Nestled within John F Kennedy Airport near New York City is the TWA Hotel, a time capsule of what air travel was like back in the 1960's for Trans World Airlines.
The TWA Hotel is a must-stop place if you’re flying in or out of JFK Airport, and you don't have to be a guest to visit! Having opened in 2019, the TWA can be found next to JetBlue’s Terminal 5, with access to both the terminal and the AirTrain from the hotel. This retro hotel gives visitors a look into what it was like flying back in the 1960's.
Trans World Airlines was a major airline in the US from its first flight in 1930 until it was absorbed by American Airlines in the early 2000's. The airline’s main hub was at JFK Airport, where the hotel now sits.
Despite the TWA Hotel being a nod to the 60's, it feels as if it’s something out of The Jetsons. The design looks very futuristic, with its purely red and white color pallet and the curve of every wall and structure. There are no angular walls anywhere; everything just seems to seamlessly flow.
My family and I love to visit the TWA whenever we are heading to JFK for a flight. We even spent a night once all of the restrictions had lifted post-pandemic. That evening, we did a bar crawl around the hotel, visiting all of the different spots to have a drink and had a nice meal at the restaurant in between.
There are many areas to explore within the TWA. It is broken down into three main areas: the central hub, the Saarinen Wing, and the Hughes Wing.
The central hub is where the majority of visitors will spend their time. As you walk around, classic songs from the 60's are playing throughout the space, making you feel as if you have really stepped back in time.
When you walk in from the front entrance, the check-in for the hotel can be found on the left, along with the coffee bar. There is also a selection of black and white photos of all the celebrities and government figures that flew with TWA, including the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, and Frank Sinatra. On the right, there is the food hall with lots of grab-and-go options, including Fly-By Bagels, Vinny’s Panini, Feltman’s of Coney Island, Mister Softee, Crêpes Your Way, and Vinny’s Juice Bar.
From there, you can walk up the main staircase and arrive in front of The Sunken Lounge, where there are plenty of tables, chairs, and couches to sit down. There are also bars on either side of the lounge, where you can get a drink or two to pass the time. One of my favorite parts of the hotel is the vintage flight departure board, with the split-flap displays that make a noise as they change design every few minutes.
Surrounding the lounge are a few fun spots for photo opportunities, including a giant Twister room, an old fashioned beauty parlor, a shoe shiner, old payphones, and a photo booth. There is also a TWA store, where you can get souvenirs from your visit and lots of TWA memorabilia.
Down one of the back hallways on the left side of the central hub are vintage TWA posters, with different places to visit around the world. A few of my favorite posters were Las Vegas, London, and Egypt. There is also a detailed history of the TWA and Connie, the famous plane that now sits on the tarmac just outside the hotel.
There are two sets of stairs that continue up from The Sunken Lounge, with a connecting bridge that gives you a wonderful view of the whole central hub. On the left side is a little museum, filled with vintage flight attendant uniforms through the years of the TWA.
On the right side is the Paris Café by Jean-Georges. This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and has a variety of options for food and drinks. Some personal highlights from the menu include the Crispy Salmon Sushi, the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare, the Meatballs, and the Cheddar Cheeseburger. There are lots of vegetarian options, which should also be vegan accessible. It is quite an expensive menu, so if you are wanting a cheaper food option, I would recommend just stopping in at the food hall.
If you are looking for other places to have a drink at within the hotel, there are two more spots you can check out.
On the rooftop of the Hughes Wing is the Pool Bar, which is located right next to the hotel’s infinity pool that overlooks the runway and tarmac at Terminal 5. This area of the hotel is only open to guests (you need a key card to access the rooftop), but it is a lovely spot to come up to for a drink in the evening to watch the sunset. They serve a variety of cocktails that are themed around plane travel, such as the Jet Fuel, Vodka Is My Co-Pilot, Mile High Margarita, and Quickie Vacation - which I highly recommend.
My favorite place to have a drink at the TWA Hotel, however, is inside Connie. They have redesigned the inside of the plane as a cocktail lounge, with a selection of airplane seats and couches with tables to sit on. Unfortunately, Connie is not always open, so you do have to be a bit lucky to be able to get the chance to have a drink in her. There is also a limited amount of space inside, so if you see that she is open, get there as early as you can!
If you are staying the night at the hotel, you will be in either the Saarinen Wing or the Hughes Wing, which are located on either side of the central hub. When we spent the night, we were staying in the Saarinen Wing. You can access the elevators to the hotel rooms by walking down these long, very futuristic looking corridors.
The rooms are just standard hotel rooms, with comfortable beds and nice bathrooms. The rooms also all have large windows overlooking either the terminal or into the car park of the hotel. One thing that we loved was that each room had an old-fashioned looking rotary phone, which was very fun to make a couple calls on.
I highly recommend arriving at the airport early, or spending a bit of extra time at JFK after you land, to go and visit the TWA and have a walk around. It is such a cool place to visit and it’s somewhere that my family and I go back to time and time again. I brought my boyfriend here for the first time before our flight back to London this summer, and as a bit of a history nerd, he loved walking around and seeing all of the retro designs.
And if you really have some time on your hands during your visit, I definitely recommend doing the TWA bar crawl!
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