Although this requires you to leave the secure area, head over to the TWA Hotel, just outside of Terminal 5. This amazing blast from the past is a great way to spend time during a delay while you stride back into the ’60s, a bygone era which I miss! The Hotel opened May 2019 but we just got the chance to go over last year during a long layover and brought family later in the year to see.
When in JetBlue Terminal 5, take the escalator down to the baggage claim area. On the far right, you’ll see an elevator for the TWA Hotel. Take the elevator upstairs to the hotel. Once out of the elevator, follow the red carpeted flight tube to the TWA Hotel lobby.
Eero Saarinen’s 1962 TWA Flight Center serves as the lobby of the TWA Hotel and there’s something to see around every corner. Every detail breathes aviation history. The gigantic departure boards, the furniture, and even the staff walking around, dressed in pilot and flight attendant uniforms staying in character the whole time. Although guest rooms were built in an all new facility, the lobby is a full restoration of the old TWA Terminal at JFK and the relics of TWA nostalgia everywhere was overwhelming, you will truly feel like you were transported back in time to the 1960’s.
There is a rooftop pool with runway views open year round (and heated up to 95 degrees in the winter!). Reservations may be required. You can watch over the JFK platform and runways on the rooftop while enjoying a snack with a Mile High Spritz. You can dip in the heated infinity pool while the planes take off and land behind you to complete the airport hotel experience.
They have hotel day rates if you have a long layover or late flight out? Check in to swim, dine, exercise or just relax! Browse the cool store for high flying TWA apparel, games and accessories you won’t find anywhere else. This is so cool to experience and I’m hoping to stay here some time in the future. If you have a very early AM flight this would be an ideal place to spend a night and be at the Airport in the morning. The Hotel has 512 rooms, and although you sleep right next to the runway, you don’t have to worry about noise. All rooms have soundproof walls and windows so you can sleep like a baby on soft beds. And if you are an aviation fan, you should book a runway view room. Rooms for the night go for around $250 plus, a 4 hour stay for around $150.
The 10,000-square-foot fitness center boasts a Peloton room, yoga studio and more. Work out for free as a guest or purchase a day pass! Work up an appetite, Bon appétit, the Paris Café by Jean-Georges is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Reservations are recommended and walk-ins are welcomed.
Step back in time on the 1958 Constellation airplane turned cocktail lounge, where the martinis and the atmosphere are first class. Drink in the spirit of the glamorous Sixties at The Sunken Lounge. The Sunken Lounge is stocked with iconic cocktails from the 60s like the ‘Vodka is My Co-Pilot’. The main decoration is a split flap departures board by Solari di Udine
Tour the museum exhibitions of vintage TWA uniforms and Sixties memorabilia. A flight attendant’s log detailing five years of airborne adventures. Vintage furniture from the TWA headquarters. In-flight amenities, gilded playing cards, silver serving ware from a more elegant era. These are just some of the items showcased at the TWA Hotel. The New York Historical Society founded in 1804 as New York’s first museum curated the exhibits, which are free of charge and always open to the public.
In the years before the TWA Hotel opened, MCR/MORSE Development collected more than 2,000 artifacts that trace the TWA story for future exhibits. Most of the items were donated by former TWA employees and their families. Former TWA employees and their families donated many personal items, including photos, letters and even an autograph given to a flight attendant by passenger Kirk Douglas.
Located in various spots throughout the former TWA terminal the heart of the hotel as well as in the event center and in the areas that connect the hotel flight tubes to JetBlue’s Terminal 5, the exhibits allow visitors to experience the Jet Age through authentic artifacts, interactive displays and personal narratives. You can hear the 60’s music coming thru the PA as soon as you leave the elevator and walk down the red tube and it will be playing throughout the hotel all day long, now that was music!!!
Tin toys, a magic board along with official junior hostess and pilot pins, provided entertainment for kids.
Exhibits focus on TWA’s history including Howard Hughes’ tenure as owner and Saarinen’s development of the terminal at Idlewild Airport (as JFK was formerly known). The offices of both men are recreated with period-perfect details, inviting guests to imagine themselves at Saarinen’s drafting table or behind Hughes’s desk. Take a seat at the desk of Howard Hughes, take a picture.
Visitors can explore 37 full TWA uniforms from 1945 to 2001, original TWA travel posters by David Klein and large-scale TWA artifacts. In an authentic recreation of a 1962 living room, guests are encouraged to try on retro fashions, admire an original Barbie Dreamhouse and enjoy the far out furnishings. Future exhibits will delve into the dawn of the Jet Age in NYC and the midcentury modern design movement. Now here is where there are some nice dark cubbyholes and we thought we would take a quick nap on the couches in the dark hidden away from anyone. The second my eyes were closed there was security, no sleeping allowed!
The terminal is the perfect place for visitors to discover more about aviation history, the Saarinen terminal is a monument to the optimism and vision of the Jet Age. These exhibitions invite people into the glamour and fun that Saarinen and TWA worked so hard to create and foster.”
Sweet’N Low®, America’s original zero calorie ‘pink’ sweetener, has partnered with the landmark TWA New York’s JFK Airport to bring a one-of-a-kind experience to travelers and visitors alike the “Sweet’N Glow” salon! Combining the timeless charm of Sweet’N Low with the Sixties glamour of the TWA Hotel, this immersive, visually captivating, Instagrammable pink destination is now open for a limited time in the heart of the TWA Hotel next to the iconic Sunken Lounge.
Just in time for summer, nostalgia seekers and pink lovers alike will revel in the ambiance inspired by the Sixties, a time of revolutionary hairstyles popular featuring original beehive hairdryers, a retro wig display, and vintage Sweet’N Low and TWA décor. Visitors can slip on a smock (pink, of course!) and sit under a dryer while they flip through vintage inspired magazines. Or they can pose behind the salon desk with custom wallpaper of fab hairstyles in the background. Plus, they can check out ephemera from both brands, including a 1960s advertisement starring TWA flight attendant Judy Neumann, who was voted “the girl in the air with the most beautiful hair.” After experiencing this exhibit, guests can order a cup of expertly brewed coffee from Intelligentsia, sweetened with the famous little pink packet.
“We couldn’t imagine a more perfectly pink, retro way to bring our Sweet’N Low brand to life,” said Sara Hoskow, Marketing Manager at Sweet’N Low. “We were thrilled at the opportunity to collaborate with the TWA Hotel, a space that already felt so naturally suited to our nostalgic tone. We can’t wait for guests and travelers to transport back in time at this immersive experience to reminisce about such a ‘sweet’ time.”
