Inside the Game-Changing New TWA Hotel at JFK International Airport
We're one step closer to time travel, but what direction we're headed depends on who you ask. Today, we got our first look inside the forthcoming TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK International, which is slated to open as early as spring 2019, inside the famed Eero Saarinen terminal and in two new towers rising on either side of it. Though the hotel has been under construction since 2016, today’s preview offered a fresh look inside the original 1962 terminal that will serve as the hotel’s lobby and is still under heavy restoration to bring it back its mid-century modern beauty—as well as a 21st-century model room at this game-changing hotel that’s set to turn JFK into an actual destination.
Since the 505 actual rooms and suites are still under construction, Traveler got a preview of a full-scale mock up, including a full hallway and queen room, built in one of JFK’s cargo warehouses. The room was decked out in retro art, terrazzo-tiled bathrooms, and a double-decker mini bar with full-size wine and liquor bottles that would make every character in Mad Men envious. There were high-tech touches, too: Rooms have floor-to-ceiling seamless blackout curtains that fit in a track inside the window, so not a sliver of sunlight will peek through. Rotary phones—bought one by one off of eBay, says Erik Palmer, the hotel's managing director—have been retrofitted with push-buttons and VoIP for international calls. And there are plenty of outlets, all at waist level, either next to the bed—where there's a USB port, too—and along the desk, which is built in right behind the headboard. (At last, no more crouching down to plug in your phone!) The windows themselves will also be cutting edge, with seven-layer panes that Palmer says will block out every bit of airport noise.
Everything from the note pads to the water glasses to the toiletries has been TWA-branded (leave extra room in your suitcase for a few goodies). Those not spending the night can pick up the airline-themed paraphernalia at a forthcoming gift shop.
There's no official opening date yet beyond next spring, but when the hotel does open, it’s sure to be a haven for aviation geeks. A rooftop observation deck (complete with a bar) will be open to the public on the south tower’s seventh floor, where guests can watch flights take off and land on JFK’s busy runways. The hotel will have six restaurants, including one inside a restored Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft. (Though there’s no word yet on what chefs, if any, they’ll bring in to run the food and beverage operations.) There'll be a pool on an upper level for guests, too, open seasonally. All in all, the two companies behind the hotel, MCR and MORSE Development, are expecting up to 10,000 of the 160,000 travelers who pass through JFK each day to stop in, spend the night, or host an event in the hotel's 50,000 square-foot meeting space. (Imagine the wedding possibilities…)
Built in ‘62, closed in 2001, and restored by 2019, the hotel is bringing back all the glamour and luxury of the 1960s—with just enough of the modern luxuries like slick minibars and fast Wi-Fi we’ve come to love too.
