A Night at the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. A Hotel Museum? A Museum That's A Hotel?
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- I recently had a 14 hour connection at New York's JFK airport. Whilst it was tempting to head into Manhattan, I'd have had a limited amount of time in the City and it would have been an expensive project... But I had somewhere else in mind....
The TWA terminal at JFK is iconic - its frequently used as the establishing shot for the airport in films and TV shows. But it was designed to serve a different time, and a different type of aircraft to what was in service when the building opened in 1962. So when it closed in 2001 it struggled to find a purpose, but couldn't be demolished as it had protected status. So in 2019 it reopened as a hotel, with two purpose built room blocks offering 512 rooms and suites.
The "Head House" has been repurposed as a museum slash time capsule focussing on TWA airlines and the early 60's. Its fascinating to visit, but is it actually a good hotel???
⭐ #hotelreview #TWAHotel #MattsPlanet ⭐
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⏰ Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:04 - The Hotel
6:50 - The Room
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I remember transiting through that building 40 years ago after a long and turbulent, vomit-inducing 8+ hour flight from London in the smoking section of the plane (was rewarded by a trip to the jumbo jet's cockpit, which I think was quite normal in those days). Loved the building even then, so futuristic.
Wowser! I think you're giving away your age a little with this comment! Must have been an experience to transit the building in its prime!
Great review. Would love to stay here one night. How refreshing to find a reviewer who finally understands the meaning of the word “unique”!
Ha ha! Does that make me unique???
I am under 60, by a few years, but as a child in the 70s I traveled through TWA terminal at JFK a number of times, when my father worked for TWA.
I would like to visit the terminal and stay at the hotel but like other people here have said the prices are too high.
Fantastic! Must have been a great experience as a child. I'd say 75% of the "sights" can be enjoyed on a visit without staying so it may still be fun if you have a few spare hours at JFK
I was feeling hard done by staying at the hilton at JFK for a stopover last October until you put up the prices !
They are not afraid to charge for the TWA!
Very interesting! Thinking of staying here when I and a friend are doing a little points run/long weekend later in the year… really helpful review
Its a fantastic place.... And probably not wildly out of whack with what you can spend on a smart hotel in Manhattan
I would love to *visit* the TWA hotel, and I might try a single night if I had a flight out the next day. But while the hotel is gorgeously nostalgic and a wonderful piece of history - even for New York its expensive. I'd do it once, check the box, and move on. I'm glad they saved it - but if they want me to stay, they need to bring the price out of the stratosphere.
A great summary... It feels odd that they're selling room blocks to airlines (at what must be a very low price for the airlines to be buyers given how much competition there is in the hotel space around New York) yet the rates remain so high for us normal folk...
Superb Matt , a beautiful throw back to the days of TWA . Massive money though . Thanks
Surprisingly expensive...
I had exactly to same thought! Just a few more years before we have those eVTOL taxis charging across the skies, to complete the image
I’d love to know you better, thats only if you dont mind cos you seems to be a nice and cool person
Agree Matt, stayed there for one night last Nov really loved the vibe, same room as you, very comfortable but once you’ve done it, you’ve kinda done it, would recommend it for sure though nice treat and so convenient for that daytime flight back to Heathrow 👌
I stayed off-airport last week... A bit of a pain to Airtrain and then courtesy bus to the property and the location I picked (I won't say the name!!) was completely shady in a dodgy area... So the premium the TWA charges is justified in many ways!
Excellent review, and I feel pretty much as you do about this property. A few observations I've accumulated from visiting there about five times, and staying there once: If your travels involve T5, the front driveway of the Hotel is a great place to get dropped off - quieter, not frenetic like the Departures area. Just walk through and follow the signs to JetBlue. Also a great place for your ride to pick you up - easier for them to spot you, and for you to spot them. The Hotel is very much pre-security. No one is scrutinizing you in any way - feel free to pop in, dine, wander, gawk. Rooftop policy is indeed strict - it isn't enforced consistently, but officially, you have to pay to be up there, even if you're a registered guest. However, VERY early in the morning there is no gatekeeping, and even when someone is there monitoring, if you just politely say, "I have a flight to catch, I just wanted to take a quick peek" they usually assent. The view is incredible up there. If you're staying the night before in Midtown Manhattan, I would suggest taking LIRR from Grand Central (a new expansion that opened up late last year), to the AirTrain station. It's about a 20 min ride on commuter rail.
Top tips! Including the one about dropping off at the TWA... thanks!
Concur! Super convenient - and super expensive. I’m glad I had the chance to stay there pre-pandemic, when the pool was free, in the summer, and we could eat at the rooftop bar. And there were a couple of us, although we ended up in different wings, so it was a bit more fun than doing it on your own and we did splurge on a cocktail in the Connie. Interesting to see your arrival route - you can get to it directly from inside terminal 5 too, a bit longer but all undercover if required.
It is worth a visit, just to see the architecture and the nostalgia but, as you say, you can see most of that by just popping in during a layover without actually staying.
I'm glad I stayed although I am also watching this video's performance closely to see how much of the cost I can claw back from the advertising revenue!!!
That Starliner is absolutely stunning!! Nice video 👍
Thanks. She's a beauty... Hard to believe that she was cutting edge in her day as it was very basic in the cockpit!
A unique experience Matt👍. I would have invited the pool guard just for a dip with that view🤣👍🇿🇦
She struck me as a "jobsworth" who would not have left her post, regardless of how tempting the offer was!!!
@@MattsPlanet 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great video Matt! I've always wondered what it'd be like to stay at that hotel when going through JFK
You pay for the convenience!
Fascinating to see it, thank you. The footbridges do look amazing. But I can certainly see why one visit would be enough.
Those bridges are almost hypnotic! Very pleased to have done it - would need to be making a lot more money to stay again! Even though it is really convenient....
I had exactly to same thought! Just a few more years before we have those eVTOL taxis charging across the skies, to complete the image
I’d love to know you better Roger, thats only if you dont mind cos you seems to be a nice and cool person
Stayed there not long after it opened. For anyone interested in aviation those runway views (and some of those are partially blocked by the JetBlue terminal) are very expensive indeed. The restaurants, again expensive are disappointing. It cost a great deal of money to put together. Whether it survives is another question.
Thanks - selling room blocks to crew is usually not a positive sign but there's so little competition within JFK (basically none!) that it ought to work!
@@MattsPlanet Depends on what the airlines are paying and whether that covers the cost. Airlines aren’t paying $300+ for rooms. There have been reports of them selling rooms to crews in the past as well.
Wow what a time warp, my American cousin flew over to us in the 70’s with TWA & 40+ years later I’m flying to Chicago with BA to meet her in 2 weeks. What ever happened to TWA I thought they were a big airline back in the day or was it the Freddie laker effect that broke them.
TWA was a great airline. They eventually merged with American. At the time, American's plan was to have the great American Midwest sewn up, with hubs in Chicago, Dallas, and (with TWA in the fold), St. Louis - so AA at the time had a line of hubs disecting the US. That eventually changed as airline finances and furthr mergers changed their plans. I dont know what the "Freddie Laker" effect is, but what essentially sealed TWA's fate was the crash of TWA 800 and all the controversy surrounding it.
As RTB says, the crash didn't help TWA's image. Freddie Laker was an entrepreneur who tried to offer low cost long haul from the UK to the US. Richard Branson before Richard Branson. He was around for a few decades and I did fly with them in 1981 but they struggled and ended up bankrupt.
Interesting wasn’t aware of that just read the wiki page very sad. Yep as Matt said Freddie laker & his skytrain airline ( Richard Branson before Branson/virgin airlines) took on the big airlines ( incl TWA ) with cheap flights to the USA but they collaborated together & matched his fares effectively putting skytrain out of business
Did you know those footbridges featured on 'Catch Me If You Can'?
Highly recommend the film if you're up in the air sometime and it's availible to you (IFE or personal)!
Great video Matt, as always your long subscriber.
Hi Peter! I did see the film a good few years back but should watch it again.... Those footbridges are very theatrical!
Nice video Matt! I've done a stay here. Its very expensive for what you get, but experience wise it is a sure a great one-off! ✈ I personally would stay there again for a special occasion, I wish they would offer a basic coffee facility in the room.
I'm pleased I did it but as I say in the video, I had the chance to stay there again and I decided to save the money!
Great video, thanks for sharing:) does look good but as you say hard to justify the expense
Especially as almost all of it is visitable without actually staying....
I have an overnight at JFK in June and will make the time to visit the TWA Hotel. Looks like fascinating glimpse into a bygone era. Sadly, I’ll be staying in the considerably less salubrious surrounds of the Super 8 Motel, Jamaica as I’m a real cheap skate where forced overnight’s at airports are concerned.
It's certainly worth a visit! I stayed off airport last week - not the Super 8 but I suspect similar... Quite a different experience to the TWA but I did have $200 more in my pocket!
reminds me of The Jetsons (cartoon show from the early 1960s)
I had exactly the same thought! Just a few more years before we have those eVTOL taxis charging across the skies, to complete the image.
I'm sure one inspired the other!
Matt. thanks for the link. A truly beautiful, amazing building. Well put together video with a history lesson thrown in.
As you said, rather expensive for a nights stopover, but as a one off I would pay it, as I love that sort of nostalgia thing.
One thing I didn't like though, was being able to see into the bedrooms from outside, 1:44m. I know you have a black out curtain but Surely mirrored glass should be fitted as standard. The drinks were very expensive, but again, one in the the plane bar surely is a must do experience.
I liked the red and white interior as it covers Both my teams. HKR rugby league and THE POOL. 😁
I for one would welcome Mane back in an instant but, hey ho won't happen.
we could say we have the Eurovision Song Contest, BUT, we won't win that either.
Steve.C. YNWA.
Cheers Steve. I found a spot that made the view into the rooms very striking but you are right - it is an unusual design choice... Need my ad revenues to go up a bit before I'm buying cocktails on Connie!!
I had exactly to same thought! Just a few more years before we have those eVTOL taxis charging across the skies, to complete the image
I’d love to know you better, thats only if you dont mind cos you seems to be a nice and cool person
Great video and you had very similar thoughts to myself when I stayed over here - nice to do as a one-off, but not somewhere I'd rush back to due to the price and on-site facilities (other than the rooftop pool, which is a nice touch). As for the clacker board - I wasn't so much interested in the direct flights to Juneau or Baku, but rather the BA flight to Glasgow. Now THAT is a route I want them to pick up! 😆
Cheers Craig. Did BA ever fly GLA/EDI to JFK? I know some of the American airlines do/did fly direct...
@@MattsPlanet may have done but the only one I recall was AA doing a seasonal flight from GLA-ORD (as I flew that route two years in a row - and had my first ever international business class experience thanks to an upgrade on the ORD-GLA leg - thanks to my BA Silver at the time).
Continental used to do a GLA-EWR flight and US air did PHL for a while - back in the good old days when Glasgow used to have scheduled US flights (now its just the occasional holiday charter to Orlando!) :-(
So, that drops your Heathrow Premier Inn down a peg?
No, I wouldn't pay those rates.
P.S. $21 for a JD? And a tip on top, no doubt.
The Heathrow Premier Inn was several notches above the shady gaff I stayed at off-airport when I transited again last week.... And I like JD, but not that much!!!
The hotel looks amazing but soooo expensive.
Take the E train from Jamaica in to central Manhattan, far better value
Or stay in one of the fleapits on the edge of the city... Been through JFK twice this year and both times I've had an 8am flight out which is a right pain from Manhattan...
@@MattsPlanet Good point. I love the NY subway tho. JFK twice this year, I'm impressed. I'm off on trip number four this year, Benidorm on Tuesday. Don't @ me!
I was wondering if you could do a video on premium economy seats?
After flying Virgin upper class and having my parents in premium I did start to wonder if premium may be worth it for the money to save a fortune of not forking out on business
I did a BA Premium Economy, and have flown Virgin and the video is number 3 to be made... They are a decent improvement on economy and for a 6 hour flight to the US - not bad....
No bathing alone? Sorry what?
US Health and Safety gone mad... No baths in the room I had either...
@@MattsPlanet how is that health and safety? In case you’re drowning? But didn’t you mention there was a member of staff there anyway?
Crazy.
@@EruditoHacker The staff member was in the lift/elevator lobby - presumably to stop non-residents from risking their lives in the 4 foot deep pool....
@@MattsPlanet sigh
Boss content mate. Sound material. Fantastich! Really expenisve hotel. I wouldn't want to pay much more than $100 per night. Yeah it is NYC but so what, ya know?
Cheers John... I aim for
@@MattsPlanet Definitely mate. I've stayed around LHR for $50 a night when bought online and in advance. Why wouldn't anyone be able to stay for $50 or so at JFK? What a rip-off. Honestly, I have never been to NYC but looking at it, I am not too willing to go.