TWA Hotel

Airport hotels tend to be places you pass through so fleetingly that you can barely remember the details, but the opposite is true here. TWA Hotel, connected to Terminal 5 at New York City’s JFK Airport, is an impeccably stylish stay, and though this place has been open for seven years, the signature curves of Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen’s iconic 1962 TWA Flight Center still impresses. 

Why stay at the TWA Hotel?

Inside the TWA, the ‘60s-style chili pepper red carpets, inviting sunken sitting area modeled after the airport waiting area of yore, and enormous old-fashioned arrival and departure boards (Nairobi! Kathmandu!) hark back to a time of sophisticated jetset travel. The hotel truly has everything you need for a stay before or after a flight or during a layover, including many food options and numerous nooks for a drink. If you manage to snag a (surprisingly quiet) room overlooking the runways, take a dip in the heated rooftop pool, and sip on a Paper Plane cocktail in Connie Cocktail Lounge—inside a retro 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane—you’ll be hoping for delays. 

What are the rooms like at the TWA Hotel?

The 512 guest rooms range in size from standard kings or double queens all the way up to the Howard Hughes and Eero Saarinen Presidential Suites. (Howard Hughes owned TWA and hired Saarinen to design its terminal.) Rooms overlook either the historic TWA terminal or the airport runways, and you should opt for the latter to really feel like you’re in the action. 

But don’t worry about the noise or light from the airplanes outside: Though all guest rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, the hotel claims it has “the second-thickest windows in the world” – whether or not that’s true, the rooms I’ve stayed in during my three visits were amazingly silent and dark, thanks to truly efficient blackout curtains.

Mid-century modern furnishings, designed by Saarinen himself for Knoll, along with framed TWA posters on the walls, add to the retro vibes. White-tiled bathrooms with cool terrazzo floors are compact, but have good-sized showers with custom TWA shower products. Though there aren’t any coffee- or tea-making products in the rooms, local purveyor Joe Coffee, just off the lobby, will meet all your caffeine needs.

What are the food and drinks like at the TWA Hotel?

There’s one main restaurant at the TWA, and it’s attached to a celebrity chef: French-turned-NYC-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. I’ve been to several of Jean-Georges’s restaurants, and I’d have to say, the food at The Paris Café is less gourmet and more broadly crowd-pleasing. You can pretty much stop by anytime you’re hungry, as it serves up breakfast starting from 7 am, lunch from 11 am, and dinner till late. 

Lunch and supper choices are a bit of a mish-mash (salads, pizzas, pastas, fish and chips), so best to stick to the classics, like well-prepared crispy-skin salmon with caramelized fennel and craveable rigatoni with meatballs. Desserts are skippable, but head to the Food Hall just off the lobby for a Mister Softee soft serve or Nutella crêpe, both available till midnight. The Food Hall also has a range of decent NYC-inspired grab-and-go food options, including bagels, hot dogs, and juices, if you have a hankering for something quick.

While the hotel has several bars, including the Sunken Lounge and Pool Bar, whatever else you do, don’t miss Connie Cocktail Lounge, inside a refurbished airplane behind the hotel. (Fun fact: President Dwight D. Eisenhower used this type of plane for Air Force One in the 1950s, before it became part of TWA’s fleet.) With its striking red carpet and sofas and original plaid airplane seats, tasty flying-themed cocktails like the Mile-High Margarita, and prime people-watching, visiting Connie was one of the highlights of my stay.

What’s the service like at the TWA Hotel?

For all its bells and whistles, this is still a busy airport hotel, and it can feel that way. You may have to stand in what seems like an endless line to check in, and there’s no one to help bring your bags to your room. Access to the pool also involves a queue and, at least during my visit, an attendant who reprimanded us for arriving late for our pool reservation. Servers at The Paris Café, though, are uniformly lovelyl.

What are the pool, gym, and other facilities like at the TWA Hotel?

The year-round heated infinity pool, with phenomenal runway views, is worth a stop on its own. It’s especially romantic to watch the sun setting behind the airport, cocktail in hand. 

Except for a four-hour window in the morning reserved for hotel guests only, both hotel and non-hotel guests must pre-book 1-hour 45-minute time slots for a fee ($25 for hotel guests and $50 for non-guests). Don’t forget your swimsuit, like my husband did, as there are none to be had—in fact, for good or bad you’ll undoubtedly see some guests swimming in their street clothes. 

The 10,000-square-foot industrial-style fitness center claims to be the world’s biggest hotel gym—and it certainly seems that way, with loads of treadmills, ellipticals, weight machines, and free weights, along with a yoga studio and cycling studio with 14 Pelotons. Oh, and kids can’t get enough of the life-size Twister room.

What’s the area like around the TWA Hotel?

Obviously, it’s all about the airport. There’s nothing else here. The hotel is connected directly to JFK’s Terminal 5 by walking through Saarinen’s trippy red flight tubes, tunnel-like walkways with red carpets offset by white walls and a white ceiling. Otherwise, take the AirTrain to and from all other terminals, which usually takes about 5 minutes.

Why should you book a stay at the TWA Hotel?

If you’re going through JFK Airport anyway, the TWA Hotel is an experience in itself, with a vivid, retro sense of style that nods to the glamor of travel’s golden age. Its location makes it ultra-convenient for travelers with an early-morning or late-night flight. 

For daytime layovers, make the most of the Daytripper stays. For a minimum of four hours, if you’d like a quick swim, workout, drink, or even just a nap before your travels, you can make a reservation. 

DETAILS

Address: One Idlewild Drive, JFK International Airport, New York, NY

Price per night: Rooms start at $254 per night

Closest transport: AirTrain to Terminal 5 (JetBlue) stop, then take the elevator down to Level 1 and follow the signs, or take the elevator up to the hotel from JetBlue’s baggage claim area

Book now: via Booking.com

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