Modern And Impressive: A Review of the Turkish Airlines Lounge (Istanbul Airport)

During my connection between Muscat and Atlanta, I spent about 8.5 hours at the new Istanbul Airport. It is gigantic and beautiful, but poorly designed. I’ll provide a review of the airport soon.

In this post, however, I wanted to share an in-depth review of the new flagship Turkish Airlines lounge at Istanbul Airport.

Let’s start from the beginning…security was a hot mess! I’m not sure if I arrived at the wrong time (7AM) but the lines were longer than I’ve ever seen in ANY airport.

Fortunately, I was able to utilize the business class “fast track” line. I use that term loosely because it still took me 20 minutes to go through security.

After taking the escalator up to the departures level, I was greeted by a plethora of departure screens and an extremely busy terminal.

Turkish Airlines Lounges At IST

The Turkish Business Lounge at Ataturk (the old airport) was amazing and it was a single massive lounge. However, the new airport decided to do it a bit different and break it into smaller (but still very large) lounges.

Currently two international lounges are open:

The Turkish Business Lounge: open to all Turkish Airlines business class and Star Alliance business class passengers. The entrance to the lounge is located near gate E1, and no guests are allowed
The Turkish Miles & Smiles Lounge: open to Miles & Smiles Elite and Elite Plus customers, as well as all Star Alliance Gold members. The entrance to the lounge is located near gate C1, and each person is allowed one guest.

I turned to the right, followed the signs past ‘duty free’ and headed for the Turkish Business Lounge.

Warning: There is a lounge access point in the middle of the duty free. It is fairly easy to overlook. I saw it at the last minute and attempted to enter but the guard told me (and countless others) that the entrance was for “pregnant women and those with disabilities.” He then instructed us to continue approximately another 20m (60 ft.) to the end of Duty Free, turn to the left, and continue up the escalator to the second floor.

There was at attendant on the concourse level who checked eligibility to enter the lounge, though when you arrive on the lounge level you’ll formally be admitted entry.

Lounge Access & Hours

Again, the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge is open to all Star Alliance business class passengers. It’s also open 24/7, given that Turkish Airlines has flights almost all hours of the day.

Lounge Layout

There’s a reception desk on the lounge level where you can check-in and receive help with your travels should you need any.

To the right of the reception desk were automated gates to enter the lounge. You just scan your boarding pass and the gate opens.

Once inside the lounge, you’ll be facing a massive TV screen, showing a bunch of scenery of Istanbul.

Also in the entry-way, just before the TV, are wifi kiosks. I scanned my boarding pass and then received a receipt with a username and password to access the wifi.

Unfortunately, wifi is so slow that it’s useless. The lounge at Ataturk had the same challenge and I’m not sure why this continues to be a problem.

When facing the large television, you have two options: to the RIGHT is where the main part of the lounge is located and to the LEFT are lockers and private suites.

I was unable to secure a bedroom at the Primeclass Lounge in Muscat Airport. Having just arrived on a red-eye, finding a bed was top priority for me so I turned to the left.

Immediately to the left were storage lockers which means you don’t have to worry about your belongings being stolen while you roam around the lounge.

Near the back of this section were additional lockers where you could place your electronics in a locker and charge them also.

Just beyond the lockers was a section of seats, consisting mostly of orange and white leather chairs and a small business center that had shared workstation computers.

I headed straight for the ‘Private Suites’ at the far end of the lounge.

Lounge Sleeping Rooms

Given Istanbul Airport is brand new, I was extremely excited about this part — the private suites. At the far end of the lounge was a reception desk for the private suites.

At the desk, eligible passengers can receive a free bedroom for their layover. However, there are some restrictions to be aware of:

The rooms are only valid for individuals traveling in Turkish business class (and not on Star Alliance partners), & award tickets do qualify
The rooms are only available to individuals that have a connection between 4-9 hours and;
At least one of your flights (either arriving or departing) needs to be at least eight hours

If you meet those conditions, you can get a bedroom on a first come, first served basis. Check, check, and check!

I handed the agent my boarding pass and she confirmed my itinerary was eligible. I was given a key card to my room, advised the room was mine until boarding time, and immediately escorted down the long hallway to my bedroom.

There are over a dozen bedrooms, and to my surprise, they were really nice. I was given Room 10.

The room had a desk with a chair, a twin bed, and a wall-mounted TV. While it was only a twin bed, I was impressed by how comfortable the bedding was.

On the desk, there were two bottles of water and some fresh fruit.

However, immediately, I had a few concerns. Although the bed was an extremely comfortable foam mattress, there was no top sheet. This a real pet peeve of mine.

Additionally, it was quite warm in the room. I looked at the temperature control and it was 25C (77F). The attendant that escorted me to my room room said it would take a few minutes for it to cool off. An hour later it was only at 23.1C (~74F) which felt cooler but was much warmer than I prefer.

The view from the room was of the concourse and the walls weren’t exactly soundproof. I was able to go to sleep so it didn’t bother me. However, this may be a challenge for anyone that is a light sleeper as beeping golf carts and the occasional yelling kid could prove frustrating.

Another aspect that could be challenging that I did not think about until after I departed the lounge concerned booking the rooms. The room only had a twin bed so if you were traveling with someone else, I’m not sure if there are bigger rooms.

The TV is connected to all your favorite media channels.

Lounge Bathroom / Shower

I did not watch any TV. Instead, I slept for 4.5 hours and then decided to take a shower. Located across the hall were, approximately, a dozen bathrooms/showers. The bathroom/showers are well maintained as I saw a cleaning crew transitioning between showers and bedrooms a number throughout my stay.

The large shower room included a robe, and an amenity basket with 2 towels, 2 wash clothes, 4 hand towels, a loofah sponge, a hand dryer, a pair of slippers, a vanity kit and a shower cap.

After my shower, I returned to the area just outside the private suites and explored the lounge from end to the other.

Again, there was a small business center and a section of seats, consisting mostly of orange and white leather chairs.

Throughout the lounge, there were countless departure screens indicating status of flights and the estimated time it would take to reach the gate. I will discuss this more in my review of the airport. But be forewarned, this airport is gigantic and they are serious when they say it will take ~20 minutes to walk to your gate.

The lounge is separated in various sections so it may be challenging to conceptualize the layout but the lounge overlooks the terminal, and opens up into it, so you do hear a lot of noise from the terminal.

On the other side of oversized TV (near the entrance) were a few private conference rooms.

Also along this side of the lounge are about a dozen daybeds. They’re just separated from one another by curtains, and are pretty basic. While I was in the lounge every single one was taken, so I wasn’t able to get pictures inside.

There was additional seating along this side of the lounge too.

Returning to the other side and to the right of the entrance was a self-playing piano.

Along the walls of both sides of the lounge are dozens of dining tables that seat two people each.

I did, however, love the way they set up the center part of the lounge. It had dining tables as well as an open kitchen concept, so they really did a good job adding some flair to the lounge with this.

Deeper into the lounge there’s a TV viewing area over on the left. I loved how this was just off the main part of the lounge.

Just beyond the seating was an art gallery. There was no one utilizing it but it was available.

Deeper into the lounge there was additional seating and various newspapers stands.

Continuing further into the lounge, I found additional seating.

Personally, one aspect that I loved is the variety of seating options.

Then along the other side of the lounge is some seating in a darker room. This is cozy, and a nice change from the rest of the lounge.

Lounge Amenities

As you’d expect from Turkish, the lounge had some other unique amenities. This included a golf simulator.

There was a model race car track that included a combination of the airport and various landmarks around the city.

Then there was an area with video games.

And at the far end of the lounge was a really cute play area for kids, including an awesome plane model with a driving simulator inside.

Lounge Food & Drinks

Turkish Airlines is known for the spectacular food in their lounges, and this lounge is no exception.

Turkish does a great job spreading out the food selection in the lounge. Generally, people like to sit near the buffet, so by putting food all over the lounge, they avoid that usual crowding problem.

The food selection included a mix of self-serve buffets, live cooking stations where you could custom order, and open kitchens where dishes were being prepared, and you could serve yourself.

There was a huge variety of salads and spreads.

Then there were grills, where you could have some meat and sides prepared to your liking.

There were a variety of soups, other hot dishes and fresh fruit stations.

Their dessert selection is also consistently to die for, with a huge variety of cakes and Turkish desserts.

As far as drinks go, there are a couple of stations with self serve liquor.

Then there are huge fridges with a variety of soft drinks, juice, and water.

Then there are about half a dozen tea and coffee stations throughout the lounge, and you can even have a custom made espresso, cappuccino, latte, etc.

I had a latte, which was excellent!

FINAL STAMP

Turkish Airlines’ Business Lounge at the new Istanbul Airport is excellent… sort of!

I appreciate that the airline has created two separate lounges to spread things out a bit. To my understanding they’re almost identical. Additionally, we’ll see even more lounges opened in the future.

As far as business class lounges go, I’d say this one has above average decor and exceptional food options.

The x-factor of this lounge is the private bedrooms that they offer select passengers, though I wish they’d address the temperature issues. I woke up and took a shower not because I wanted to but because I was sweating. Not cool.

However, the biggest disappointment was the wifi. It was so slow that it’s unusable. How is that possible in this day and age!? I’ve been on public city buses that had better wifi. It’s one of the most basic amenities I expect in a business class lounge.

Overall, great job Turkish Airlines! I definitely prefer the new lounge to the old one at Ataturk. While access to this lounge is reserved for Star Alliance elites and premium cabin passengers, there are some other phenomenal Turkish Airlines Lounges worldwide.

I think the lounge is great product. I have always been a big fan of Turkish airlines and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend flying Turkish or utilizing their biz lounge if you have the opportunity.

Has anyone experienced this lounge? What was your experience? Has anyone experienced any other Turkish lounge?