Review: United Polaris Lounge, Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

The first Polaris Lounge reborn with a fresh look, an elegant dining room, and a speakeasy style bar

The revamped Polaris Lounge at Chicago O’Hare shines with new furnishings, an elegant dining room, and a second “speakeasy” style bar which sets it apart from the other Polaris Lounges in the network.

The summary

The lounge is open to Polaris Business Class flyers departing from or transiting at O’Hare and to business and first class passengers departing from O’Hare on another Star Alliance flight. The lounge is easily located: in the C concourse at the top of the escalators (and a bit to the left). The entrance will be familiar to any Polaris lounge visitor with the attractive light fixture.

Once you enter, there is a hydration station to the immediate right. Straight ahead is the row of individual washrooms. I love the starlit ceiling.

Visitors will notice a large variety of seating: tables, sofas, individual seat pods and more. As you further explore the lounge, you will notice seats with some splashes of orange as part of the lounge’s rebranded look, courtesy of Crate & Barrel. This room also has plenty of tarmac views and is where the traditional bar is located. This bar is reminiscent of all the lounges in the network – maybe less attractive than some of the others.

On the other side of the bar is a row of private phone rooms/office that face another hydration station with some desert items as well.

Behind the offices is one of the lounge’s gems: a new speakeasy style bar. This is easily the most stylish bar in any Polaris lounge and one of the nicest I have seen in any airport. (It opens at 2 PM).

Past the speakeasy, there is more seating including some very attractive semi private loungers.

Keep walking and to the left, you will find the new dining room. This dining room is more elegant than others in the network (thanks Crate and Barrel). Portions are small and servers encourage diners to order more than one.

The main buffet area is back near the entry, behind the first hydration station. It is similar to others in the network, albeit smaller than the Newark buffet. Without detailing each item, I will let the pictures convey what’s available.

Behind the buffet area are the showers and more private daybeds. The kind staff will press clothes for you and give you additional items (e.g., hair dryer) when asked. I actually liked this shower suite more than the one I recently used in Newark.

Staff throughout the lounge was excellent. The dining room servers were proactive and moved very quickly. When a hydration station was out of my requested chamomile tea, it was immediately replenished. Internet was not password protected and was very fast. Outlets, as per usual, were everywhere.

The wrap

…The details: September 21, 2025. Rating: Exceptional. Access: Arriving on a Polaris ticket

..What I like: The decor, speakeasy, dining area, staff, showers.

…What I don’t like: The “old” bar could have been refreshed as well. The buffet seemed smaller than that at Newark or Washington (but that could just be in how it is displayed)