Review: The Fancy United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR)

Background

I visited the United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR) before my flight to London Heathrow (LHR). The United Polaris Lounges are a premium lounge offering for international business class passengers flying on United or other Star Alliance partner airlines. Currently, Polaris Lounges can be found in Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York/Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington Dulles (IAD). I’ve only visited the Los Angeles (LAX) Polaris Lounge once in 2022 and had a good experience, so I was excited to compare the two.

Access and Hours

To access the United Polaris Lounge at EWR you have to be flying United Polaris business class or business/first on a Star Alliance carrier departing to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, or some South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru).

If you are flying United Polaris, you may access a United Polaris lounge at your departure, connecting, and arrival airports during same-day routing. If you’re flying First or Business Class on a Star Alliance member airline, you can access the lounge at your departure airport. First also lets you bring one guest.

The lounge is located right after security in Terminal C, between Gates C102 and C120. The lounge hours are from 5:00 am to 10:30 pm daily.

Entry

The lobby is quite spacious and beautifully stunning. I was quickly checked in and then wandered around a bit. At about 27,000 square feet, it is quite a big lounge. The lounge was quite empty when I entered around 1 pm, but picked up throughout the day. Once we hit 4 pm, the lounge was quite crowded.

Upon passing the check-in desks, you’ll first see some seating areas, and the lounge splitting off into different directions.

First, I walked past this area to the right which had separate desks to assist with reservations and ticketing. There was seating in this area, as well as private phone booths to take meetings or get work done. I love the white marble walls.

Then, I decided I was hungry and headed over to the Dining Room to grab a late lunch.

Dining Room

There is a full sit-down restaurant towards the back left of the lounge.

Breakfast can be ordered until 11 am, then it switches over to the lunch and dinner menu. The menu is quite limited, but still nice to have a sit-down dining experience. The hostess I had was nice but seemed a bit annoyed at how understaffed they were during my visit. You can also make reservations once in the lounge, which I would recommend doing if you want to eat at dinnertime as the lounge gets quite packed. I saw many people come up to the host stand to make reservations for 5 pm or so.

Here was the lunch/dinner menu during my visit.

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I decided to have a late lunch at around 2 pm and was quickly seated.

At first, I ordered the Winter Salad and Monkfish. The Winter Salad was zesty and quite delicious, and I truly enjoyed it. The monkfish was also quite good, but it was tiny.

So, since I was still hungry, I ended up ordering the Cacio e Pepe and Wild mushroom bruschetta. Those were quite tasty as well, but again a small portion.

Lastly, I ended with a Tiramisu, which was alright.

Overall, the main dishes I had were all quite delicious, though the portions were just a bit small. Nonetheless, you could always order more so it’s not really a major issue. It doesn’t really get better than this for dining in a U.S. airport lounge, and I was very impressed. The only product that I can see that beats it is American Airlines’ Flagship First dining, but that First Class and United Polaris is a business class lounge. Having a la carte dining for United Polaris at the airport is certainly a treat.

Bar & Buffet

Next to the Dining Room, is quite a large bar area.

In the center of the lounge, there is a buffet area where you can help yourself. I visited the buffet for dinner, and I saw lasagna, braised chicken, meatballs, a few soups, roasted carrots and parsnips, a well-stocked salad bar, a nice charcuterie selection, soup, and more.

There are refrigerators scattered throughout the lounge where you can grab a bottle of water or a can of soda. There’s also a dedicated beverage station towards the back of the lounge with infused waters, tea, coffee, and more.

Seating Areas

There is plenty of seating scattered about the lounge.

The main seating area near the windows has an assortment of individual work pods in the center. I really liked how private they were and they were quite stylish. I sat here to get work done. Each pod is equipped with its own power outlets and USB ports. I only wish that the desk area was extendable, or a bit larger.

The only issue I had at the lounge was that the Wi-Fi was extremely slow. I was trying to catch up on some work, and it proved a bit difficult with the slow Wi-Fi speeds. Hopefully, this was just a one-off.

Towards the window, there are many rows of armchairs, as well as towards the interior.

As you head towards the buffet area, there are plenty of restaurant-style tables to have a meal.

Shower Suites and Quiet Suites

Near the reservation decks, there’s a separate entrance with a reception desk where you can sign in to use a quiet room and/or a shower suite. I came in to see if I could reserve a time for a shower, and was able to schedule one for an hour later which was perfect for me.

If you need a hair dryer, toothbrush, deodorant, and more, these can be requested at the check-in counter.

The shower suite I had, number 8, was very nice and spacious. It came with slippers, a loofah, and Therabody Hand Soap, Lotion, Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash. The suite was also quite clean.

There was a rainfall shower head and wand, but the water pressure on the rainfall shower was a tad too low. But, it was still nice to be able to freshen up before an overnight flight.

The Quiet Suites are individual rooms with a lounge chair, a side table, and amenities eyemask/ear plugs. I didn’t have a chance to check them out on this visit, but if you need to take a nap this may be a good spot for you.

In terms of restrooms, there are two sections of restrooms, one on the right side near the shower suites, and another set near the bar. Each is an individual, private bathroom, equipped with a toilet and sink, and red and green lights illuminate outside if they are occupied or available. Each time I visited, they were clean and kept up nicely.

The Verdict

Overall, the United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR) is a great premium lounge and one of my favorite lounges in the United States. The decor is quite luxurious and relaxing, while the solid a la carte dining aspect will keep your stomach happy, along with plenty of comfortable seats and amenities that make it a must-visit when flying in international business on United or Star Alliance out of Newark.

 

Have you visited the United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR)? What were your thoughts? Comment below!

 

Cheers,

Ty

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Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!