Turkish Airlines Washington-Dulles Lounge Review
This is part of my 18,000 Miles For Good series. I hope you’ll stay tuned for the rest of the posts:
- Getting Started On An 18,000 Mile 5-Day Journey
- Turkish Airlines Lounge At Washington Dulles
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines From IAD to CPH (Washington Dulles to Copenhagen)
- A Day In Copenhagen
- Touring UNICEF In Copenhagen: Getting Ready For Delivery
- Getting The Right Medicine For A Trip To Africa
- Norwegian Premium From CPH to JIB (Copenhagen to Djibouti)
- Dropping Off Humanitarian Aide In Djibouti
- A Day In Djibouti
- Qatar Airways JIB-DOH-DFW
I’ve been meaning to visit the new Turkish Airlines lounge at Washington-Dulles Airport for a while. If my math is right, it’s been open just about a year.
The Turkish lounge took over the space previously occupied by Virgin Atlantic, among others. I recalled it being a small lounge. After this recent visit, it’s clear my memory served me correctly. You’ll find the lounge in the B terminal at Washington-Dulles, near gate B43 (next to Wendy’s).
As soon as I entered the lounge there was a luggage storage area directly to the right. These lockers were identical to the ones I saw at the Turkish Lounge in Istanbul.
As I turned to the left, it was just a couple of steps to the main room. There’s probably seating for 50 or 60 people, thought the seats are very close together.
Along one wall is a counter with some snack jars. There’s also a machine to make specialty coffee and a couple of small refrigerators with soft drinks and small bottles of water.
In the center of the room is a small buffet. There were half a dozen cold items and a similar number of hot items. The buffet had a decent variety of food including salad, hummus, chicken, rice and pasta.
On the far wall was a table with 6 computers and a wall of TVs. There’s a bit of plane-spotting in the lounge, though most of the window wall doesn’t have seating.
If the lounge is over-crowded, try walking down the long hallway along the window line. At the far end, you’ll find a small bar and a couple of hidden seating areas. There’s also another coffee and beverage station.
Lastly, halfway down the hall are two private bathrooms and two private showers. Nothing too extravagant but very clean and in working order.
Almost every seat in the lounge was full during my visit. Dulles has a ton of international flights on the various Star Alliance carriers that all leave in the late afternoon and evening. Since all premium passengers and Star Alliance Gold customers have access (traveling on a Star Alliance carrier), I would imagine this lounge is pretty crowded.
You may be able to gain access to the Lufthansa lounge located a bit further down the concourse. That’s another lounge I generally find full when flying out of the B concourse at IAD.
I made an interesting observation about the front door. It’s one of those doors that operates on a motion sensor. As I left the lounge, I noticed the door was open long before I got there, even though there was nobody at the front desk. I watched the door for a while from outside. It never shut. Maybe the desk agent set it to open, maybe it’s just really sensitive to people walking by. I think it’s more likely the door is just set to be open during “busy times” which is likely all afternoon on most days.
Accessing The Lounge
The lounge is open from 6:00 am until 11:00 pm. A wide variety of travelers can gain access to the lounge (which explains the overcrowding). All Turkish Airlines premium travelers have access. Likewise, if you’re a Star Alliance Gold member traveling on a Star Alliance flight, you’ll have access to the lounge. This means United Airlines elites with Gold status or above traveling on domestic itineraries as well. Finally, the lounge is also part of the Priority Pass program, which you might have access to depending on what premium credit cards you carry.
The Final Two Pennies
My overall impression of the Turkish lounge was positive. I wouldn’t show up early for a flight to spend time there (or the Lufthansa Senator lounge). But, if you were connecting, it probably beats hanging out in the terminal. I’d probably prefer to grab a snack in the lounge and then find a quieter place in the terminal to hang out while waiting to board my flight.
The post Turkish Airlines Washington-Dulles Lounge Review was published first on Pizza in Motion
Just visited this lounge on Friday morning. Not very busy then (likely due to flight timing), so plenty of places to sit. Only ONE hot item at breakfast (scrambled eggs), but the fruit/cheese were fresh and the coffee was free flowing. Very pleasant experience and another option when (forced to be) flying from/through IAD.
Pmv, I would imagine it’s empty in the morning. The B terminal in the intl area is a ghost town that time of morning.
Thanks for weighing in with what bkfst looked like!
A minor but important clarification: *G access only if departing on a Star Alliance carrier flight.
Otherwise, the lounge looks like a miniature version of the lounge in IST.
Ptahcha, darn it! I meant to put that in there. Added now. Thanks for pointing out that I missed it.
Hi, Ed, I’ve been to the Turkish Lounge a couple of times and enjoyed it. Nice food, not crowded. I’ve also spent a few days in Djibouti. Note the “no khat” sign. prominently displayed in the airport. 🙂 Alison
There is an upstairs area to the lounge that is pretty amazing. I’m pretty sure it’s open to the public or I broke some rules accidentally going up there. Just look for the curtain to the right of the food area and follow the steps up. It’s pretty nice and secluded up there.
Joshua,
I saw the curtain and the stairs but it looked like it was a staff area. Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to book another flight to check it out.