When United first introduced its long haul Polaris business class in 2016, and together with it the Polaris lounge, it was a product I wanted to check out. Nice as it looked, it was still United after all, so Polaris wasn’t that high on my agenda. The opportunity finally presented itself on this trip to the USA in September 2022. United Polaris was my first choice to get back across the Pacific.
It took some juggling, but I managed to get a United Polaris redemption out of LAX to Tokyo Narita (NRT). Although not a major long-haul hub, United has a Polaris lounge in LAX, I suspect primarily to serve customers travelling to/from Australian destinations, and London. Because of this, the LAX Polaris Lounge is actually the smallest Polaris lounge in the network.
Nonetheless, it’s a full-fledged Polaris lounge, and arguably one of the best business class lounges anywhere. It has the full Polaris lounge experience, from the tended bar to the ala carte dining, showers and quiet rooms for resting during longer layovers. I arrived at LAX 3h before my flight to get the full experience of the lounge (plus other reasons which I’ll get into in the next instalment), and I didn’t regret sacrificing sleep for it. The LAX Polaris was truly impressive, and one business class lounge I don’t mind getting to the airport early for.
Accessing the Polaris lounge
Polaris lounge access is only granted to United Polaris passengers on long haul flights, as well Star Alliance First and Business class passengers departing on long-haul flights from that Polaris lounge airport. For United Polaris passengers, they may access Polaris lounges at departing, connecting, and arrival airports, if on a single ticket. United defines “long-haul” as flights to Asia, Australia, Europe and select South American countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
At LAX, the Polaris Lounge is located in Terminal 7 where United operates from, whereas all the potentially eligible Star Alliance carrier passengers would depart from the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Air Canada operates out of T6, but their passengers wouldn’t be eligible. TBIT of course has the quite lovely Star Alliance Lounge. I’ve used the Star lounge before, and in my opinion, the Polaris lounge is superior to the Star Alliance lounge. The ala carte dining (more on that later) alone makes it better. It’s possible to make the trek airside between TBIT and T7, but unless one has loads of time to kill, I wouldn’t really recommend it. I did it once when arriving on Singapore Airlines and connecting to United domestic, I needed to grab a shower which the Star Alliance lounge has, but not the United Club.
The Space
The entrance to the LAX Polaris lounge is located between gates 73 and 75, with the actual lounge one level above the gate area.
Upon taking the lift up, there’s a reception desk where a staff member scanned my boarding pass and welcomed me to the lounge. The layout of the lounge is rather unique, as part of it overlooks the circular gate concourse below. Upon entering the lounge, the most immediately striking feature is the bar.
The seating areas near the bar appeared more for productivity and just general lounging around. Following the recent trend in the last few years of lounges, there were productivity pods right at the back of the seating area. There were only a couple of rows of these, maybe a doze or so in total, and nearly all were taken up when I was there.
The rest of the seating was mostly plush armchairs with tables in between, typical of airline lounges. Like the productivity pods, these tables had power and USB-A charging ports. The seats near the windows overlooking the tarmac were the most popular.
Closer to the bar, there’s a handful of low round tables. These were good for small groups travelling together to sit around and relax, but I wouldn’t really recommend them for working. There were power outlets on the floor near these tables though, if needed.
For taking calls or private conversations in general, there was an enclosed phone booth near the productivity pods. United likes to put the Polaris logo on glass panels in the lounge, which I found quite classy.
The varied seating options should be sufficient to satisfy most, if not all, types of travellers. There’s seating for when the mood to work, lounge or socialise with one’s fellow travellers strikes. With the manned bar nearby, a favourite beverage is nearby, whether that’s barista made coffee or something a little stronger.
Food & Beverage
Without a doubt, the highlight of the Polaris lounge is the F&B offering. Apart from the manned bar with its extensive offerings, there’s also a full buffet and, the star of the show, an ala carte dining area. Since I was there in the morning, breakfast was being served. Breakfast offerings to tend be a little unexciting in my opinion, but there’s was still plenty of options to keep passengers satisfied, in both the buffet and the dining space.
The buffet lined the one of the walkways overlooking the gate concourse below. On the other walkway was the wine fridge. There were also some counters were beverage dispensers dotted around the buffet area. The buffet consisted of all the usual breakfast staples: breads and bagels, fruits (cut and whole), breakfast meats, potatoes and scrambled eggs.
While the buffet offerings seemed decent, I made a beeline for the dining room. A server immediately seated me, brought over an elegant bound menu, and also took my drinks order. I ordered a latte and still water to sip while perusing the menu.
This was one occasion where I wouldn’t have minded a long delay, allowing me to sample the lunch & dinner menu as well. Alas, the flight was on schedule so I had content myself with the breakfast offerings. Having not had time for breakfast at the Conrad LA where I stayed the night before, I decided to get both a light bite and an entrée. I ordered a Greek yoghurt and fruit to start with, and The LAX breakfast sandwich for my entrée. The Greek yoghurt was refreshing, and a great balance of sweet, sour, crunchy and smooth. A good start to the meal, and the travel day.
When I was done with the Greek yoghurt, it was cleared away and my breakfast sandwich soon arrived. This was quite filling, and delicious.
Overall, it was a good breakfast. I’m not sure if it was the best airline lounge food I’ve had, but everything was well-executed, and I thought the portion sizes were about right for a lounge. Service was great too, much like dining in a proper high-end restaurant. As a dining experience, it was certainly one of the best I’ve had in a business class lounge. Sit-down ala carte restaurants is still somewhat a rarity in business class lounges, so such a facility definitely elevates the Polaris lounge above the standard business class lounge.
Lounge facilites
Apart from the dining room, the Polaris lounge has couple of other facilities, on top of the standard United Club. These are the shower suites and private nap rooms. Having come straight from the hotel, I needed neither of these, but the shower attendant was kind enough to show me around and unlock a shower room for me to take a look.
The bathroom amenities in the shower suites and restrooms were all from Sunday Riley, who also provide products for United’s latest Polaris amenity kits from luggage brand Away. Towels and slippers were provided in the shower suites of course, these were from Saks Fifth Avenue, same as the bedding onboard.
Speaking of washrooms, at the Polaris lounge these were all unisex individual cubicles. Most were accessible-friendly as well, and hence rather large.
The nap rooms didn’t have proper beds, but just a chaise lounge for stretching out. Not quite the best if you’re planning to get some rest during a long layover, but it’ll have to do. A pillow and blanket were provided, Saks Fifth Avenue branded naturally. The lounge attendant had also preplaced a bottle of San Pellegrino water, chocolate and eyeshades. That last item appeared to be the same as what’s given onboard.
Conclusion
The LAX Polaris lounge is a great lounge for a pre-flight meal, or for getting work done, or just simply to relax before a flight. Despite having the smallest footprint of all Polaris lounges, it doesn’t skimp on any of the Polaris luxuries. The novelty of Polaris lounges may have worn off for regular United flyers, but based on this experience, the quality – at least for LAX – is still top notch. A lounge worth getting to the airport early for.
Other posts in this series: