better food than American Airlines Flagship First lounges, and Delta Airlines has still to open their much anticipated Delta 360 lounge.

Food: 4
Decor: 4
Service: 3

Have visited 3 times.

Overall, one of the best airport lounges I've been to. The Polaris lounges are much better than the regular United Club lounges, and the food is significantly better.

There's a full restaurant that takes orders, although there's usually a 20-30 min wait to get in. There are also nap pods, showers, and plenty of working space spread throughout the lounge. Definitely recommend dropping by if you're flying Polaris.

Nice space!

What
Was able to access the polaris lounge through my flight. It was nice with a variety of selections like other lounges do. The food was okay. There were sandwiches and other hot foods. The hot food selection is limited is you have dietary restrictions.

Environment
It wasn't as busy when I went, perhaps it is because of polaris. There is a sit down section to the lounge that I didn't go to, but you would be able to sit down and order food.

Niceness of the staff
didn't have as much interactions with the staff. It was ggood

Dollar
Free with polaris ticket

Yes?
Why not

My experience at the Polaris Lounge SFO left much to be desired, especially considering it was my first time in a Polaris lounge and on a United business class flight for our honeymoon trip. Unfortunately, it fell short of expectations right from the start.

Arriving early with hopes of catching a nap in the sleeping area proved futile, as it was fully booked and closed early, despite the lounge itself remaining open. Moving upstairs, we were disheartened to find no available seats and a bar area packed with patrons, along with food options that had been picked over.

Deciding to try the restaurant, we added our names to the two-hour waitlist for dinner. Eventually securing a table inside the lounge, we were relieved to have a spot to rest our weary bodies and belongings. However, our hopes were quickly dashed as we encountered further disappointments at the bar.

Three of the red wine choices were unavailable, and the bartenders seemed ill-equipped to handle even simple cocktail requests. Opting for a white wine and a whisky with ginger ale, even these seemingly straightforward orders proved confusing for the staff.

As time dragged on, the lounge continued to fill up with no noticeable increase in available space. Finally receiving a text for our dinner reservation, we eagerly made our way to the restaurant section, only to be met with more letdowns.

Our server, lacking enthusiasm, informed us that only a fraction of the menu items were available, including missing wines and even the bubbly prosecco. Adding to the frustration, our server repeatedly forgot our orders, and the food runners often brought incorrect dishes to our table.

Overall, my experience at the Polaris Lounge SFO was marked by disappointment and frustration. For a special occasion like our honeymoon, I had hoped for a more seamless and enjoyable experience. However, the multitude of issues encountered throughout our visit left a sour taste in our mouths.

One of my favorite airport lounges in the US! Loved the sit down restaurant where you can order from a menu. Highlights were the salmon and cheese plate. The buffet also had a great selection of small bites, entrees, salads, and desserts. The lounge was clean and spacious. Well staffed bar with a selection of beers, wines and cocktails. Service was friendly. While they weren't busy when we went in March, I've read that there can be a wait to eat in the restaurant so worth going early before your flight.

I had a long layover at SFO. I decided I would check out the lounge. It's been a while since I've been on a long layover and had an opportunity to visit a lounge. I was greeted as soon as I entered. And then I made my way to the escalator to access the lounge. I must've gotten there between flight times, because the lounge was very sparse. I was able to get my choice of seating. And made my way to a clean restroom. They seem to have a different styles of restrooms. Some had a little table where you were able to put your things down and a some were setup like a normal bathroom.

There is staff all around so there's opportunity to ask questions and ask for directions and when stopped they were very friendly and offered help. The people come by regularly to collect plates to make sure that you don't have a whole collection in your area.

When it comes to food there's a variety for everyone when I was there the buffet had pasta, soup, something vegan and offerings with seafood and meat. There were also sandwiches, fruit and salad, charcuterie platter and desserts. There is also a dining room... aka restaurant.

I also like that they had a variety of beverages. There is the bar area then there is a place where you could go get infused water and tea and then there's also a water Spicket to fill your reusable bottle and canned sodas. And there's a variety of hot tea teas and coffee.

Plenty of seating, for individuals and larger travel groups. I enjoyed the lounge cubicle seating... just right for the single traveler. There are also private work spaces, quiet rooms for resting/sleep. An opportunity to freshen up with a shower.

United Airlines Polaris Lounge at its SFO hub is a huge 2-level lounge only for Polaris international business class passengers. Beautiful contemporary aesthetics with huge windows looking out at the (mostly United) gates.

Even with its size, the lounge can get swamped during prime hours such as mid-morning when many United flights depart for Asia. The table-service Dining Room is too small to handle the crowd and should be at least doubled in size. I was wait listed about 30 minutes; however, one in I received excellent, high restaurant quality service. Portions were small but adequate when ordering a few items.

If you don't have the time, the buffet has a nice selection and keeps the crowd moving. The complimentary bar stands out too.

Too bad United Club standards can't be raised to SFO Polaris level, one of the best I've been in.

Came by the other day flying out with ANA's The Room Business class cabin and it was a phenomenal experience. My previous experiences left much to be desired...

Checked in with the front desk using my boarding pass and provided my picture ID for verification. To my surprise, the front desk staff were cordial!

Made a bee-line for the restaurant and was surprised that the buffet was stocked with breakfast items. Approached the dining attendant was presented a table upon arrival.

Restaurant waiter came by promptly with water and took my breakfast order. There was a good variety of food from the menu and breakfast came out shortly after ordering. The orange juice was fresh and the omlet was surprisingly decent, especially from a United branded product.

Despite keeping the same hard product for the last few years, notable improvements to the lounge was the cleanliness along with staff. More specifically, the staff all had a good attitude, were wearing their uniform with name tag and were pleasant, which used to be an anomaly when dealing with the United brand.

Keep up the good work United and maybe, just maybe, I may opt for a long haul flight on United metal in the future.

Have only been here twice briefly as we typically don't fly United internationally, but each visit has been a treat. The lounge itself is very spacious with multiple areas for seating, and it's worth going here for the a la carte dining. The actual Polaris in-flight meal options are subpar in comparison, so we found it best to to eat a solid (re: extensive) lunch / dinner at the lounge and try to get some sleep on for the remainder of the flight. Easier said than done though!

We didn't get a chance to use the showers, but found the bathrooms spacious and stocked. I actually preferred the previous Sunday Riley products compared to Therabody, they're certainly missed :(

In the brief window we were here, we found the staff were courteous and made sure to clear up plates quickly. I found the food quality and overall lounge layout at SFO better than the LAX location, since seating is more spread out here.

If you're flying another star alliance partner in F/J, I highly recommend stopping here for a quick bite, you won't regret it!

This is the best lounge I've been to! The place is spacious and plenty of seating and room to find a chair or a plug and rest before your long flight. Once you enter, hang a left and you'll come to the bar and the buffet and the dining experience. Unfortunately, there was too long of a wait for dining so we got the buffet instead. And even the food from the buffet was very good. We had the chicken pot pie and kale salad and the dessert (donut). Plenty of good champagne to wash this all down. Also plenty of bathrooms and showers if you need to freshen up.

Tip: instead of going left, turn right and go all the way around to find the other food buffet area with other candies. This is away from everyone else so it will be much quieter. Love this lounge!