Plaza Premium Bosphorus Lounge at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport [Review]

After arriving on a red-eye flight at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) in mid-March 2025, my friend and I were after what every lounge-goer seeks at the crack of dawn: an easy place to relax and have a quick bite.

Considering that the nearby Plaza Premium Marmara Lounge was packed the last time I passed through, I opted to start this layover at the Plaza Premium Bosphorus Lounge instead. Did we recharge our bellies and our phones sufficiently during this connection? Read on to find out.

Plaza Premium Bosphorus Lounge Location

After transferring from our flight from Doha and clearing security, we took the escalators up 1 floor to the main duty-free shopping area. We followed the signs to the gates and turned left toward gate 205. Note that you’ll first pass the Plaza Premium Marmara Lounge between gates 203 and 204 before reaching the Plaza Premium Bosphorus Lounge.

The entrance to the Bosphorus Lounge is on the right between gates 204 and 205.

How To Access the Plaza Premium Bosphorus Lounge

The lounge is open 24 hours a day and can be accessed by paying a day rate, through a lounge membership, and through airline, travel, and financial partners.

Day Rate

A 3-hour day pass costs €60 ($68), with a 10% discount for booking online. Members of Smart Traveller, which is free to join, receive a 20% discount and pay €48 ($55).

Priority Pass

I accessed the lounge as a guest of my friend, who used the Platinum Card^® from American Express to enter. Its American Express Global Lounge Collection includes access to Plaza Premium Lounges and Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), and the Plaza Premium Bosphorus Lounge is in both networks.

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Platinum Card^® from American Express

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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

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When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than the Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,550 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $895 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

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Card Highlights

• You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
• Get more for your travels with 5X Membership Rewards^® points on all flights and prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel^®, including Fine Hotels + Resorts^® and The Hotel Collection bookings. You earn 5X points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through American Express Travel^® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
• More Value! With over 1,550 airport lounges - more than any other credit card company on the market* - enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection^®, over $850 of annual value, with access to Centurion Lounges, 10 complimentary Delta Sky Club^® visits when flying on an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations), Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required), and other select partner lounges. * As of 07/2025.
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• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to the Platinum Card^® Account*. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
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• New! $300 lululemon Credit: Enjoy up to $75 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card^® for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon retail stores (excluding outlets) and lululemon.com. That’s up to $300 in statement credits each calendar year. Enrollment required.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a statement credit* for one monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) after you pay for Walmart+ each month with the Platinum Card^®.*Up to $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups not eligible.
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Partners

Passengers with the following airline partners may be eligible for access depending on fare and/or status: British Airways, flydubai, Kuwait Airways, Nile Air, Pegasus, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, and Smartwings.

Clients of the following financial institutions may be eligible for access: DenizBank, Garanti BBVA, ING, Koopbank, Kuveyt Türk, MyClause, Papara, QNB, Türkiye İş Bankası, and VakıfBank.

Additional travel partners include AkustikMore and Dufry.

First Impressions

Because the lounge’s footprint extends from the terminal into the apron a bit, its 3 walls of floor-to-ceiling windows have fantastic views of the nearby gates and aircraft activity.

The lounge was full, but not so full that we had trouble finding a seat or had to fight fellow passengers at the buffet. Given the early hour, it was also subdued and even quiet.

Seating

The seating is divided into 2 main areas. Upon entering the lounge, the left side is dominated by individual club chairs separated by small side tables. Along the window were various pairs of smaller club chairs and larger wingback chairs with small tables. To the rear of this seating area was the bar with barstools.

A long high-top table anchored by a greenery display divided the 2 main areas. It had barstools and outlets on both sides.

The other side of the lounge was home to the buffet and primary dining area.

The dining room featured tables for 2 that could be pushed together for larger parties. A large conference-style table for 10 was also in this space, and this is where my friend and I found available seats.

The conference table had Type F sockets (bring an adapter!) and USB-A inputs.

Pairs of petite chairs were along the window. These did not have a table to rest drinks or plates on.

TVs showing local news and departure boards were throughout the space.

Food and Beverages

Buffet

I was excited to start my layover in Türkiye with simit, a circular bagel-like bread covered in sesame seeds. Having visited this lounge previously in the afternoon, these are usually best accompanied by hummus or roasted eggplant, but no dips were offered for breakfast. Instead, there was a selection of unique spreads, such as tahini and grape molasses, chocolate spread, and cherry jam.

A small variety of hot food items included a thick tomatoey sauce that I believed to be menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, and onions). This was lovely for dipping the simit in. Sliced hot dogs in sauce were also offered.

Breakfast potatoes and hard-boiled eggs were also available.

Cream of mushroom soup and cereals with milk and raisins were additional breakfast options.

I made myself a small plate of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and sharp cheeses. These were served alongside packets of Turkish labneh (similar to cream cheese) and butter.

Beverages

A water dispenser had options for sparkling, cold, and room-temperature water. A soda fountain next to this offered Coca-Cola sodas and iced teas. There were no canned beverages, though I did notice a guest filling a personal bottle with soda, and I did the same to take a drink on my onward flight. Turkish coffee was also available, with instructions next to it on how to brew it.

Kilitbahir white and red wines from the Turkish winery Sulva were in a small cooler for self-pouring. Unlike the Plaza Premium Marmara Lounge nearby, I did not notice a self-service beer tap.

Juice and fruit-infused water dispensers were on top of the bar.

The bar had an extended menu for ordering cocktails, liquors, spirits, beer, wine, and fancier coffee drinks. Prices were listed in euros, and a 20% discount was offered for Smart Traveller members.

Hot Tip:

If you desire a staffed bar with a variety of alcoholic options, the Bosphorus Lounge offers this, while the Marmara Lounge does not.

Amenities

The Bosphorus Lounge is light on amenities, with a few restrooms, a prayer room, and Wi-Fi as the highlights.

Restrooms

Similar to the Marmara Lounge, this lounge has a handful of individual restroom stalls, and guests tended to queue behind whatever door was expected to open soonest, regardless of its assigned gender.

The narrow stalls are fully enclosed and have their own sinks.

Prayer Room

The lounge had a prayer room available.

Recycling

Receptacles for recycling glass, paper, plastic, and aluminum were near the lounge exit.

Wi-Fi

When entering the lounge, guests are handed a PIN code to use to access the airport’s network (which otherwise requires scanning your passport at a kiosk in the terminal).

While the connection was consistent, download and upload speeds were somewhat low, at just under 10 Mbps.

Hot Tip:

The nearby Marmara Lounge offers similar amenities with the addition of a children’s playroom and a smoker’s patio.

Staff and Service

Unlike my experiences at the Marmara Lounge, where the staff struggled to keep plates cleared and food refilled, the team at the Bosphorus Lounge did a good job of keeping the buffet full and the space tidy in a nonobtrusive way.

Final Thoughts

Having transited through SAW airport several times, the 2 Plaza Premium Lounges in international departures seem to experience significant high-traffic surges. You may not find a seat immediately, but food and beverages are generally available if that’s what you’re after.

When deciding between the 2 lounges, they are so similar that I would go wherever the crowd is the lightest. The Bosphorus and Marmara lounges are both comfortable places to land for a few hours when transiting.