This is one of the most exciting parts of my trip. I want to check out the Turkish Airlines flagship lounge in the new Istanbul International Airport. I have heard so many good things about this lounge. TK is always known for their lounge in its home hub and I was certainly wowed by my visit to the old Ataturk Airport a couple of years ago. I am keen to see what things are like now in the new airport. The demand is so high for TK and their Star Alliance partners that Turkish has built two exact lounges in IST. One would be this Business Lounge, exclusively for the use of premium passengers while the other would be the Miles & Smiles Lounge for passengers accessing it on account of their elite status. This is constantly ranked as one of the best Star Alliance business-class lounges in the world.

Access Requirements

The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge is open 24 hours daily. Currently, all Star Alliance Group First Class, Business Class and Star Alliance Gold Members holders are allowed access to the lounge. This is a standard Star Alliance business class lounge. Typical access rules for guests follow. I access it by flying in Singapore Airlines business class. I also hold Krisflyer Flyer Elite Gold status.

Arrival & Location

It is easy to find the lounge after clearing security. You can easily spot the signage for the lounge. The location of the business lounge is near the duty-free outlets around the gate E1 area. There is a small side entrance with the main entrance up the escalators. There are automated gates for entrance but for some reason, our boarding pass did not work and we had to wait for the staff by the desks to help us which took a long time. This is extremely inefficient. I suspect that only a TK boarding pass will work. Furthermore, she went to do something on the system and told us to go ahead now but that didn’t work again before she gave up and opened the gates manually.

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge Istanbul International Airport

This lounge is super huge! You have a huge screen to showcase some Turkish Airlines advertisements or programs. The main space of the lounge is found to the right. To the left is an overflow area with some circular cubicle seating. These are rather private and work well for solo travellers. It also opens up to the terminal. There is also a small business centre consisting of some computers.

The luggage storage area is also found here. You can easily store your carry-on if you have an extended stay in the lounge. This will be handy rather than dragging around or worrying that someone might take your valuables if you are travelling solo.

In the corner are the private suites and shower areas. This is available upon request and they also have some further requirements on using the private suites during your transit. I did not have a chance to check this out since I wasn’t eligible. I would be keen to try it when I fly TK later this year. Towards the main space of the lounge, you can find a piano over here. They also have this very cool flight tracker feature that shows all Turkish Aeroplanes in the air.

Heading in, you can find all sorts of seating filling up the lounge. There are multiple dining stations and live stations throughout the lounge. I will share more about the food and drinks later on. The lounge is very busy when I visit around noon. Some of the seating areas are designed like a traditional restaurant.

There is also a TV area that is kept silent.

To the side of the lounge, you can also find a golf simulator, flight simulator as well as some massage chairs.

For the little ones, they are not forgotten. Inside the lounge, there is a small play area and popcorn that is surely great for making the kids tired and fall asleep right after taking off.

Toilets and Showers

The toilets are clean and well maintained but nothing too memorable. I did not managed to get a look at the showers since they are found in the day room area.

Food and Drinks

This is one of the standout aspects of the lounge with the food and drinks coming from Turkish Airline’s renowned Turkish DO&CO catering. I love the concentration of live station where chefs are on hand to constantly whip out freshly cooked items to enjoy. There are numerous selections that I saw. Here are some pictures of the items available.

You can’t go without desserts and some Turkish delights. The display here is as good as any cafe out there. This will go perfectly with some Turkish Coffee and Tea.

I love that there is a coffee station where the baristas are on hand to make you both barista coffee and Turkish Coffee. I had some and they were excellent. Do note that you might have to wait for a while as this place is constantly crowded since there is only one station.

The drinks station is scattered all over the lounge. This consists of huge fridges storing canned drinks, bottled water, juices, beer, and local Turkish drinks. There is a lack of international options like Coke and Sprite. The non-alcoholic drinks here are too sweet for my liking.

Alcohol carts are also found throughout the lounge. This consists of red, white and sparkling wine. Alcoholic drinks are severely lacking. I would love to see Champagne options and some spirits. Cocktails will be amazing.

For those wanting a local touch, you can find an Aryan live station too.

Conclusion

A fantastic lounge by any standard. This certainly ranked among the top few Star Alliance lounges in the world. It just lacks a little on the exclusivity portion since the place is so huge and crowded. With that being said, I believe that there is still room for improvement. They can polish up the drinks aspect. Have more quality drinks with a champagne option. Alcoholic drinks are extremely lacking. I would wish that they had a proper bar here with cocktails. This can be a point of differentiation from the Miles & Smiles Lounge. Airlines value paying customers more than elite-status customers. They can have slightly more premium offerings here too. I love the amount of high-quality and freshly made food over here. It is equivalent to a mini buffet.