Is the United MCO Red Carpet Lounge Family-Friendly?
Though more modest than many of its counterparts, the United MCO Red Carpet lounge offered a quiet and family friendly comfortable place to relax before our flight home to LAX.
Last February I decided to try out the United MileagePlus® Club card by Chase. As part of its long list of perks it also gives its holders access to United’s Red Carpet Lounges. The card benefit came in handy two weeks later when we had several hours to kill in at Orlando‘s MCO airport after checking out of our hotel.
Location
MCO airport is shaped like a giant rectangle with four areas leading to the gates. The United Lounge is located in terminal B Airside next to Gate 43. Though it opens daily like other lounges at 5:15 AM it closes on the early side by 8 PM.
Access
Access is complimentary for Mileage Plus credit card holders, business and first-class travelers and Star Alliance members of gold status and above. People who have the United MileagePlus Explorer card get two lounge passes per year.
Want to get lounge access without a credit card? United does offer a United Club yearly membership that gives access to all its lounges but comes with a whopping 550$ sticker price. Otherwise for travelers who want a day pay the charge is $59 per person when space is available.
Decor and size
Like most lounges, the décor here is modern with the broad use of calming hues of browns and grays. The place looks somewhat bland with a few splashes of color and plants that liven up the space.
The lounge is on the small size but is skillfully divided into several areas to make it feel less cramped. There’s even a designated quiet family area with a TV set and a couple of toys to keep antsy kids at bay.
Seating
From comfy armchairs to round tables with hard-backed chairs, to stools at the bar the lounge had plenty of seats. Moreover, there were many outlets, so no one had an issue plugging in their electronics. We found the hidden sockets between the armchairs very useful.
Amenities
Wi-Fi was free ( they give you the password at check-in) and signal and speed were pretty good. So we spent our time answering emails and streaming movies on Netflix.
The lounge has separate men’s & women’s restrooms. I found the women’s bathroom clean and well-stocked while my husband and son mentioned the men’s one was equally impeccably kept.
The venue has a separate family room area that is separated by a door. Aside from the whimsical wall decorations by Dr. Suess, there’s a TV, board game, and free Wikki Stix to occupy antsy kids.
Flight Information Monitor
Since the lounge staff doesn’t make any announcements, travelers need to check their flight status on their own. Hence the screen in the middle of the lounge displaying the flight departures and arrivals was perfect.
Service
Overall we liked the service. The front desk representatives were friendly and informative. while the staff was prompt in clearing used dishes and utensils.
Food and Beverages
since we had a couple of hours to kill we stayed in the lounge for quite a while so we sampled both their breakfast and lunch grub.
For breakfast, the spread consisted of an assortment of bagels muffins along with several kinds of cheese, butter, and jams. There was a station of cut-up fresh fruit, cereals as well as Greek yogurts and granola. Breakfast beverage choices included juices, teas, coffees, hot chocolate and infused waters.
The lunch menu was a bit more elaborate. The mini buffet included a chopped salad as well a Tuscan bean salad that surprisingly tasted great when added to the Chicken corn chowder.
Topping it all was dessert! The choices included lemon bars and Double chocolate chip cookies along with fresh whole apples and bananas.
As an Olympics supporter, the MCO United lounge celebrated in a unique way. Every day at snack time they put out m&M matching the colors of the flags of the winners.
The lounge also offers free beverages. The lounge has self-serve specialty coffees and soft drinks machines. At the lounge bar: house wines and well drinks are complimentary, while premium cocktails like margaritas and Moscow mules are available for purchase.
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