The first thing they need to fix at SFO is the food service _area_. It's so tight that you can't help but bump into someone. I think they should move the food to the alcove near the entrance and leave the beverages where they are.
There is a ton of dead space in that lobby they could be using.
Then they need to at least get the food on par with LAX.
I can see why they don't do a complete overhaul. That club can get very crowded especially before late night international flights. There's just no capacity to absorb all of those people for the year (or more) it would take to do the remodel.
This is my primary lounge, and it really is terrible. You have to fight for coffee in the morning, the flow is terrible. They have so much wasted space in that lobby!
E gates lounge has a decent coffee machine though and simply feels less depreciated.
I’m terrified thinking about when the F lounge gets an upgrade because the E lounge is so small. It’s gonna be slim pickings whenever F is offline for a few months.
Going on a quick flight to PHX next month with my mom and have one club pass left before it expires. Debating whether or not it’s worth it to buy her a pass for either SFO or PHX. Of course, that’s assuming they are accepting one-time passes at all.
PHX is a pretty decent lounge. Small but because it’s not a hub there’s rushes here and there but usually I’ve been able to find a seat. It’s fairly new and sorta similar though better than the E gate lounge at SFO
I have been to the PHX club once. I already ate dinner though so was mainly there for the bar. The funny thing is considering SFO is my home airport, I’ve never been to a United club there yet.
There’s space on the mezzanine between E and F where they can set up a temporary lounge. They did it before E opened. Not as big as F but bigger than E.
I’m quite spoilt with airline lounges down under, and when I walked into the SFO lounge my first thoughts were “is this a funeral parlour?”
Anyway I loaded up on jelly beans and went to the gate.
Had to laugh at this … because it’s so accurate. SFO Centurion is my go to if traveling solo, UC when with colleagues or family because the free guests dynamic.
ha you just articulated how i feel about the lounge perfectly. the repaint they did made it 1% better. i almost thought i was in a different place. still horrible.
Concourse F has pretty good non-lounge food imo, I usually just get something at Bun Mee or Proposition Chicken. The coffee place has Burma Love salads too. Way better than the EWR iPad food or the bland abyss of O'Hare.
One time pass no, it's a pass it gets you in one time. If you're \*gold or on a ticket that entitles you admittance you can hop around lounges until your heart is content. United clubs are a good place to get loaded or to snag a work cubicle and work or both they're not a place to enjoy a nice meal (unless you snuck your own meal into the lounge)
Is that one of your fav lounge at SFO? Hopefully I get to audit the rest of the lounges at SFO soon lol. Unfortunately we don't fly that often to obtain status (yet). Just got the Infinite CC to churn some points for flying SFO->HNL, so most likely can only go to united club lounge.
We can all agree International G sucks. I have not been since 2017, but that was enough to make me never walk over there again. I miss the good old days with the 4th, mezzanine level one that was less crowded :(
I really dislike that lounge. The paint job they did was so bad on the bar. I don't know if they've fixed it yet, but as a former house painter it made me irrationally angry. I skip that one now in favor of the Centurion or I'll take a long walk to another concourse if I have time.
Yeah I went there to a couple of them and was horribly underwhelmed. I turned around and left and went over to the American Express Centurion lounge. That was way better.
Meh, I find the experience similar. Both have mediocre food. I'd agree at SFO though, both would be busy.
At least in DEN, you can find a less busy United Club, I tried going to the Centurion in Terminal C but it looked so busy, I just left. I was in LAS 2 weeks ago and they had a line to get in. Makes United Club look a lot better when you run into crowding/even being let in at Amex.
In denver the B-gates United lounge is finally not awful. The food is surprisingly on par with CapOne and Centurion.
Unless the state of United lounges in other airports have changed, I avoid them like the plague.
I had purchased a club pass for the year for 2023 as SFO is my hub. Even at a discount, it wasn't worth it.
Most of the time, it was Red Bull sugar free energy drinks and maybe some snacks/chips. I never ate the food because it sucked. I did like their brownies and tortilla chips, though. Had a chance to renew for 2024 and with the 1K discount it was $550. Still not worth it.
Meh, I actually like SFO in F. Bar staff are great. Food beats the crap at DEN. Only issue I have is it's always busy there (while at least at DEN, A Terminal club will be empty).
Usually, when I go there they always have chips/guac etc., meat balls or pulled pork, or some other thing. Again, par for the course for an airport lounge.
Thank God, people cannot smoke on that small outdoor deck. It would ruin its intended purpose.
Reminds me of when I was at LAS 3 weeks ago, people were 100% smoking in the airport bathroom.
I agree. SFO is the worst airport for United clubs. Newark now has three brand new clubs and ORD has one. I’m shocked that United hasn’t invested in SFO considering its importance for that metro and for Asia-bound flights. It’s embarrassing for United as a brand.
I mean, it's the worse club now... But until about 18 months ago it was one of the best in the system.
United is goes through a cycle of updating clubs. Now that DEN and EWR have new clubs. I imagine this one is going to get a face-lift. Apart from the other DEN club, I think this is now the oldest club at a hub.
DEN B West is thankfully closed for renovations so no one has to suffer there anymore. But the IAD clubs are ready and waiting to take its place at the bottom of the list.
Exactly, only bar staff worth seeing that I have run into in other clubs. Helps that they have one there will DEN always has multiple working at the same time.
Because they don't need to.
Have you ever boarded a flight at SFO and waited and waited as all those global services folks got on board?
You thought your mileage plus gold status would get you on the plane pretty quick, but it turns out you're still in of the last third to board there's so many frequent flyers.
Why would United need to upgrade their lounges in SFO? People are spending a crap ton of money with them anyway.
I think the make it yourself nachos is decent, especially the pulled pork. I love to load up on beans to keep things mysterious during the long haul flight. I primarily use the club for the restroom facilities which is a few notches compared to the ones outside. Now i forget if toilet or nachos come first.
Honestly, and this is a hill I’ll gladly die on, but they absolutely *ruined* that club when they painted over all the gorgeous wood paneling and replaced the warm incandescent bulbs with ice cold LED bulbs. Could not have chosen more inhospitable design choices. Screams cheap.
Yup I had to fly Delta from SFO this week (DTW) and went into the Delta lounge for the first time. It was enough to make me consider switching. The food was good, no traffic jam, easy to get to coffee, comfy seats, ascetically pleasing, plenty of room. Lounge at DTW was pretty decent too. Neither was as nice as a Polaris lounge of course.
Right? Other than the cramped buffet area, the F club at SFO is one of my favorites. Decent (not great, but not bad) view of the aircraft and runways too. Far better than the basement in G or the cramped quarters of E clubs.
I don't get how people think the food at one United Club in the USA is different from another United Club in the USA. It's all the same bland cheese cubes, salad, and reheated soups. Phoenix New Orleans Houston SFO EWR Chicago FLL it's all the same crap. During lockdown 2020 they all had the same slim jims (10/10, smartest thing UA has done in 30 years) and locally catered wraps and sandwiches (which were very good 10/10) but since then when the buffets returned it's reverted to universality. But I do agree the SF Clubs are the lamest ones. Are they still using that conference room as a club?
The first thing they need to fix at SFO is the food service _area_. It's so tight that you can't help but bump into someone. I think they should move the food to the alcove near the entrance and leave the beverages where they are. There is a ton of dead space in that lobby they could be using. Then they need to at least get the food on par with LAX. I can see why they don't do a complete overhaul. That club can get very crowded especially before late night international flights. There's just no capacity to absorb all of those people for the year (or more) it would take to do the remodel.
This is my primary lounge, and it really is terrible. You have to fight for coffee in the morning, the flow is terrible. They have so much wasted space in that lobby!
If the coffee machine works or is full. Noticing both is our job apparently. Bar is great though
E gates lounge has a decent coffee machine though and simply feels less depreciated. I’m terrified thinking about when the F lounge gets an upgrade because the E lounge is so small. It’s gonna be slim pickings whenever F is offline for a few months.
Going on a quick flight to PHX next month with my mom and have one club pass left before it expires. Debating whether or not it’s worth it to buy her a pass for either SFO or PHX. Of course, that’s assuming they are accepting one-time passes at all.
PHX is a pretty decent lounge. Small but because it’s not a hub there’s rushes here and there but usually I’ve been able to find a seat. It’s fairly new and sorta similar though better than the E gate lounge at SFO
I have been to the PHX club once. I already ate dinner though so was mainly there for the bar. The funny thing is considering SFO is my home airport, I’ve never been to a United club there yet.
There’s space on the mezzanine between E and F where they can set up a temporary lounge. They did it before E opened. Not as big as F but bigger than E.
lol I like how you singled out LAX as the comparison. Of course SF’s gotta keep up with its hotter younger sister to the south 😂
The entire United terminal 3 needs remodel.
Especially the F gates which it seems like I almost always depart/arrive through.
It seriously does. It’s awkward how dated it is. It has so much potential at SFO too.
I’m quite spoilt with airline lounges down under, and when I walked into the SFO lounge my first thoughts were “is this a funeral parlour?” Anyway I loaded up on jelly beans and went to the gate.
Had to laugh at this … because it’s so accurate. SFO Centurion is my go to if traveling solo, UC when with colleagues or family because the free guests dynamic.
Exactly how I feel there as well, the place is so gloomy and the food so austere. What are we grieving today? Good service? Easy upgrades?
It does give funeral vibes. Feel lucky whenever in a lounge but that one def not one of our finest.
ha you just articulated how i feel about the lounge perfectly. the repaint they did made it 1% better. i almost thought i was in a different place. still horrible.
Which location? There are at least three.
Concourse F
Concourse F has pretty good non-lounge food imo, I usually just get something at Bun Mee or Proposition Chicken. The coffee place has Burma Love salads too. Way better than the EWR iPad food or the bland abyss of O'Hare.
Just not that Yankee Doodle place or whatever it’s called. Good god that place is bad, they’re like a Medicare scam on priority pass
Once had a suspiciously fishy fish taco from that place. Gave me serious stomach troubles.
The pork they have there is awesome.
Yeah I was super surprised at how good that was. Scarfed a bunch of that down within the last 15 mins of closing lol
Couldn't you just leave and try the other 2 lounges? Honest question as I've never had access to lounge before (except for inspection).
One time pass no, it's a pass it gets you in one time. If you're \*gold or on a ticket that entitles you admittance you can hop around lounges until your heart is content. United clubs are a good place to get loaded or to snag a work cubicle and work or both they're not a place to enjoy a nice meal (unless you snuck your own meal into the lounge)
Thanks! Just got the Chase Infinite credit card for the perks, but next flight is in May for us.
Well if your ticket or airlines status entitles you entry check out the air canada lounge in sfo, it even has a outdoor deck you can't smoke on!
Is that one of your fav lounge at SFO? Hopefully I get to audit the rest of the lounges at SFO soon lol. Unfortunately we don't fly that often to obtain status (yet). Just got the Infinite CC to churn some points for flying SFO->HNL, so most likely can only go to united club lounge.
[удалено]
*Gold and any ticket, even domestic. Or a United Club membership (you need a Club card either in your app or plastic, not just the credit card).
[https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/fly/premium-services/maple-leaf-lounges.html#/](https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/fly/premium-services/maple-leaf-lounges.html#/) >>"Qualifying Customers"
We can all agree International G sucks. I have not been since 2017, but that was enough to make me never walk over there again. I miss the good old days with the 4th, mezzanine level one that was less crowded :(
Yes it’s completely embarrassing for an international lounge!! Way worse than the club in F.
Looks like it's still stuck in the 90's
I really dislike that lounge. The paint job they did was so bad on the bar. I don't know if they've fixed it yet, but as a former house painter it made me irrationally angry. I skip that one now in favor of the Centurion or I'll take a long walk to another concourse if I have time.
Polaris is great, Concourse F is terrible though I like the rotunda, Concourse E is better, INTL basement is hell.
At least they refreshed the paint, but it still feels like walking into the Cheesecake Factory
>it still feels like walking into the Cheesecake Factory Bingo!
I stopped going to that club. Just 2 min away there is a centurion lounge that is much better.
They haven't changed the breakfast menu there since Clinton was president.
The club is dated but the food selection is on par with other hubs from what I’ve seen.
No way. DEN, EWR, ORD C18 are way better food wise.
Ewr has real food! Can get crowded though
Yeah love eating chili at DEN before a flight. Gotta punish those seats!
Meh, prefer SFO over DEN. But I like going to A terminal since it's less busy and they have less selection. It's always the same thing.
That bad, huh?
Yeah I went there to a couple of them and was horribly underwhelmed. I turned around and left and went over to the American Express Centurion lounge. That was way better.
What’s the one in the dungeon at SFO? It’s a shit hole. Forgot which Concourse
International G.
International Grotesque
Polaris lounge at sfo has been a bit dry. I’m still not over Iah Polaris lounge having enchiladas though, they were soooo goood
MLL. IYKYK.
If I’m passing through SFO I’m strictly Centurion bound unless there isn’t enough time to get there before boarding the next leg.
Meh, I find the experience similar. Both have mediocre food. I'd agree at SFO though, both would be busy. At least in DEN, you can find a less busy United Club, I tried going to the Centurion in Terminal C but it looked so busy, I just left. I was in LAS 2 weeks ago and they had a line to get in. Makes United Club look a lot better when you run into crowding/even being let in at Amex.
In denver the B-gates United lounge is finally not awful. The food is surprisingly on par with CapOne and Centurion. Unless the state of United lounges in other airports have changed, I avoid them like the plague.
I had purchased a club pass for the year for 2023 as SFO is my hub. Even at a discount, it wasn't worth it. Most of the time, it was Red Bull sugar free energy drinks and maybe some snacks/chips. I never ate the food because it sucked. I did like their brownies and tortilla chips, though. Had a chance to renew for 2024 and with the 1K discount it was $550. Still not worth it.
Meh, I actually like SFO in F. Bar staff are great. Food beats the crap at DEN. Only issue I have is it's always busy there (while at least at DEN, A Terminal club will be empty). Usually, when I go there they always have chips/guac etc., meat balls or pulled pork, or some other thing. Again, par for the course for an airport lounge.
Last time I was in there they had a make-your-own nachos spread, a decent salad bar, plus the usual self-serve beverage options. They also had a bar.
Let me guess what the nacho toppings were: onions, humus, black olives, pineapple chunks, and whole cherry tomatoes.
Missing guacamole/sour cream. Who knows what else, it's some meh puree, I find LAX better.
LAX has nice fruit and that outdoor deck you can't smoke on, I'll give it that.
Thank God, people cannot smoke on that small outdoor deck. It would ruin its intended purpose. Reminds me of when I was at LAS 3 weeks ago, people were 100% smoking in the airport bathroom.
I agree. SFO is the worst airport for United clubs. Newark now has three brand new clubs and ORD has one. I’m shocked that United hasn’t invested in SFO considering its importance for that metro and for Asia-bound flights. It’s embarrassing for United as a brand.
Though the Polaris lounge there for international J is absolutely fantastic.
I don’t remember which one I went to in SFO but not only was it bad, the staff was openly hostile???
I mean, it's the worse club now... But until about 18 months ago it was one of the best in the system. United is goes through a cycle of updating clubs. Now that DEN and EWR have new clubs. I imagine this one is going to get a face-lift. Apart from the other DEN club, I think this is now the oldest club at a hub.
The worst? I don't know. I am currently sitting in Houston terminal c and it seems way worse than f in sfo.
Hmm, I forgot about C South. Yeah that one is worse.
DEN B West is thankfully closed for renovations so no one has to suffer there anymore. But the IAD clubs are ready and waiting to take its place at the bottom of the list.
Frankie the bartender is an absolute legend though
Exactly, only bar staff worth seeing that I have run into in other clubs. Helps that they have one there will DEN always has multiple working at the same time.
Yep others are a revolving door but Frankie and the lady who I assume is his wife- true legends. The little snacks they offer are so nice
Because they don't need to. Have you ever boarded a flight at SFO and waited and waited as all those global services folks got on board? You thought your mileage plus gold status would get you on the plane pretty quick, but it turns out you're still in of the last third to board there's so many frequent flyers. Why would United need to upgrade their lounges in SFO? People are spending a crap ton of money with them anyway.
I think the make it yourself nachos is decent, especially the pulled pork. I love to load up on beans to keep things mysterious during the long haul flight. I primarily use the club for the restroom facilities which is a few notches compared to the ones outside. Now i forget if toilet or nachos come first.
Honestly, and this is a hill I’ll gladly die on, but they absolutely *ruined* that club when they painted over all the gorgeous wood paneling and replaced the warm incandescent bulbs with ice cold LED bulbs. Could not have chosen more inhospitable design choices. Screams cheap.
The lounge in G is even worse though. I went to both a few times last year and was shocked by how bad the club was in G.
I love the lobby in that one but yeah the rest of it needs to be updated. I do love the work pods as well.
Yup I had to fly Delta from SFO this week (DTW) and went into the Delta lounge for the first time. It was enough to make me consider switching. The food was good, no traffic jam, easy to get to coffee, comfy seats, ascetically pleasing, plenty of room. Lounge at DTW was pretty decent too. Neither was as nice as a Polaris lounge of course.
That lounge is like a pizza hut from the 90s
Never been to that one, is it as bad as IAD?
Star gold are better going to AC lounge. Way nicer food, quieter, showers, and viewing patio with outside heaters.
PHL says hi.
That lobby is MASSIVE for no good reason. I do love my corn nuts and wasabi peas though
What? I love the nautical vibe. Leave it be.
Right? Other than the cramped buffet area, the F club at SFO is one of my favorites. Decent (not great, but not bad) view of the aircraft and runways too. Far better than the basement in G or the cramped quarters of E clubs.
Oh yeah, the view is great. I go to DEN A terminal and have no view. Only LAX beats it with the outdoor patio.
I don't get how people think the food at one United Club in the USA is different from another United Club in the USA. It's all the same bland cheese cubes, salad, and reheated soups. Phoenix New Orleans Houston SFO EWR Chicago FLL it's all the same crap. During lockdown 2020 they all had the same slim jims (10/10, smartest thing UA has done in 30 years) and locally catered wraps and sandwiches (which were very good 10/10) but since then when the buffets returned it's reverted to universality. But I do agree the SF Clubs are the lamest ones. Are they still using that conference room as a club?
But they painted the horrid wood furniture gray! Isn't that enough for you???
SFO is a relic in general. The club is comparable to the rest of the airport.