On Location: The United Club at Denver International Airport

While in Denver recently, we had the opportunity to spend a few hours in the United Club at Denver International Airport. And whether one is at the airport for a layover or just looking for a quiet place to escape from the energy of the main terminal below, this elevated retreat is a very nice way to start a flight right.

Unlike the lounge at the Las Vegas airport, the Denver United Club has multiple rooms with a range of seating options. (The smaller rooms offer a greater sense of intimacy and help keep the volume down and the overall mood serene.) Large-screen TVs are placed on walls throughout the rooms, some tuned to news (or soap operas), others with arrival or departure information. 

While there is no hot food option (and no outside food allowed in), there are plenty of snacks set up on tables (think cheese and crackers, fresh fruit and various mixes). There is also a good range of complimentary drinks at the bar, including wine, beer (including Heineken and Blue Moon) and name-brand spirits and liquors (Beefeater gin, Jim Beam, Seagram’s 7 and Smirnoff among the former; Bailey’s, Disaronno and Kahlua among the latter). The Bloody Mary we sampled was made with plenty of worchestershire sauce, and was good and spicy.

Significantly for business travelers, there are lots of electrical outlets all throughout the lounge, some of them in the floor--making it easy for visitors to sit in the middle of the room rather than limiting them to the walls. For top views of the runway, pick the long tables by the floor-to-ceiling windows. To keep an eye on the TV screens (or to sit in the most comfortable chairs), opt for the seats in the middle of the lounge or in the bar area. For more privacy and less distraction, there is a hallway with individual desks and a copy machine--but there are no screens to display boarding announcements or gate changes, so workers at these stations may have to break away regularly to get the latest information about their flights.