ease of access and location: the showers are located in the far (far — this lounge is ginormous for a United Club) right-hand corner behind a shower attendant. the attendant was not there when i arrived at the club, but i asked at the front desk about a shower and she was able to take care of me up front. trade your boarding pass for a claim token, and get an optional toothbrush/toothpaste set. there was a sign that said “closed” when i got to the showers but the lady at the front desk said to ignore it. the regular shower attendant desk is open starting at 1:30 PM (i’d also imagine they are open in the morning, but don’t quote me on that). i overheard the matrons tell people who arrived at the lounge at 1:20 to wait until 1:30 for the shower desk, so YMMV as to where you can get access depending on when you get there.
the room is large with enough shelf space to open up your carry-on bag, which is always a bonus for me!
the goods: shrink-wrapped towels (bath, hand, face), foot towel already placed outside the shower. as mentioned earlier, toothpaste/toothbrush available when you check in, but nothing more than that, it seems — no amenity kit like at the United Club at GRU. no hair dryer, either. i’ve never heard of this Plegaria brand of toiletries before (says Made in Thailand) so i can’t vouch for how quality they are, but if i were to judge a book, i’d say meh.
NO WASHLET!!! i realize this lounge caters to primarily US-based travelers, but still. when in Rome — or Japan, as the case may be, y’all.
i don’t know what the fan is for, but i for one had no problem with ventilation.
shower: nice and strong, but the temperature fluctuated to (quite) hot several times. ack!
the shower head is adjustable from spray to deluge. kind of an odd set-up, though, with the knobs on one wall and the shower head on the other.
cleanliness and state of facilities: clean, but as you can see in the pictures, hella dated. like, blanche and dorothy would appreciate the decor. if i had to guess, i’d say it is circa late-1980s / early 1990s. shabby chic has been out for a while — i hope they renovate this (entire) club soon. (sidenote: you know what else would help? if they got rid of the textured tile in the lounge lobby. every. single. person. with a rollaboard rumbles through like a freight train.)
overall rating: 3 out of 5. give it a fresh look and i’d up it to 3.5. give an amenity kit as well and you’d get a 4. mr. smisek, tear! down! this! club! (and build a new snazzy one!) — i’m currently sitting in a chair with worn-through armrests. not cute.