Basic Information
The United Club is United’s brand of standard business-class lounges. You can easily find them in major United airport hubs throughout the US.
Opening hours: 5 am to 12 am daily
| Access methods |
|---|
| United Club membership |
| United Club one-time pass |
| Premium cabin customers on United or Star Alliance flights |
| Star Alliance Gold Status travelling on Star Alliance flights |
I got access to the United Club lounge in San Francisco Concourse F through my Star Alliance Gold Status.
Location
There are 2 United Clubs in San Francisco’s Domestic Terminal. In this blog post, we are specifically talking about the lounge at Concourse F.
The entrance to the United Club can be found near Gate F11.
Experience in the United Club
Check-in to the United Club
Typical of any other United Clubs, checking in to the lounge is really fast and easy. As I entered the lounge courtesy of my Star Alliance Gold status, all I needed to show was my boarding pass.
During my visit, no one was in the queue and I checked into the lounge within seconds.
General Environment
This is, in my opinion, the biggest letdown of this United Club. The lounge has an ancient design and is in desperate need of an upgrade.
Upon entering the lounge, my first impression of it is that of a 90s country club. There was wooden furniture everywhere with beige popcorn wall designs.
I visited the lounge at approximately 2 pm on a weekend for a short 40 minute layover and it was really packed. There were barely any empty seats left. Those that were empty were full of used plates and thrash. The staff clearly couldn’t keep up with the demand here.
To add to the above point, cleanliness is a huge issue here in this lounge. Apart from the uncleared tables, there were visible food crumbs and thrash throughout the lounge. The buffet counters were even more abysmal.
This is not a lounge that I would want to spend a significant of my time in. This is in stark contrast to my experiences at newer United Clubs like the one in Chicago or San Diego.
Food and Drinks
As mentioned on United’s official site, United Clubs lounges provides “light bites” to its guests. These typically includes cookies and sandwiches.
The United Club SFO actually faired pretty well in this regard. Apart from the standards, it even has tofu, teriyaki chicken and soup available. This is much better than the options we’ve seen in its Chicago counterpart.
Conclusion
The United Club in San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Concourse F is one of the worse United Clubs I’ve been to. This is mainly because of the general outdated decorations and cleanliness issues I’ve experienced during my visit there.
Given that there’s a lack of accessible airport lounges in SFO, this might still be a decent option to visit if you have a short layover and you’re physically near the lounge. SFO is a large airport and I would not purposely change terminals or walk a far distance just to visit this lounge.
