After working in Chicago for the last 5 days, it’s time to head home. I’ll be flying with Delta home to GSP. This was due to price, the direct flights from American and United were very expensive so I’m on a single stop route to GSP with Delta. This is good and bad, it takes a while and connections suck, but I get to check out and review the brand new Delta Skyclub here at ORD Terminal 5.
Delta has been making an effort to update the improve the Skyclubs at outstations. The AUS Skyclub(review here) is a great example of this. Here at ORD, Delta recently moved to the new terminal 5 and they opened a brand new Skyclub to match.
Bottom Line: For an outstation, ORD has a fantastic Skyclub. It’s huge, great seating options, amazing views from the lounge, 2 buffets, 2 bars, and even lounge direct boarding! You might not even need to leave the ORD Delta Skyclub to board your plane, how cool is that.
Let’s get into this review.
Date of visit: October 2022
Getting to Ohare(ORD) Terminal 5
The ORD Skyclub is located in Terminal 5. Terminal 5 at ORD does take a little extra effort to get to if you’re using public transportation like I am.
I arrived at ORD on the Blue Line. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get to ORD from Downtown Chicago. If you’re arriving or departing any time around rush hour, the trail will often be faster and will always be much cheaper than ride share. Once at ORD, just follow the signs to Terminal 5.
Take the escalators up and over the car pickup loop. ORD’s people mover follows a loop around the airport and will take us to Terminal 5.
Just get onto the people mover heading in the correct direction. Very easy and well marked. There’s no ticket or payment required to take the airport people mover here at ORD.
It is a little rainy outside here at ORD.
I exited the train at ORD Terminal 5. I didn’t need to check in with the Delta counter as I already have my boarding pass.
I headed straight to the TSA PreCheck lane here at ORD Terminal 5. No Clear here at Terminal 5. I was through in less than 5 minutes.
Terminal 5 is the “International” terminal here at ORD so of course, you exit security into the Duty Free Shop. Anyway, I passed quickly through and headed to the ORD Skyclub.
ORD Airport Terminal 5 Skyclub Location
After exiting security head to the right. The Delta Skyclub is located just after gate M9. I checked in with the self service kiosks and made my way into the Lounge.
ORD Delta Skyclub Space Review
I walked in and was greeted by this cool sign. I’m not a big Beetles fan, but I like the art that Delta is starting to add to Skyclubs. Makes them feel a little more unique and less sterile.
Looking down the main corridor of the ORD Skyclub. All the way down the right hand side are different seating areas. Behind me is the main bar. To the left is the primary buffet area.
The different little seating nooks along the windows are a nice way to break up the space. Much better than the undivided lounges that seem to be popular these days.
Looking back towards the front of the lounge from the rear. This lounge is huge, but it’s mostly along the windows. It gives it a very open feel and much better flow than just one giant room.
There’s a huge range of seating in the ORD Skyclub. There’s comfortable lounge chairs and sofas. Low top tables with chairs that would be great for getting a little work done.
In the rear, near the second bar, there are high top tables.
There’s also a ton of low comfortable seating, not really great for working, but perfect for relaxing with a drink.
Nearby to most of these seats are power outlets. Both AC and USB. Just note, these are North American plugs and not universal.
In the very back of the Skyclub are a few privacy cubes for taking phone calls. There’s also a few conference tables along with a projector. Would be a great spot to watch some football during game time.
ORD Skyclub Main Buffet
The main buffet near the front to the ORD Skyclub entrance is well stocked. I visited at breakfast time and there was a good selection of both hot and cold items. Certainly enough to make a quick meal from.
I’m mostly a pastry and fruit breakfast person. I had some melon and and a piece of banana bread. I don’t care what anyone says, cantaloupe is the best melon.
There’s self service soft drinks near the buffet. I really like this option at lounges and Delta seems to be including them at most Skyclubs.
In the rear of the ORD Skyclub is another smaller buffet with packaged snacks. There’s also a self service drinks station with another coffee machine. In the back was a hotdog cart, I assume during lunch and dinner time they offer Chicago dogs. I’m all ears as I love a good hotdog.
ORD Skyclub Bar Review
The ORD Skyclub has two bars. On in the front near the main buffet. This is the largest and is a nice U-shape with good offerings. It’s 9AM so I didn’t get anything to drink but others seemed to be happy with the ability to get bloody marys and mimosas.
In the rear of the Delta Skyclub is another bar. This one is much smaller and slower paced. The bar tender offered me a drink when I walked by.
ORD Skyclub Direct Boarding
Ok, here’s a really cool feature at the ORD Delta Skyclub, it has direct boarding to gate M11. That flight is often used for the JFK or LGA flights and if you’re lucky, you can board the plane directly from the Skyclub. How cool is that. I was really hopeful that I was going to use this gate, but we got a last minute gate change and ended up exiting the Skyclub and boarding like normal. Oh well, very cool anyway for those people.
Ohare Delta Skyclub Review Final Thoughts
The Ohare(ORD) Skyclub is fantastic. One of the best Skyclubs in the whole Delta system. It’s large, clean, well stocked, and has amazing staff. The large buffet has a great selection of hot and cold options. The self service drinks and coffee stations through the lounge are easy to find and a great option for soft drinks. The two bars are huge and the bar tenders were very welcoming.
This Skyclub is a great spot to wait for a flight from Ohare. This lounge wasn’t crowded or loud at all. With ORD being an outstation, it’s mostly just departing passengers, no connections so I hope it stays nice and relaxed. I wish I could have used the direct from lounge boarding, but I didn’t get that lucky.
If this Skyclub had an outdoor Skydeck it would easily be my favorite Delta lounge. They just do everything right here.
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