Just sitting in the CIP lounge at IST airport on 8/29 and it is amazing... one of the best clubs I have been to in all my travels (over 100,000 BIS miles so far in 2006). Great decor. Free wifi. Food is a little lacking but the fresh-squeezed OJ is to die for... definitely worth a visit when in IST.

Just sitting in the CIP lounge at IST airport on 8/29 and it is amazing... one of the best clubs I have been to in all my travels (over 100,000 BIS miles so far in 2006). Great decor. Free wifi. Food is a little lacking but the fresh-squeezed OJ is to die for... definitely worth a visit when in IST.

Yup ! A great club indeed ! It opened about 3 months ago. Food is ok. Remember - it is NOT a restaurant !!!! It is a place to relax !

I will try to scan a floor map and post it. I use the CIP as much as I can.

Cheers,

J
(in Sisle-IST)

big improvement on the previous place. However the place is not kept tidy during the afternoon and early evenings which is a pity. TK is trying but their crews are still a sleep. IST airport is one of the nicer ones in Europe with MUC!

big improvement on the previous place. However the place is not kept tidy during the afternoon and early evenings which is a pity.
The lounge is indeed excellent. Spacious, decent selection of snacks/drinks, very polite staff.
IST airport is one of the nicer ones in Europe with MUC!
IST airport is brand new, however there is a lot to be done to be comparable with MUC (or any other new terminal in that matter): janitorial services suck (especially the landside WCs ) and navigation is poor due to confusing (or wrong) signs.

On the bright side:
-I love the Guluoglu kiosk :D (which I prefer to any lounge)
-In IST I met (one of) the most competent baggage handling agents in years, better than anyone in MUC! She was fast, smart, efficient, not to mention cute :D And everything ran smoothly afterwards as planned! Amazing! Thumbs up for Celebi, the LH (and not only) ground handling company in IST! ^

Toilets indeed are bad except the ones in the basement next to the BA lounge, trust me on that one!!

I am used to the place so I don't need signage but it would not surprise me.

MUC and IST are both bright with plenty of seating, pretty easy to navigate and offer decent coffee without being too crowed. Compared to FRA/LHR/CAI/ and a few others these two appeal to me!