IAD – Concourse C – United Club at C17 – Airline Lounge Review

Concourse C, Washington Dulles International

Introduction

This is my review of the United Club in Concourse C of Washington’s Dulles airport, by United Airlines.

There is also a lounge at D-Gates, and for those traveling internationally a Polaris Lounge.

Concourses C and D at Dulles are generally for United Airlines’ flights – and it’s a little challenging to get here!

Visited

September 2022 at 15:00

Opening Hours

The lounge is open daily from 05:00 to 22:30.

Entry Conditions

I’m still getting my head around the whole Star Alliance lounge access thing. But in essence if you’re a Star Alliance Gold, you’re getting in no problem.

If you’re part of the United Club, you’re getting in (this costs from $650/year)!

If you’re flying Business Class outside the US (including Canada), you’re also getting in!

However, if you’re on a domestic flight and non of the above – you’re not getting in! I found this out the hard way. I booked First Class for a domestic flight, was offered lounge access for $65, declined assuming I’d get access because of the class of flight – and was denied lounge access. Luckily I had other means and other lounges to access!

How to Get There

For general reference, it’s next to gate C17.  

From the Main Terminal, it is possibly easier to catch the AeroTrain to C-Gates. From here, it’s still quite a walk to the gates and the lounge.

The AeroTrain at IAD, that goes between the terminals, doesn’t go in a loop – and if you need to get to C-Gates from B-Gates, it’s a surprisingly long ride!

If you’ve landed from A, B or Z Gates, an alternative option is to take the Mobile Lounge from A or Z-Gates to D-Gates and walk. This is quite a novelty if you’ve not done it before! I’d say it’s probably a shorter walk from the Mobile Lounge gates at D-Gates than it is the long walk from the AeroTrain.

So, in short, it’s not the easiest to find! Nor does it have the most inspiriting of entrances!

Layout

The main seating in the lounge is lounge/casual seating.

There is some more table-based/dining seating close to the bar and eating area.

There are some high table areas for working from, which had lots charging.

Alternatively, there are a number of ‘pods’ – great for working! I actually really like this ‘pods’, however, it was battle of the calls when I was there. A lot of Americans were competing with eachothers voices on their respective calls, which was rather annoying, and made the area rather loud!   

Food and Drink

Drinks

On the drinks side, soft drinks are self-service from a soda fountain.

There is also self-service coffee and hot drinks.

Alternatively there is a full-service bar. Unlike American Airlines’ Admirals Clubs, there didn’t seem to be a menu with ‘premium drinks’ – so I am not sure if everything is included or not…….then again, there is a cashtil in the picture!

Food

On the food side, there was some nachos, cheeses, salad items – and cheese cubes!

On the hotter food side, there is some soup and a small tortilla area.

If you want something sweeter, there are cookies and fruit.

Wifi

I used the Wifi and found it to be pretty good, it certainly seemed reliable for all the (very loud) calls that were going on!

Showers

There are no showers here!

Conclusion

I guess in general terms, this is very similar to an Admirals Club, based on my recent review of the one in Philadelphia.

The décor is pretty dark and wood-like, the food very similar, no showers, and some good working areas. I still can’t quite fathom if there are ‘premium drinks’ – but there wasn’t a proactive food menu unlike Admirals Clubs (or at least that I could see). Maybe I’m wrong?

So in conclusion, to compare and Admirals Club with a United Club – I’d say they’re pretty much same. However if you want some (paid for) hot food, you’ll find it at an Admirals Club, but not a United Club.