At Denver International Airport—a convergence of Colorado locals, active vacationers, and business fliers headed for destinations throughout the country and the world—United Airlines cut the ribbon on July 31 on a reimagined two-level, 33,000-square-foot lounge in Concourse B.
Closed since 2023 for a top-to-bottom renovation, the space reopens at a moment when Denver has become a critical hub for the airline. In the past two years, United has expanded and refreshed every one of its United Clubs at the airport, creating more than 100,000 square feet of lounge space spread across four locations, with enough seating for more than 1,600 guests.
For travelers, that means more room to dine, drink, and stretch out before boarding. For United, it’s a visible marker of the carrier’s growing dominance in Denver. No other airline flies to more destinations from the Mile High City, with upwards of 550 daily departures on average to more than 180 destinations across 45 states and 11 countries. All told, United operates an airport-leading 90 gates at DEN, which encompasses the entire B Concourse and half of the A Concourse.
“By adding more flights and exclusive long-haul destinations, United is helping shape Denver into a major global gateway,” Aaron McMillan, United’s director of hospitality programs, told Afar.
In the coming years, United plans to also open a Polaris lounge in Denver, a project that is currently in the design phase, with no opening date yet announced.
Here’s what it’s like inside United’s newest airport lounge in Denver.
The space
United says the new lounge near gate B32 is meant to channel Colorado mountain-lodge vibes, but it does so with a light touch, incorporating design details such as subtle blue plaid carpeting and vapor fireplaces.
Guests scan their boarding passes to access the lounge and ascend to the third floor (the main terminal is on the second) via escalators. While the lounge is spread across the third and fourth floors, the amenities and seating areas are largely the same on each level.
Throughout the space is an array of seating options, including bistro chairs around two-top tables, bar chairs along high-top tables, café-style booths, and wide leather lounge chairs overlooking the tarmac, among others. All told, there’s seating for more than 600 guests, making it one of the largest lounges in the network, which should help spread out the visitor footprint. When I was there on August 15, it was easy to find a spot to work, and the overall lounge was quiet. All the seats have a convenient charging port within reach.
The biggest difference between the two floors is the artwork. United collaborated with Nine Dot Arts, a Denver-based curation company that has also procured artworks for many of the city’s boutique hotels, such as The Maven and Catbird, to source works from local artists. All of the pieces have a nature theme, including a large-scale painting by LaTasha Green that features the region’s native wildflowers, and a multiwall mural by Will Barker that depicts ranchers on horseback in a vast river valley. The group also created the bookshelf displays, a mix of hiking guides and books on cowboy culture (some of which guests can grab for a quick read), together with props like a canteen, binoculars, and worn leather boots—all subtle nods to the state’s Western and outdoor-focused heritage.
Bathrooms feature wallpaper covered in horses and frontier-styled main streets (and they’re stocked with practical extras like free diapers and tampons). It’s worth noting that while there are dozens of bathroom stalls, there aren’t any shower suites. Similarly, though there are work desks, there aren’t designated office spaces or phone booths.
For families with babies and young children, there are two wellness rooms equipped with changing tables, and for the young at heart, there’s a small game room on the upper level with a wooden shuffleboard table.
Food and beverage
Like all of the United lounges, this outpost offers a curated buffet-style spread that rotates with the seasons. Breakfast fare includes yogurt (with fruit and granola), bagels (with toppings such as red onion and sliced tomato), and warm egg dishes (scrambled egg whites and frittatas, for example). Later in the day, the focus shifts to salads, sandwiches, and cheeses, with a handful of hot dishes, such as pulled pork and vegetable-studded pasta.
Additional self‑serve stations are scattered throughout, featuring premade sandwiches and assorted snacks, among them plantain chips and gummy bears.
There are two full-service bars, one on each level, each with its own distinct vibe. The first-floor bar seems like a trendy downtown Denver brewery—with exposed ceilings, concrete floors, communal-style seating, and a moody vibe. Upstairs is more like a modern cocktail lounge, with blonde wood, floor-to-ceiling windows, and lounge-style seating.
Coors, brewed in nearby Golden, Colorado, claims a few of the tap handles, as do beers from Breckenridge Brewing and Denver Beer Co. (The craft beers are an additional charge, as are premium wine and spirits.) Additionally, there are self-service coffee and soda stations scattered throughout the lounge.
How to access the new United lounge
The new United Club location in Denver is on the west side of the B Concourse near gate B32, and it is open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Customers with a United Club membership, a onetime pass, Star Alliance Gold status, or a seat in eligible premium cabins can access United Club locations.
