When I transitted through JFK in November 2020, through the foggy haze of covid, face masks, and far too many layovers, I had a positive experience at JFK’s TWA Hotel. Having now done the same for the airport hotel in Cairo, every part of my being appreciates how easy my experience at the TWA Hotel was. How simple it was, despite having been on a plane for 14 hours.

1. Deplaning in JFK during COVID-19

I landed at JFK from Dubai on an Emirates flight, when New York State had a mandatory 14-day quarantine. I was disappointed in the New Yorkers on my flight, as they rarely wore masks and had zero concept of social distancing. But, I digress.

From no social distancing on the plane to no social distancing at baggage claim. This led me to straight into the arms of National Guardsmen, as I exited customs with my luggage.

Most people were being required to fill out their quarantine form. I told him I was going to the transit hotel in Terminal 5.

“Inside the terminal?” He asked.
“Yes.” (Actually, no. A semi-truth.)

The real truth is, the hotel is actually outside the terminal. As in, you breathe fresh air in order to get to the hotel.

But I really wasn’t going anywhere except for the hotel. And then the following day, straight onto a plane again.

So he released me and I went on my merry way. Next stop, AirTrain.

2. How to get to the TWA Hotel from AirTrain

Ok, next, next, next, next stop. From where I landed in Terminal 4, I needed to go all the way around the AirTrain loop to the next to last stop – Terminal 5.

When you exit the AirTrain, go downstairs to street level. From here, you can see the hotel in the distance. Go into the parking lot and turn left and you’ll see the walkway.

Be careful if it’s a windy winter day – you may get a little fountain spray. Gross, but you’re already showering anyway.

From there, I arrived to my retro destination – the TWA Hotel, a nod to the old Trans World Airlines housed in the old TWA Flight Center. The TWA Flight Center was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen.

Check in took a mere seconds before I was going up the red carpet stairs and down the tubular hallway to my room. In non-covid times, I would’ve been sure to make a reservation for drinks on Connie (the vintage Lockheed Constellation L-1649A). But given the pandemic, not this time.

3. The Room at JFK Airport Hotel

I paid $135 USD (now $252 USD) for a Standard Double Queen room without a view and it was simply that. A room. Without. A view. Well, in technicality, this is New York City. I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m looking out at a construction site and a dump truck. Shades down.

I loved the retro design of the room. Plus, gotta love the vintage travel posters and old rotary phone, which are faves of mine! The room felt cute and fun, but not super kitch. The bar area was nicely designed and finished, but it’s not like there was a bar cart, room service, or a mini-bar to utilize.

The one downside is that there was no kettle or water. And of course, buying water downstairs – it’s New York City plus airport prices. so imagine how much that costs.

But, expert tip:

Tap water in New York City is not only drinkable, it’s actually high quality tap water and is delicious. New York’s Finest, they call it.

4. Elsewhere in the TWA Hotel

Outside of the room, there’s Connie (cocktail lounge) as we mentioned. But also, the Sunken Lounge (with views of Connie), a food hall (where you can get 24 hour coffee and a bagel for breakfast), a Twister room (a room where you play Twister, obvioulsy), the Paris Cafe for food, a photo booth, and all sorts of fun things in a non-pandemic world. For guests looking for the gym, the TWA Hotel’s fitness center is actually the world’s largest hotel gym! Aviation and history buffs can also enjoy the museum inside, expertly curated by the New York Historical Society.

There’s also a rooftop infinity pool, with a view of the JFK runways. Being November, I couldn’t be bothered with a rooftop pool.

I woke up early the next morning, and on my way to the food hall for coffee, did I think that the best thing at 5 am would be a photo booth? Obviously. The best decisions are made on a whim.

Check out was super simple. Everything is pre-paid. Even coffee that you buy at the food court you pay for separately. So, nothing is charged to the room.

Head to the hotel lobby, drop the key in the box and off you go.

5. From the TWA Hotel onward to JFK Airport

There is no free shuttle or other airport shuttle service. However, if you’re flying JetBlue, you don’t even leave the inside of the hotel. You can take the elevator straight to the bridge to Terminal 5.

Roll out of bed and into the airport. It’s super easy.

This is what you want out of an airport hotel.

For me, because I was an international traveler coming in, because my ticket was connected, I should have re-checked my bag as soon as I took it through customs on my way in. But I figured, what was the difference between that, and taking it out for the night and checking it back in in the morning? NONE.

I got to throw all my random Dubai shopping into my luggage and be light as a bird on the flight the following day. Perfection.

6. Parting thoughts on my stay at the JFK Airport Hotel

Airport hotels are meant to be functional and convenient. But with the TWA Hotel, they’ve added a bit of fun to your average airport hotel.

My room, which $135 USD per night, was fine for a New York City hotel price. Although there wasn’t a view, who really needed it? (The 2023 updated cost of $252 USD per night is also cheaper than your average New York City hotel price…)

The point was, I was exhausted from traveling, and the TWA Hotel gave me a fun airport hotel experience, that was simple and easy going. And it comes highly recommended for any overnight layovers you may have through JFK!

But, just remember that it is New York City. I found the room to be a reasonable rate, considering. But take into consideration, everything is NYC prices – from the coffee, to your morning bagel, to the late night snack that you want.

If you’re not flying, what about taking a safe COVID-19 road trip?

Looking for ideas for your foodie adventures in New York City?

• Become a bagel expert on your New York Bagel Tour of Bryant Park;
• Explore the food and immigrant histories of Hell’s Kitchen on a walking tour;
• Take a walking food tour through Greenwich Village / Little Italy;
• Love sandwiches? Join a sandwich tour of the East Village;
• Join a home chef at home in Brooklyn for a seasonal Japanese inspired seafood tasting menu;
• Stave off the summer heat with the East Village ice cream crawl;
• Marvel at all the brownstones in Brooklyn on this Neighborhood Eats tour.

7. Information on your stay at the JFK Airport Hotel

TWA Hotel
One Idlewild Drive
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Queens, NY 11430-1962

Average Price for rooms: approximately $250 USD at the time of posting. Check their website for current rates.

The TWA Hotel also offers rooms for the day – from 6 AM to 8 PM EST, with a 4 hour minimum stay. The same Standard Queen Room for 4 hours, at 2023 prices, is $149 USD. Depending on the time of day, this day rate may also include access to the rooftop pool.

While the TWA Hotel is the only airport hotel on the airport premises, other JFK airport hotels are available, which require a shuttle or taxi to reach:

• Hilton New York JFK Airport
• Hampton Inn
• Crown Plaza
• Holiday Inn JFK / Holiday Inn Express Jamaica

I cannot recommend or suggest any of these, as I haven’t stayed there. But, maybe they’re more your jam, so far be it for me to deny you. Until next time, everyone stay healthy and safe!

Pin it for later!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/

First of all, so sorry for the lack of posting this summer.  It had turned out to be so much busier than I anticipated.  From research and school work to beginning contract work on the side, it’s been challenging to stay on top of posting.  I have a plan in my head to catch up on posts, but for now, I’ll just give you some monthly highlights (with photos), and I’ll fill in the details in more posts on a regular basis now.

But before the monthly highlights, I just returned from the Cook Islands the other day, for a quick 6-day island getaway. My story of how the Cook Islands came to be seems to be an amusing one.  Last year on Black Friday (after-Thanksgiving Day sale), Air New Zealand had a fare sale to Auckland, NZ, for under $400.  Sales were posted to Twitter around 6 am, Eastern time.  Being in California for Thanksgiving, by the time I woke up in Pacific time, they were sold out.  There were Twitter rumors that Air NZ would have another sale for Cyber Saturday the following day.  So I turned on my notifications and set a light alarm on my phone for 4 am Pacific time (7 am Eastern time).

$490 RT LAX to RAR?  For the week of my 36^th birthday?  (9 months in the future, at this point)  Sure, why not!  The Cook Islands sound like a great idea.  And it totally was!  More on CI soon, but it was wonderful!  It’s a Polynesian paradise, without the crowds and big resorts.  I will definitely be going back in the near future!

So now, that recap of my travels since April 2018!

April

• Oaxaca, Mexico with a friend!
• Eating all the corn-based tortilla products one can find!
• Day trips visiting Hierve el Agua, the Tule Tree, Mitla and Monte Alban
• Watching a donkey go round and round in circles, grinding agave for mezcal, in a roadside, artisanal mezcal distillery

• Big Island, Hawaii!
• Hives on the flight…
• Photographing the Kilauea volcano and Milky Way in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• Epic hike on lava fields
• Above the clouds, on the world’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea.

May

• Back to school! In Vienna
• Visit to lovely but crowded UNESCO village, Hallstatt, in Austria
• Relaxing weekend in Budapest, with a friend that I met in Nepal!
• Quick jaunt to Bangkok for some Thai massages and relaxation!

June

• Unexpected and amazing time in Slovenia!
• Cloudy, sunrise hike over Lake Bled
• Hiking at and amazing scenery in Lake Bohinj and Triglav National Park with one half of travel bloggers, Rambles on the Go
• Eating dumplings, walking around Ljubljana and recording podcasts with the Postcard Academy!
• And then, almost the whole month in Croatia!
• Starting in Zagreb, with awful allergies, lots of sneezing, and seeing the remains of failed relationships.
• Full day hike with lakes and waterfalls in Plitvice Lakes National Park, with new Canadian friends!
• Eat lots of amazing pork afterwards at Pri Zvonou, a Zagreb institution within walking distance of my Airbnb
• On to Pula, for sunsets, Roman architecture, and boats
• But wait! I was stung by a sea urchin and had to dig out all the spines from my foot by myself (cue sound: womp womp)
• Chasing sunsets in Zadar
• Hike up to Manita Pec cave in Paklencia National Park
• Lots of balcony time and strolls along the beach in Okrug Gronji

July

• Visiting with Rembrandt in the Rjiksmuseum and friends in Amsterdam
• Crashing a friend and fellow bridesmaid’s family vacation in Milan!
• Taking breaks between eating gelato, pizza, burrata and prosciutto to see Italian Renaissance classics at Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
• Hiking above Lake Como, hearing tales of Italian-Swiss border smugglers and getting stung by way too many mosquitos
• Crashing the tail end of a different friend’s (and also fellow bridesmaid in the same wedding actually…) 3 week European vacation, in the amazingly beautiful and wonderful alpine town of Innsbruck, Austria!
• Hiked an incredibly difficult mountain in the Zillertal Alps… (story coming soon)
• Relaxation at Aqua Dome, sparkly things at Swarovski Kristallwelten, and frequent trips to Himal Nepali restaurant, in Innsbruck
• James Bond, mountains, and Milky Way in Soelden, Austria
• Watching Carmen, performed over Lake Constance as part of the Bregenz Festival, in Bregenz, Austria! Bucket list (CHECK)
• And then, back to school in Vienna!

August

• Stumbling upon the Pride on the Canal parade in Amsterdam!
• And finally, back to America for family time and R&R!
• Watched the Perseid meteor shower and shot the Milky Way at Anza Borrego Desert State Park, an international dark sky park
• Chased a particularly foul bucket list item to disappointment, at the Huntington Library, in San Marino, California.
• Celebrated being another year older and feeling particularly thankful for the experiences I have in life
• Crossed the Pacific to the Cook Islands, where I found the perfect paradise, without overwhelming tourists and large resorts.
• Took a day trip to Aitutaki where they have the bluest, clearest waters I have ever seen in my life!
• Sat in the cockpit on the way back from Aitutaki because the owner of my villa in Rarotonga happened to be the co-pilot on the flight!
• Made friends with a group of people that kept running to each other on the island, and happened to be all on the same flight back to LAX.

And now, today, September 5th, I am in Mexico City for a few days before I head back to California!  My life will be a bit more structured starting next week, so stay tuned for (more regular) posts and thanks for your patience!  Hope everyone had a great summer!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/