Review: United Polaris Lounge Newark

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After great stays at both the Intercontinental Barclay and St Regis New York, we were excited to get to Newark and lounge it up in the relatively new, United Polaris Lounge.  It’s reputation is one of great food, space, showers, and most reviews I’ve read sing its praises. I figured we’d arrive a little early to enjoy it prior to our United Polaris business class flight to Tel Aviv. Check in was super easy, we sped through security, and we were quite excited to sit down, have a meal, and clink glasses prior to embarking on a bucket list trip to the Holy Land.

Details:

• When: April, 2019
• Where: Newark
• Access: United Polaris International Business Class ticket
  • Connecting passengers with same day routing may use the lounge post business/first flight
  • Long Haul First/Business Star Alliance passengers may use the lounge

Finding the Lounge

In case there was any question as to where the United Polaris Lounge is located…you’ll find a big sign just after security. Note…you are not looking for the United Club…you want Polaris.

Immediately upon seeing the lounge you’ll know you’re in for a treat. It looks as if you’re about to enjoy an amusement park ride.

First Impression: Wow.

It feels modern, inviting, and incredibly spacious. This is United’s flagship lounge and it doesn’t disappoint. It didn’t hurt that we were one of the last flights to depart that night and the lounge was almost empty. As you can see…it’s designed to hold a ton of people.

Dining

The United Polaris Lounge offers two different styles of dining. The first, sit down/waiter service with a menu and bar service. The second, the traditional lounge buffet. We opted to sit down and dine, but I also grabbed snaps of the buffet before they closed it up.

Sit Down Dining

The Dining room is just beyond the bar and off to the left overlooking the tarmac. For plane spotting AV geeks it’s a great view.

The was quick to be served and excellent. I especially enjoyed the Salmon and brownie sundae.

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The buffet:

The buffet can be found just beyond the large general seating area that has just about any configuration of seat/table/stool/chaise etc you could want.

It’s quite eclectic and offers both hot and cold selections. Everything looked fresh, and they kept it out until just before our flight was scheduled to depart. I believe the closing time is 10:30pm barring any delays.

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If you’re looking for a traditional dining hall setting to eat…they have it.

Showers and Quiet Area

If you have a long layover, need a quick refresh before hitting work, or just want to relax with some peace and quiet, United has created a fantastic area to do so.

The showers are modern, large, and have a new suite of amenities in case you forgot yours behind.

Overall:

I could have spent longer in the lounge, when all was said and done, I think we spent roughly 2 hours at the United Polaris Lounge. It was plenty of time to have a nice meal, get excited about our flight, and poke our head around. Most airline lounges in the US aren’t worth arriving ahead of time to enjoy, but this one is different, and lives up to the hype other bloggers have professed. If you haven’t experience the best United has to offer, and especially if you’re on a late flight when the lounge is emptier, I’d recommend arriving early, having a meal, and sipping some bubbly to celebrate your business class flight like we did.