I am here now and am very impressed. The library is an excellent feature, with hundreds of diverse books. I agree that the pool table maybe is unnecessary, but it's an attractive little niche.

The design of lounge overall is very attractive. Among the amenity highlights: a seating area with nine TV screens (although seven are in Turkish), great non-alcoholic and alcoholic drink (they had the Martell XO, though no Johnnie Blue, but some other decent selections, including a couple of single malts) and snack (several stations with a dozen nuts, dried fruits, and similar snacks) selections, the iMac station, free wi-fi, and nice touches like a fresh juicer and real cappuccino machine with attendants. A major excellent feature is automated entry to the lounge, via gates with bar code readers, ending a major annoyance of having to battle a crowd at the reception desk. (Mine worked, via a C boarding pass issued in DXB; I wonder if the system would be smart enough to recognize a Y passenger with a non-TK *G designation?)

I am here during breakfast time, so no pide or kofte unfortunately, though they have a buffet with slightly more upscale selections than before, including sunny-side-up eggs, grilled tomatoes, yogurt and museli, etc., prepared by cooks in view.

When I walked to the shower area, there was a stanchion blocking it, and the attendant said that it would be a "five-minute" wait. I couldn't tell if this was because they were occupied or just closed for some other reason.

Some down-sides: I arrived at a major rush time, about 7:00am, and almost all of the tables were dirty with dishes left, and little staff in site to clean them. I cleared one myself, and eventually the staff cleared them all. And there are a couple of tables with newspapers (no International Herald Tribune) that have degraded into a huge messy mound.

Overall, this is an outstanding lounge. Certainly one of the best in the *G system without a doubt.