Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)

During my Aria Suite Adventure to Hong Kong, I had the chance to check out several lounges at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD). After checking out the Capital One Lounge and Chase Sapphire Lounge, I stopped in at the Turkish Airlines Lounge, which is a lounge used by several airlines, and it’s also open to Priority Pass.

On the surface, the Turkish Airlines Lounge is fairly decent, with lots of natural light, decent seating arrangements, and a respectable selection of food and drinks. However, among the lounges that I visited, this one also seemed to be the most crowded, as Turkish Airlines does a good with monetizing its outstation lounges.

So this wouldn’t be my first pick if trying to pick a lounge at the airport, but let’s take a look nonetheless, and everyone can decide for themselves.

Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles location

The Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles is located in Concourse B, near gate B43. For context, all terminals and gates at Washington Dulles are connected airside, so it’s just a function of how far out of your way you’re willing to go. Concourse A and Concourse B are in the same long hall, so it’s pretty convenient from all those gates.

Turkish Airlines is consistent with its lounge design, so it’s hard to miss the lounge as you pass by.

Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles hours

The Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles is currently open daily from 7:15AM until 9PM. So it doesn’t cover all departures from the airport, but it does cover most. At Washington Dulles, lounges tend to be much busier in the evenings than in the mornings, given the number of long haul flights that depart late in the day.

Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles entry requirements

There are a variety of ways to gain access to the Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles:

• The lounge can be accessed with a Priority Pass membership; you can access the lounge for at most three hours, and occasionally there will be capacity restrictions
• In line with Star Alliance lounge access policies, you can access this lounge when flying an eligible first or business class flight on a Star Alliance airline, or with Star Alliance Gold status
• This is also used as the contract lounge for some non-Star Alliance airlines, but that comes down to the lounge invitation you receive when checking in for your flight

Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles layout & seating

The Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles is roughly 5,000 square feet, with seating for around 120 guests. The lounge basically consists of two areas — there’s one main room when you enter, and then there’s a narrow hallway that leads to a second room, which is where you’ll find the bar and some more seating.

As you enter the lounge, there’s a variety of seating along the interior of the space, mostly with seats arranged in rows, facing one another.

That space then opens up, into an area that has a bunch of dining tables, with anywhere from two to four seats each. I visited right as the lounge opened, and found the lack of any sort of symmetry with the tables to be a bit odd.

There’s also a communal table in this area.

I love how the lounge has floor to ceiling windows, so the views of the gate area are great. As you walk by the windows and turn right, you’ll find the hall leading to the second part of the lounge.

This space has a large booth with seating in every direction, some chairs along the walls and windows, and a bar with high-top seating.

I’ve gotta say, much of the lounge furniture has definitely seen better days, and could use a refresh. I’ve seen worse, but the wear and tear stood out to me.

Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles food & drinks

The Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles has a fairly decent selection of food and drinks. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are available in the main room, while alcohol is available at the bar.

I appreciated the focus on Turkish dishes, though there were also some international ones. To start, there were a variety of bread and pastry options, like simit and açma, as well as cereal.

Then there was a pretty good spread of cold options, like hardboiled eggs, fruit, veggies, granola, etc.

Then hot options included menemen, kuymak, and Turkish oatmeal.

As far as drinks go, there was a coffee station with an espresso machine, tea, juice, and canned soda.

There was even unsweetened tea and cold brew on tap.

Lastly, alcoholic beverages were available at the bar, and there was even a cocktail list.

All-in-all, I’d say the food selection was quite good, especially if you look at this as a Priority Pass lounge.

Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles bathrooms & showers

The Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles has bathrooms, as well as a prayer room and shower room. These are all located along the central hallway connecting the two main parts of the lounge.

There are two gender neutral bathrooms. While I appreciate the individual bathrooms, two toilets isn’t a whole lot, given how busy the lounge gets at times, so expect that there will often be a wait.

The lounge also has one shower room, which is basic but functional.

Bottom line

The Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles has great views, and a pretty good selection of Turkish food. I’d say the downside tot he lounge is that it seems to be the most consistently crowded of the lounges I visited at Dulles, both during this visit, and during past ones.

Turkish Airlines is really good at monetizing its outstation lounges. So maybe come here for a bite to eat, but if you’re just looking to lounge around, you might be happier at one of the other options in the terminal.

What’s your take on the Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles?