This time around, I also managed to check out the Miles & Smiles lounge. While I have flown thru Istanbul Airport a couple of times, I have always stayed at the Business Class lounge. It is nice to check out the other huge Turkish Airlines lounge. I came here before flying back to Singapore onboard Singapore Airlines. I check out this lounge instead as I was guesting someone to the lounge and despite being in both Business Class and holding Star Alliance Gold Status, you can only guest someone in this lounge rather than the business lounge. They do not allow any guesting in the business lounge. This is for crowd control purpose. I shall not dwell too much about it since it is an exact replica of the business class lounge. It is nice that elite members are this well treated over here in Istanbul. It is defacto the Star Alliance Lounge for economy class passengers. You can find my review of the Business Class Lounge here. Is there actually any difference between the two of them?

Access Requirements

The Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles 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 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. Do note that while you can guest someone here, you can’t do so at the Business Lounge even when flying Business Class.

Arrival & Location

You can find the lounge towards the left-hand side of the airport as compared to the Business Class Lounge. It is very easy to find the lounge after clearing security and there are clear signs for the lounge. The location of the business lounge is near the duty-free outlets around the gate C1 area. There is a small side entrance with the main entrance up the escalators. There is a staff on hand on the ground. There are automated gates for entrance. We can enter it simply via scanning our boarding pass. The location is actually better for SQ flights as they are using gate D11 which is much more nearer to this lounge.

Miles & Smiles Lounge Istanbul

Food and Drinks

Conclusion

It is defacto the Star Alliance Lounge for economy class passengers. You can find my review of the Business Class Lounge here. While this is very nice for economy class passengers and Star Alliance Gold Members I can’t say it feels the same for premium passengers. While it is nice that they have designed two identical lounge to cater for the crowd which can get crazy over here in Istanbul they should have done up some slight difference. Perhaps a bar in the business class lounge? Champagne? or even slightly more relax rules on the day suites. Business Class passengers won’t be exactly happy to hear that they are getting the same quality and quantity.