United Club HKG review: weird and angular, but it’ll do in a pinch.

Despite the reduction of flights to and from Hong Kong in recent years, United Airlines still has (and proudly advertises) a United Club at the Hong Kong International Airport.

The following is a full review of my visit in September 2015. You might think that it was a completely different experience way back then, but guess what? Nearly everything about it is exactly the same.

A detailed overview of the HKG United Club

The United Club at HKG is a very modern and stylish lounge with natural wood and metal finishes. It’s definitely more on the “reserved” end of the style spectrum, though not visually consistent with current United Clubs.

Interior design of the united club at HKG — The best way to describe the HKG United Club is to just think of it as a generic Priority Pass lounge with United branding on the front door. It’s nice. But it ain’t exactly “United.”

After all these years (despite the fact that it hasn’t changed a bit), I still consider it to be nice enough place to relax and grab a light bite to eat before a long flight.

Location

You’ll find this lounge in Terminal 1 near gate 60. It’s located on the 7th floor (which is actually just one level up from the departure gate area). Take the stairs or elevator to reach the mezzanine level (where all the lounges are located). The United Club is the farthest one back all the way on the left.

Sign pointing to the united club at the Hong Kong international airport — Other than maybe the Plaza Premium Lounge, the United Club is up against some stiff competition here in Terminal 1. You bet your a** that this would’ve been in Emirates Lounge review if I would’ve planned ahead.

Main entrance to the united club at the Hong Kong international Airport — Waddling my way towards the main entrance to the United Club (while plotting a scheme to get into the Emirates Lounge next time).

How to get in

I was able to get access via my United BusinessFirst ticket to Chicago. As a reminder, United International business class was called BusinessFirst back then. Old skool sh*t.

Reception desk of the United Club at the Hong Kong international airport — The reception desk looks great! The person who checked me in was really nice as well (so nice that I’ll bet he would’ve handed me an application to the Emirates frequent flyer program if I would’ve asked for one).

The most common ways to get into the HKG United Club include:

Having a same day international business class ticket on United (or a Star Alliance partner airline).
Being a Star Alliance Gold member with a same day international ticket on United (or a Star Alliance partner airline).
Using the Chase United Club card (which comes with complementary United Club access).

Read the most up to date United Club access requirements here.

Layout

The space is broken up into several sections – which is nice because it increases the likelihood of being able to find a quiet corner to relax or work. This isn’t a very big lounge, and it does get crowded at times, but the nooks and crannies provide an opportunity to escape from all the noise.

Seating Area in the united club at the Hong Kong international airport — This is a fairly dense lounge with a lot of seats for sitting (as opposed to proper lounging). It’s almost as if they prefer that you eat your cheese cubes and GTFO ASAP.

Layout of the HKG united club — Unlike the SFO United Global First Lounge (where everything was boxy and square), the floor plan of this HKG lounge is angular and pointy. A heartburn inducing sh*t show for the architects and interior designers it was, I’m sure.

Table for eating in the united club Hong Kong airport — The teeniest of tables. It’s not like I had a choice – they’re all like this.

If I have one thing to complain about, it’s cleanliness. All of the seating areas surrounding the food bar were covered in food and crumbs. It was gross.

In their defense, a cleaning lady did a quick pass of the area shortly after I found a semi-acceptable table to sit at. So they were making at least some effort to keep things tidy.

Food and drinks

The self-service food bar consists of one large cube-like structure located in the front corner of the lounge. Each side contains a variety of food and beverage items.

Where the food is located in the united club at the Hong Kong international airport — See that big box lookin’ thing over yonder? That’s the feedin’ trough.

The cube is definitely unique and a good use of space – as a long and linear food bar wouldn’t work very well in this space due to the angular floor plan. It seemed efficient enough though, and it didn’t seem to encroach on the rest of the lounge.

Self serve food bar united club Hong Kong international airport — Here’s another angle of it showing the beverage selection (and toppings for yer salad).

Food station in the united club HKG — And yet another angle (showing the hot beverage machine and a selection of cup noodles – and hopefully what not appears to be the door to the men’s room).

Eating snacks in the Hong Kong united club — Cheese and yogurt right before a 15 hour flight? It’s just my subtle way of telling you that I’m not lactose intolerant without *telling* you that I’m not lactose intolerant.

The view

The food is maybe so so (and the chairs may not be all that comfortable), but the views from this lounge are excellent.

View of the airplanes from the united club at the Hong Kong international airport — Up close views of Cathay Pacific airplanes from a United Club? Oops.

View of the gate area and Cathay pacific airplanes from the united club at the Hong Kong airport — More Cathay Pacific airplanes. *“At least they’re part of the Star Alliance family I guess”* (what I imagine all of the United executives were thinking as they signed off on this).

This is the view looking straight down the barrel of Terminal 1. Stand here at your own risk if you’d dread being seen in a United Club instead of an Emirates lounge.

Pros and cons

All in all, this was a pretty nice lounge to sit and relax in for a bit. The food was ok, WiFi was fast and free, and the view of the terminal below (and outside) was really good.

Pros

The high ceiling makes it feel extremely spacious.
Lots of natural light from the huge windows.
Excellent views of the airport (and airplanes – especially if you like Cathay Pacific).

Cons

Cleanliness was an issue.
While I do consider it a good place to grab a quick drink or a snack, there’s really no place to properly “lounge.” It’s more of a café than it is a place to relax.

United Club HKG review: weird and angular, but it’ll do in a pinch.