Avoid the United Club in PHL
On one of my layovers this weekend I decided to check out the United Lounge located on the way to the D terminal in Philadelphia Airport. That was a mistake.
If you go to the main US Airways lounge between Terminals B & C, you ascend a tall escalator, arriving in a spacious light filled check in area and an enormous lounge area with glass on most of one side. Nice.
The kindest word for the United Club Lounge is shabby. You ring and and are buzzed in, if you’re lucky, by a surly looking man. The lounge itself is very small, and while I was there, crowded (which is why there’s few pictures). They weren’t coming around very often to pick up used plates and other trash, so I finally wound up grabbing a seat that had some peanut debri on the adjacent table. Fortunately more than half the seats have plug access, and that makes up for a lot.
The snacks were the expected baby carrots & dip, cheese & crackers, and apples. The only catch was they started packing everything up at least a half hour before the lounge closed, much to the audible dismay of the folks arriving after 7PM. The complimentary alcohol was less appealing than US Airways too. I sighed as I watched a tiny glass of copper ridge red being poured for me, at the same time thinking that perhaps small servings were best.
The only updated area was the bar area which featured attractive wood paneling and seating, but very power outlets.
What really took the cake for me though, was the bathroom. Shabby indeed! One stall was too cramped to fit into with my suitcase, the other stall, handicap accessible, featured a torn sign on the battered door that the sink in that stall was out of service. 
And the sign that outlined step by step the tips for appropriate handwashing, just somehow seemed fitting.
So unless you absolutely can’t walk an extra block or two while in the PHL airport, go for the US Airways lounge!
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For me, breakfast is the time to consider this club (vs. US Air). Cereal vs. Oatmeal, pretty much.
That’s an excellent point! And I’ll admit I did prefer the cheese, crackers, and carrots in the evening to the Milanos, chips, and salsa options at US Air.
I think I’m the only person on earth who likes the weird chips in the US Airways Lounge.