The Turkish Airlines Lounge in Washington Dulles was one of my favorite Star Alliance and Priority Pass lounges in the USA due its excellent food selection. But be warned: food selection is currently quite limited during the pandemic. Here’s a review that looks at the Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles lounge before and after the pandemic.
Turkish Airlines Washington Dulles Lounge Review
Since it first opened in 2016, the Turkish Airlines lounge in Washington Dulles has been my favorite lounge at IAD. But the pandemic has transformed food and beverage offerings…and not in a good way.
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Hours + Location + Access
The lounge is located near Gate B43 and open daily from 08:30AM to 10:00PM. You can access the lounge using Priority Pass, with cash or credit card ($49), or if flying Star Alliance with proper credentials. Star Alliance business and first class passengers have access and so do Star Alliance Gold status holders traveling in any class of service. While those with United MileagePlus Star Gold status are not granted access to United Clubs on the basis of that status if traveling on domestic itineraries, that same restriction does not apply to this lounge. I was flying Washington Dulles to Newark in economy class and still had no trouble accessing the lounge on the basis of my status.
Food + Dink
Pre-pandemic, the lounge offered a lovely spread of food and drink. In addition to fresh salads and soups, delicious hot meat and vegetarian dishes were available along with fresh bread, fruit, and desserts. Eating here was far more satisfying than eating onboard and I made it a point to stop here ahead of my flight, when possible.
Lunch and dinner selections (March 2020):
Breakfast selections (March 2020):
But the pandemic has led to cutbacks. Breakfast now is limited to hard boiled eggs with arugula, yogurt, muffins, and bananas. That’s quite a diminution.
Beverage selection has not changed, with a full selection of beverage (including alcohol behind the bar) the same as before.
Seating
As you enter the lounge, you’ll encounter a large room with the buffet in the center and seating around it.
Proceed down a hallway along the window and you’ll come to the back room which has the bar, a couch that stretches around the room, and more tables and chairs.
During the pandemic, the little back room with additional couches (pictured directly above) is closed:
Restrooms + Showers
The lounge features a unisex shower suite plus restrooms and an ablution room for Islamic travelers.
Last time I was in the lounge the shower sign said this:
Now it says:
Did “unisex” become a bad word?
Secret Room
I’ve noted the secret lounge within a lounge before…there’s a big VIP area upstairs that I’ve never stepped foot in.
> Read More: The Other Secret Special VIP Lounge at Washington Dulles
CONCLUSION
Is this lounge worthwhile now? It still beats sitting in the gate area and the food, though packaged, appears fresh. That said, until a full buffet returns or new a la carte menu is introduced, I will not bother showing up early any longer.
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I can’t believe they open this to your lower PP holders. Crowding must have been a big problem before COVID.
Crowding was indeed a *BIG* problem at this lounge pre-COVID, especially during busy periods.
I also wonder why they offer it to PP holders, but the few times I’ve been there that was me, so don’t want to complain (yet). 🙂
I think they might have eliminated the word unisex since it’s meaning is somewhat paradoxical — especially for people whose second language is English. The icons seem to be far more clear on their own, especially given the fact that many of the people using this lounge are foreigners who might not speak English.
The “secret room” is not a VIP room. It’s an overflow room that they only open to add further capacity. I’ve been up there a couple times, but I doubt it’s been open since March. There was food up there in old times, exactly the same as down below but less selection.
That’s not what I was told, but perhaps its purpose changed over time.
Perhaps it’s changed, but I was last up there in February. And trust me, nobody would mistake me for a VIP.
Mitch, you’ve had a raw deal in life…starting with when you were kicked out of college.
The lounge was MUCH better when it opened. Even better selection of food, hot kebabs and more frequently rotation during the day. Lots of Turkish nuts – all gone.
I have had food poisoning twice since mid 2019 from the lounge. I ate cereal earlier in the day and then a pre flight meal at the lounge. It was horrible to take long haul with food illness.
Stopped eating in there since then.
The pre-packed food there is surprisingly high quality. I had a turkey sandwich, chocolate chip cookie, and the muffin and they all were very fresh. In fact the cookie and muffin were some of the best I’ve ever had in a lounge.
I had just eaten breakfast at home or else I would have tried it. The food did look fresh, though very limited.
Spent many hours sitting outside this lounge eating Wendy’s (which is right next door) and wondering what it’s like. Thanks for the review.
United club card can also get you in here. Most visa club card holders think united lounges are available to them but in actuality many star alliance partner lounges are available to them. Swiss, EVA, Lufthansa, Air Canada, ANA are a few business class lounges I’ve used around the world with the UA visa club card
I recently traveled Turkish Airlines Business Class. NEVER again will I travel this airline. The planes are dated, the service is substandard. The Turkish airlines Business Class lounge, which was once an experience to be revered has deteriorated.
Never, ever again!