Terminal 5, John F Kennedy Airport, New York

Introduction

This is my review of the TWA Hotel, in JFK’s Terminal 5.

Usually, I review airline lounges and flights- but sometimes I have long layovers in airports, and for a few hours the TWA Hotel is well worth a visit. So, I thought it was worth a review!

How to get there

The Hotel is located at Terminal 5 of JFK.

If you’re Arriving/Departing JFK from Terminal 5 – it’s easy!

If you’re Arriving/Departing from other Terminals – there is the Air Train, which is free to use.

Once off the Air Train at the Terminal 5 stop or out of the terminal, its a short walk before you’re in the parking lot looking at this art-deco masterpiece – with the iconic cars in the car park!

The Lobby

Immediately as you walk in to the lobby you’ll find a rather iconic looking ‘old school’ Departures Board, with the ‘flipping’ letters and numbers.

Even more special are the Check In desks (with working conveyor belt behind), which are just like checking in at the airport!

The Sunken Bar

Taking a walk up from the Lobby you’ll find the Sunken Bar. The Sunken bar overlooks 1958 Lockheed Constellation parked outside – which also opens as a Martini Bar.

Within this area there is also a shop, and on upper levels cafes and bars.

Elsewhere around the Sunken Bar is a Twister rom and Salon!

The Wings

Two ‘wings’ take you from the Sunken Bar area towards the guest rooms.

At the end of the ‘wings’ are a series of historical art installations.

The Rooftop Pool & Bar

Perhaps the most iconic thing about this the TWA Hotel is the rooftop pool and bar!

The rooftop bar offers fantastic view over apron of the airport, and also of arriving and departing runways.

Admittedly, if you want a ‘quiet drink’ you won’t get that here – it’s pretty noisy!

Installations

Throughout the rest of the hotel there are a whole series of installation pieces and other things of interest.

The whole hotel is worth a good look around for hidden gems!

Costs

The hotel has a few different pricing options, depending what you intend to do;

• A ‘day room’ is between $159 and $179
• Rooms from the night vary upwards of $250
• For visiting the pool for non-guests there is a charge of around $50

In my case, I didn’t intend to swim, so negotiated avoiding the $50 on the basis I bought 2 drinks – which cost me about $15 with tips.

All in all, I would say if you can book on the right dates, the costs of the hotel are pretty reasonable – especially if you actually need to stay!

The price of the food and drinks is also pretty reasonable or inline with standard pricing – so I didn’t feel I was being ripped off.

Conclusion

Whether staying over night, or for a few hours this is a great place to visit. The costs aren’t extreme – and it’s a wonderful place to explore aviation history!

For me, this was a few hours stay, but certainly in future I may consider spending a night here!