On a recent day, the Beatles’ “In My Life” with the line “There are places I’ll remember…” played on the sidewalk in front of the TWA Hotel, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens.
It was a detail, but then this retro hotel, transforming a wing-shaped TWA terminal into the base of a hotel, is filled with details that let visitors feel more than a touch of the 60s style. A 1962 Lincoln Continental may be parked in front of the hotel, but people travel here, not just to planes, but back in time.
The TWA Hotel, which transformed the terminal into a lobby, museum and more, has become not just a departure point, but a destination – for local residents.
For anyone who has been here, it’s probably no surprise that it has just been named the best airport hotel in North America (an annual ritual, it seems) in the World Airport Awards — a kind of airline and airport Academy Awards.
It ranked third worldwide, after the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and Hyatt Regency Shenzhen Airport, in these awards, held by International air transport rating organization Skytrax.
The hotel, near JFK’s Terminal 5, includes the former TWA Flight Center, along with two towers filled with rooms. The original terminal was Trans World Airlines’ international hub from 1962 until 2001 when it merged with American Airlines.
The 512-room hotel has become a tourist destination as well as a place to stay before catching a flight, including many attracted by the rooftop infinity pool kept at 95 degrees year-round, an old airplane converted into a bar, TWA museum-like exhibits of flight attendant uniforms and more.
“I’m here just to spend the day with my son,” Nikki Chin from Brooklyn said as she relaxed in the rooftop pool, watching planes land and take off. “We’re from New York and this is kind of a way for us to just beat the heat.”
Laura Hughes, who traveled from Princeton, Mass., to stay at the hotel, also enjoyed the pool with a view.
“The pool is great. It’s right on top of a roof deck,” she said. “You feel like you’re on the runway and you’re watching the planes land and go.”
Alice Winkler enjoyed a visit to the hotel, including the rooftop pool and a museum-like exhibit showing flight attendant uniforms, designed by fashion designers.
“It’s really a trip back in time,” she said. “It’s a great place to visit and enjoy the vibe of the 60s.”
Travelers come to town specifically to stay at and see the hotel as the center of their trip, enjoying the architecture and amenities. “I was up for an overnight adventure with my friends,” said Hughes, who drove rather than flew here. “The rooms are amazing. They have the complete 60s vibe with a Life Magazine and a rotary phone. It just looks like you’ve been transported back into the 60s.”
Some stay here before catching a flight back home, such as Johannes Peterleithner and his family, on their way back to Austria.
“There’s an old plane in between the hotel and the airport and you can go in and have a drink and sit in first class and look in the cockpit,” he said of a Lockheed Constellation for Connie L-1649A transformed into a cocktail lounge.
The landmark building designed by Eero Saarinen opened in 1962, but was dark since 2001, before a three-year construction project with 400 tradespeople led by Turner Construction gave it a second chapter. They broke ground on Dec. 15, 2016, and opened May 15, 2019.
The hotel has 12 miles of LED lighting, 33 staircases and 50,000 square feet of event space that holds up to 1,600 people and lots of history.
If the Beatles play, that’s a tribute to TWA’s own history as well as a melody and sentiment. TWA is the airline that brought the Fab Four to America and, naturally, a photograph in the hotel shows the band waving as they arrive at the airport.
Touches in this tribute to TWA, and a different time, include a public room recreating the 60s with records, a record player and colorful 60s style, a “Twister” room and mock news stands from the 1960s.
“I actually brought a couple of authentic 1960s dresses I plan on putting on later and really immersing myself in the experience,” said Paige Josti, who traveled here with Hughes and was in tune with the retro feel.
Long hallways with beautiful red carpet and the original core of the Saarinen building that imitates the shape of a bird or a plane wingspan add to a stylish feel that attracts people.
“I’m here with my grand-nephew. He lives in London and they’re going home tomorrow so that’s why we’re here,” Eileen, an Astoria resident, said at the hotel. “We’ve been here many times before. It’s a great place. I remember when it was a terminal.”
Visitors and guests can dine at restaurants with dishes such as black truffle pizza and salmon sushi at Paris Café by Jean-Georges or order drinks at The Sunken Lounge.
They offer a complete line of aviation and vacation-themed drinks such as Control Tower Sour, Paper Plane, Mile-High Margarita, Terminal 5, Red Eye, Cloud Nine, Jet Fuel, Quickie Vacation, Flotation Device and Airplane Mode.
You can also drop by a photo booth to make or at least capture memories, as songs such as “Leader of the Pack” by the Shangri-Las and Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World” pipe in.
“I love the music,” said Bill Costello, here from East Hampton with family for a visit before a relative boarded a plane. “I’m a 60s boy, so I love this place. I was only here for a couple of hours before.”
