Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles Lounge
Regarded by many as the best lounge at Washington Dulles, the Washington IAD Turkish Airlines lounge should be very good indeed.
A showpiece lounge, designed to look to impress, and with high quality food and snacks, it is the lounge of choice for many.
that however is it's downfall. The huge set piece furniture takes up a vast amount of space, and leave little room for the huge number of passengers who flock here in the evening, when the Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles Lounge is best avoided.
NEWS: New Turkish airlines Washington lounge opens at IAD airport for ten flights a day to Istanbul. It has separate bar and dining areas, with quiet seating on two levels.Washington IAD Turkish Airlines lounge review
The Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles Lounge offers Turkish and international gourmet food and beverages and free Wi-Fi, there are also showers, prayer rooms, a quiet room, a television area with individual headphone service, and a business centre with six computer stations.
It's easy to spot the new Turkish Airline's lounge at Washington: it's right in the middle of Concourse B, just up from the British Airways lounge, and near the chapel and meditation room. As you walk in - and get quite briskly quizzed by the staff on the door - there is a bowl of Turkish delight to greet you at the entrance.
Once you enter the lounge's main sitting area, on the left, there is the buffet, with dining chairs and tables rather hemmed in around the island salad fridge. In the far corner of this are six TVs on six rolling news channels
Then in the main part of the lounge, under the mirrors, there are leather armchairs with small tables. And lots of them too: there are beige ones, brown ones, and a lot that are very worn from a decade of use. Above the racks of armchairs with small tables between them, spot the mirrored walls that add to a nice designer chic glow.
There are vast floor-to-ceiling windows, which really emphasise the space, and give great runway views. There is also a wall of mirrors which seems to double the size of the lounge.
Many people stay in this main area, and don't explore, however there is a hall that leads to a second sitting area and bar with an island with lots of green plants in the middle, and a padded bench all the way around the edge. Considering how small the lounge is, it's curious how much space is given over to a rather fake garden. Again, this area screams vanity project from Turkish, rather than being realistic about how the lounge will be used. Next to the bar are the double doors that open, and lead onto the airbridge.
There is also a tiny upstairs area, which is only open from 2pm onwards. This is a much more intimate space, but most of the lounge is taken over by two vast tables, and a huge ottoman sofa, giving space for only four people. There are also a couple or chairs, and a dining table with space for six more. PLus the prayer rooms and showers. This area again screams wasted opportunity to create seats for the fifty or so passengers who are forced to sit on the floor. There is also a vast long heated refectory area upstairs, but it is never used.
The lounge is bigger than you might expect, covering 2,000 square meters, with space for 120 passengers in business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members. In the mornings however, it is Priority Pass card holders who dominate.
The entrance shouts designer showpiece, but alas it is an example of just how badly you can get a lounge wrong, if you design it to look good in pictures, but it then flops on contact with customers. If there were only a few passengers in here, it would be great, but with the vast numbers who now enter through the door, there is often nowhere to sit, and it ends up just being a bad, uncomfortable, experience. This is thanks to surprisingly the Washington IAD Turkish Airlines lounge also being used by Qatar Business Class, and you gain access with Priority Pass too, making it a good Pay In lounge at Washington IAD.
If you get desperate for space, or even just a seat, the Turkish airlines Washington lounge is much more intimate space than fellow Star Alliance carrier Lufthansa's lounge in Terminal B at Washington, with in effect just one large room, and it's not split into separate First or Business sections. A curiosity is that it is one of the few lounges at Washington with direct access to boarding gates. using a direct connection to the aircraft by a hallway taking guests directly to the airbridge commonly used by Turkish Airlines.
The Turkish airlines Washington lounge marries a rich marble finishes with dark fixtures and relaxing lighting to create an opulent area, quite similar to Emirates designs, but with a lack of bling you normally get in such lounges. Indeed, the design matches the décor of the airline's widely acclaimed flagship Lounge at Istanbul Ataturk airport, but in miniature. While you are here spot the fine hardwood floors, and leather furniture; clearly the airline wanted a distinctive upper-scale ambiance. It's such a shame it's failed on the logistics.
Food
As you would expect there is a fine selection of Turkish food in the Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles Lounge. There is a large buffet with large saucepans on the the heated top, with chicken, fish, rice and two types of soup, plus hot rolls.There is a salad bar too, with dips for the pita bread, including eggplant, hummus and yogurt dip, plus olives, couscous salad and cucumber salad.
Sweet treats are also very Turkish, with some excellent Baklava and pudding.
Don't miss all the cheese too, on a separate counter. Alas, it's easy to miss it: in the evenings it vanishes very quickly indeed.
Bar
There is a fully staffed bar, with Efes beer, as you might expect, plus two other Turkish beers.There is a great selection of spirits and the bar manager delights in mixing up cocktails. A novelty is that all of the spirits are kept in locked fridges, and there is a kind of dispenser arrangement if you want a shot.
Three types of white wine, and two reds, also in bottles at the bar. Alas, there is no self serve option.
There are seats at the bar, and a TV above it, creating a kind of sports bar atmosphere. Alas, again, due to the overcrowding, if you sit at the bar you'll often be elbowed to the side as the queue behind you fights to get at the bar.
Business Facilities
There is a small table at the far end with two PCs, right under a giant TV which shows adverts all the time. There is little privacy in these seats.There is dedicated Free wifi in the lounge: the password is on the bar top. However, the airports own supply is often good enough anyway.
Charging sockets for your phone or laptop are hard to find in the lounge: there are a few, but often you have to unplug a lamp to get and juice for your own device: the lounge is clearly showing it's decade old design.
An oddity of the lounge is the wall with six TVs. Headphones associated with a specific TV need to be requested from reception, and then the staff take your boarding pass. However, normally only a couple of them actually work.
Bathrooms
With access from the hallway are two bathrooms, a prayer room and a shower room. For the solitary shower, you'll need to ask for a towel from reception. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash were provided in the shower in refillable pump-top bottles.Access
Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance Gold cardholders departing on a same-day Turkish or Star Alliance flight.
Also access to Qatar Business Class, and Priority Pass access all day, even after 2pm the neighbouring BA lounge has closed off Priority Pass access.
Video: Turkish Airlines Lounge
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Washington Airport Guide
| Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles Lounge | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rating |
Video walkthrough and Image gallery by Loungeindex.com
| |
| Pros | Great seating Three main areas Good food |
|
| Cons | Insanely crowded | |
| Location | Concourse B, near gate B43 | |
| Terminal | B | |
| Opening hours | 0600-2300 | |
| Cost | Priority Pass | |
| Lounge for: | Turkish Airlines | |
| Other Airlines: | Qatar Airways Washington Lounge | |
| Access | Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance Gold cardholders departing on a same-dayTurkish or Star Alliance flight. Also access to Qatar Business Class, and Priority Pass | |