- United simply opened its largest-ever lounge at Denver Worldwide Airport
- The brand new United Membership boasts digital gates for simple entry and loads of energy ports
- Like different golf equipment, there are additionally ample seats and free Wi-Fi
Whereas a lot of the main focus with United Airways’ enhancement so far this 12 months has been inside its plane or enhancements to its app for Android or iOS, there’s additionally been a concentrate on renovating and introducing fully new lounges at airports.
Dubbed United Golf equipment, these lounges are accessible by one-time passes, membership, or choose tickets, which provide quieter spots and respite from the final chaos and hecticness of airports. These lounges include advantages comparable to seating, cleaner bogs, energy ports, Wi-Fi, drinks, and even meals.
Belief me, strive the signature chocolate chip cookies … they’re merely unimaginable.
Earlier this week, I trekked – nicely, flew – to Denver Worldwide Airport to take a look at the most important United Membership ever. At a staggering 33,000 sq. ft, it’s an enormous two-floor house that’s above the final concourse with loads of seating and expansive views of the tarmac.
As you’d suspect, the lounge’s entrance is on the primary flooring, caught within the middle of the concourse close to Gate B32. You’ll discover an entry level, however somewhat than a traditional row of desks with displays and United Airways representatives, you’ll discover three ‘E-Gates’ – aka digital gates – with seemingly two working as entrances.
Right here, if you have already got your move for entry, you may merely scan your boarding move and watch because the gate swings open to allow you to in. It’s so simple as that, and in comparison with another entry factors, this might prevent fairly a little bit of time. When you do want help, there’s a service desk off to the facet, but it surely’s clear that the airline desires to get you in your manner up the escalator as shortly as doable.
This isn’t the primary time E-Gates have debuted at a United Membership, however contemplating it is a brand-new house for the airline, the gates are within the playbook transferring ahead. It ought to pace up the entry course of significantly, and we’ll hopefully see this self-scan possibility seem at extra golf equipment, both new or being retrofitted.
As soon as in, you’ll take stairs, an escalator, or an elevator as much as the primary degree, the place you’re greeted by some hanging artwork, two electrical fireplaces, and loads of seating. United Airways actually went with a large web for kinds of seats – recliners, loungers, a lot of leather-based coaches, and extra commonplace seating round tables and even some cubicles.
To the left is a extra commonplace meals buffet, additionally full with a number of tables, an all-important Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, and little work cubicles, which I feel professionals and college students will actually get pleasure from.
On the appropriate is a full bar with extra seating, a room painted inside a mural – see the photograph beneath, it’s superior – after which extra expansive views of the tarmac. The entire place feels fairly homey and is designed to imitate the feel and appear of a cabin in Colorado.
In comparison with different lounges, there’s actually ample seating and luxury choices to select from – I may see myself taking some calls within the little work cubicles, regardless that they’re uncovered, or choosing a desk alongside the floor-to-ceiling home windows to look at motion on the ramp. The couches, I’ll say, are fairly comfy as nicely – I pulled out an iPad mini and watched some TV from there, and hey, I discovered a plug.
One factor United didn’t skimp on was energy – and that’s a essential level, as some of us pays for entry to seats, clear services, and energy. Throughout the design, energy ports are integrated into numerous surfaces, together with underneath lamps at cubicles, beneath rows of longer cubicles dealing with home windows, and built-in into tables or decrease ottomans. All of those function two commonplace AC shops in addition to USB-A and USB-C ports.
And the kicker is that these particular person ports are set to cost at 15 watts – fairly good and higher than what you would possibly discover outdoors. Additionally, contemplating the concern round juice jackers or nefarious integrations throughout the ports, it’s good to know who put in these.
All-in-all, it’s a pleasant house, elevating all the things you’d count on from a lounge. There aren’t many TVs, say for above the 2 bars, and there may be loads of lighting at various levels of hotter and cooler tones. United says the latter is finished on function, relying on the room you’re in – for example, it is perhaps a cooler tone whenever you first stroll in and a hotter tone in a extra enjoyable seating surroundings.
There may be one spot on the second flooring of the lounge with further noise-canceling padding, which, throughout the media preview when the lounge was not anyplace close to capability, was utterly silent – I feel vacationers will actually admire that. You’ll additionally discover all-gender restrooms, wellness rooms, in addition to girls’s and males’s rooms. There’s additionally a recreation room full with a shuffleboard desk.
All through the house, there’s a non-public Wi-Fi community for the United Membership with respectable speeds. Although I’d recommend you run a VPN when on it, even when it’s extra personal than, say, the total public Wi-Fi on the Denver Worldwide Airport.
And whereas there aren’t personal showers, I might nonetheless name it a really perfect spot for tech followers just because you will discover a snug seat, recharge, get a quick connection, and yeah, get pleasure from a cookie. The opening additionally arrives as United Airways is constant its rollout of Starlink for quicker, free in-flight Wi-Fi, making app updates, and ushering in redesigned cabins with high-tech upgrades.
Chatting with TechRadar, journey influencer Zach Griff shared, “United’s tech upgrades have been obvious all through the journey journey, from the cell app to the updates it makes to its lounges. For example, the brand new United Membership in Denver provides e-gates that enable vacationers to self-scan into the lounge without having to attend in line. This helps vacationers get into the lounge quicker, and in addition frees up brokers to resolve extra urgent journey points, comparable to serving to vacationers when irregular operations come up.”
The brand new United Membership at Terminal B at Denver Worldwide Airport is open from right now – July 31, 2025 – on and is close to Gate 32. Its day by day working hours are 5 AM to 9 PM Mountain Time. You may entry it with a one-time move, when flying choose premium cabins, with a United Membership membership, or with Star Alliance Gold standing.
United expects to open a fair bigger membership in Houston at George Bush Intercontinental Airport – and sure, it is going to be bigger than simply 33,001 sq. ft – in addition to one other membership at San Francisco Worldwide Airport, and one internationally in Hong Kong.
You may also like