What It’s Like Visiting the Primeclass Lounge in Izmir’s International Terminal in Türkiye [Review]

During a recent connection in Izmir, Türkiye, I visited the airport’s only Priority Pass-affiliated lounge within the international terminal.

Normally, when there’s just 1 lounge, the lounge isn’t very good — at least in my experience. However, the Primeclass Lounge offered a fair experience. The food and beverages weren’t impressive, but they were decent, and the lounge had a few good amenities, even if it didn’t have the main feature I was hoping for while waiting for my repeatedly delayed flight.

If you’re passing through Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB), here’s what you can expect at the Primeclass Lounge.

How To Access the Primeclass Lounge

As the sole lounge in the international terminal, the Primeclass Lounge offers several access methods. Business class passengers from several airlines have complimentary access, for example.

Additionally, the Primeclass Lounge accepts lounge membership cards from several programs, including Priority Pass. This is how I gained access, as I enrolled in membership through my Platinum Card^® from American Express.

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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 you spend $12,000 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.  

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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
• Annual and monthly statement credits upon enrollment (airline credit, Uber Cash and Uber One, Resy, lululemon credit, streaming credit, prepaid hotel credit on eligible stays, Walmart+ credit, CLEAR+ credit, and Equinox credit)
• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit
• Access to American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and Amex International Airline Program
• Access to Amex transfer partners
• No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)

 

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 $12,000 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.
• 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.
• $200 Uber Cash + $120 Uber One Credit: With the Platinum Card^® you can receive $15 in Uber Cash each month plus a bonus $20 in December when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Uber account to use on rides and orders in the U.S when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Plus, when you use the Platinum Card^® to pay for an auto-renewing Uber One membership, you can get up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year. Terms apply.
• $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Experience the latest shows, news and recipes. Get up to $25 in statement credits each month when you use your Platinum Card^® for eligible purchases on Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN streaming services, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV when you purchase directly from one or more of the providers. Enrollment required.
• $600 Hotel Credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection* bookings through American Express Travel^® using the Platinum Card^®. *The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
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• $209 CLEAR+ Credit: CLEAR+ helps get you to your gate faster by using your face to verify you are you at 55+ airports nationwide. You can cover the cost of a CLEAR+ Membership* with up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for CLEAR+ with your Platinum Card^®. *Excluding any applicable taxes and fees. Subject to auto-renewal.
• $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.
• Start your vacation sooner, and keep it going longer. When you book Fine Hotels + Resorts^® through American Express Travel^®, enjoy noon check-in, when available, and guaranteed 4PM check-out.
• $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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• $895 annual fee.
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It’s also possible to pay to enter the lounge at a rate of $67 per adult.

There’s another location, also called Primeclass Lounge, in Izmir’s domestic terminal. Passengers on domestic trips can’t access the international terminal, and passengers flying to other countries can’t access the domestic lounge.

The lounge is open 24 hours a day. While the Priority Pass terms state that a single visit is valid for 3 hours, staff weren’t enforcing this during my visit. That could change if overcrowding becomes a problem.

Primeclass Lounge Location

The lounge sits above the restaurants near gate 228. Whether you’re coming from the transit passenger area or just cleared security in the airport’s international terminal, you must turn left toward the Burger King and follow the arrows on the floor to reach the lounge.

The lounge is on the upper floor, accessible by escalator (center of the hallway) or an elevator (near the restrooms to your left). Signs make both easy to find.

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Sign by escalator.

A check-in desk at the lounge’s entrance is easy to find, and it’s immediately on the right after you go up the escalator.

What’s a Visit Like?

In total, I spent nearly 6 hours in the lounge during my late March visit. When my flight was delayed and then needed a new aircraft, I returned for another 2 hours after already spending 4 hours in the lounge.

During these 2 visits, I experienced an empty, quiet lounge with breakfast foods and a super busy lounge with lunch offerings.

Seating

The lounge offered a few seating options. Most of the seating was restaurant-style, with 4 chairs around tables in the middle of the dining area. There were also stools at the bar, high-back chairs along the glass wall overlooking the terminal, and a sofa with a coffee table at each end of the lounge.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any recliner chairs or a quiet area — the key feature I was hoping for when I arrived before sunrise.

Food and Beverages

The bar formed the center of the lounge, offering a few simple drinks like beers, wines, and sodas, but not an extensive list of alcohols or mocktails.

Additional drinks included sodas, waters, and juices in a cooler under the buffet. On the buffet, tea and coffee were available.

During breakfast hours, the buffet offered hot dishes such as pancakes, sausages, potatoes, and oatmeal. During lunch hours, these made way for a few types of meat, a different type of potatoes, and leek soup.

Salad fixings were available in a nearby cooler throughout the day, and several items never left the buffet, such as salad fixings, bread, and lentil soup. In the corner, various nuts were available throughout the day, as well.

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Salad fixings.

Amenities

After entering the lounge, I found a children’s play room immediately on the right.

Past the entrance to the children’s room were lockers and a nursing room.

Wi-Fi was available in the lounge. To get a one-time password, you had to show your boarding pass at the reception desk. The connection was reliable, even if it wasn’t very fast.

Though the concourse below wasn’t very exciting, there was a glass half-wall overlooking the gates and the runway. Several tables and chairs bordered this overlook.

The lounge also had a pair of TVs showing both local and international news, along with a pair of departure screens.

The lounge didn’t have restrooms inside. Instead, these were available down the hallway (but still on the upper floor in view of the lounge’s entrance). The lounge also lacked showers, massages, and other luxury amenities.

Service

This is a DIY lounge. From the buffet to the drinks, the overall vibe was to take care of myself after checking in. Employees restocked the buffet and took my empty dishes away without talking to me — even when they were in my personal space.

When I asked the bartender for a bottle opener, she never stopped chatting with her coworker or said anything to me as she took the bottle and opened it.

The only employees who spoke to me were those at the reception desk. Besides checking in, asking for a Wi-Fi code, and then returning to check in to the lounge later, I spoke to 3 people. All of them were friendly and spoke English well. The employee at the desk during my second visit even remembered me from earlier and said I didn’t need to check in or scan my boarding pass to reenter the lounge.

That was the only real service aspect I received during my visits. Otherwise, employees mostly avoided visitors.

Final Thoughts

Should you go out of your way to visit the Primeclass Lounge in Izmir? I wouldn’t.

This isn’t a lounge that merits showing up early at the airport or walking far out of your way to visit when it’s not near your gate. However, if you have the time and the lounge is convenient, it’s a decent place to wait for your flight.

The lounge doesn’t have a quiet room or any exciting amenities, but there’s a lot of food, it’s decent, and the seating is more comfortable than what’s available at the gates.

Don’t expect much service at this lounge. It’s a very average lounge, but sometimes that’s good enough to meet your needs.