IGA Lounge, Istanbul Airport: built for the overnight layover

Istanbul Airport is one of the busiest connecting hubs in the world, and its international lounge, IGA Lounge, is built accordingly: open 24 hours a day on the Mezzanine Floor of the International Terminal, reachable by turning left after passport control. Skytrax has awarded it a 4-star rating for its facilities and staff service, along with a 5-star COVID-19 safety rating, and the airport itself has cited Skytrax ranking it among the world's top airport lounges.

A separate domestic lounge is also available near Gate G11 for domestic departures, with its own buffet and complimentary massages, but the international lounge is the bigger, better-equipped space and the one most Priority Pass travelers will use.

More activities than most lounges bother with

This is one of the few lounges on this list built with genuinely long layovers in mind. Alongside the standard showers, staffed bar, and multiple dining rooms, there's a pool table next to the bar, a gaming area, a large multi-TV zone, a business center, and an outdoor smoking terrace. Separate male, female, and multifaith prayer rooms are also on site, and there's an exclusive duty-free store inside the lounge itself.

Something to know before you go

With a hub this busy, some traveler reviews describe the lounge getting crowded and more cafeteria-like at peak hours, even with its strong official ratings. If you can time your visit outside the busiest connection banks, you'll get a much better version of the space.

Is it worth visiting?

For anyone with a long overnight connection through Istanbul, IGA Lounge is genuinely one of the more entertaining places to wait out a delay - a pool table and a cinema-style TV area are not things you find in most airport lounges.