United Airlines has slowly reopened its field station lounges and most are now open. I recently had the chance to rate the United Club in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and walked away pretty impressed.
United Club Dallas / Forth Worth (DFW) rating
I spent a few hours in this lounge before my flight to Denver and appreciated how quiet it was on a Saturday night, how friendly the staff were, and how clean it was.
Location + access + opening times
The lounge is located in Terminal E between Gates E6 and E7. It is open daily from 4:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Access is restricted to United Club members, Chase United Club visa holders, Star Alliance Gold travelers, and international business or first class passengers on a Star Alliance flight.
In addition, one-time Chase passes are accepted or a single visit badge can be purchased at the front desk for $ 59. Single pass access may be restricted if the lounge gets too crowded.
Also note that with a United Airlines Star Alliance Gold card (Premier Gold or higher), you can only access the lounge when traveling on an international itinerary.
Those who have a Star Gold card from other programs can use the lounge on all Star Alliance flights in every class of service. Also note that United from DFW does not grant premium cabin passengers on non-status domestic flights.
Global Services passengers also have free entry.
Seats
When entering the lounge, you can turn left, right, or go straight. There is plenty of seating in each direction. To the right are chairs back to back and a table running the length of the wall with a great view of the asphalt outside.
Go straight back and you will come to more seating with a similar layout. Go left and you will pass the bar area before entering the buffet area with round tables and stands.
After all, there are three “phone booths” where you can sit in a private office and not disturb others while you are on the phone.
On a Saturday night the lounge was totally empty … a few others were there when I arrived and for one point during my stay I was the only guest. I could imagine this getting a lot busier during the week.
There are sockets throughout the lounge, including 120-volt US power sockets and USB-A sockets.
The internet is on a lightning-fast mesh network with speeds of more than 300 Mbit / s.
Eat + drink
A full-service bar as well as self-service soft drinks, coffee, juices and tea were available. This includes a Coke Freestyle machine and an illy espresso machine.
Drinks menu here. Beer and wine and selected spirits are free, while premium drinks and cocktails are chargeable.
There was also a drinks station with water on the other side of the lounge.
The buffet included prepackaged foods and whole fruit, including:
- Oranges
- Mandarins
- Bananas
- Apples
- Freshly cut fruit
- Pasta salad
- Grain salad
- Hummus and flatbread
- Cheese spread
- crisps
- Mini Corn Dogs (wrapped in aluminum foil)
- Oreo cookies
- gummy bear
- Cupcakes
- Brownies
I tired the corn dogs … mushy. However, the fruit and espresso were delicious.
service
I found the staff in this lounge really nice. For example, the Sodexo (grocer) employee who oversaw the buffet was very friendly and carefully refilled the buffet every time someone took something so it always appeared well stocked and neatly presented.
The bartender was also very friendly and conjured cocktail after cocktail for a couple who were sitting at the bar when I arrived.
In front of me when I entered, three passengers were trying to get on without proper ID. Those poor lounge agents have to deal with it all day. One had a Priority Pass and was politely turned away. One had a one-time club pass but was not flying United and turned away. Another flew first class thinking he should have access.
You’d think it would get old very quickly. But the ladies explained very gently that there was no access.
Toilets
The toilets include two larger toilets for men / women and a separate gender-neutral single toilet.
Wellness
I was curious about a door that said Wellness. It turned out to be just a room for breastfeeding. I’m not sure why the room isn’t called a little more specific….
CONCLUSION
This recently remodeled lounge is lovely and was a perfect place to wait for mine to go to Denver. I appreciated the friendly staff, fast internet, and light snacks … but most of all, how quiet it was.
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