This brings back a memory from 1968. For my first ever transcontinental flight, I walked into the beautiful and functional Saarinen terminal, showed some papers to the clerk at the counter to receive passage on TWA Flight One, the ten in the morning flight from JFK to San Francisco. Welcome aboard, Lieutenant, said the blonde hostess in a snappy coral coloured uniform, would you like to sit here in first class? There has never been a more exciting, uncluttered, uplifting air terminal as TWA's. Saarinen was a real talent and had the benefit of a perfect promoter, his wife Aline. Though my elegant flight experience was on a new Boeing 707 (I swear they flew those things faster than we go to SFO now), I remember the Lockheed Super G Constellation as the most beautiful commercial airliner ever. As for the success of this huge hotel, I am dubious. Surely I will go out there to see it and have a cocktail, sitting inside a Connie for the first time.
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For a nostalgic stay in a beautiful terminal of extinct TWA.
The menu of the restaurant of Jean-George Vongerichten, as reported by FLORENCE FABRICANT in Food Section, left me disappointed: too many things that one gets in any corner eatery, such as egg-salad sandwiches and hamburgers. Perhaps OK for a pre-flight snack of old, but not for a meal by guests shelling out good money for the hotel stay.
Why would anyone want to sunbathe near air traffic?
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Mr. Upchurch has a gift for saying the obvious. Surely the NYT could find a more insightful source.
It's just such a beautiful building, I'm so glad is was saved from demolition, preserved, and restored.
I'm sure it will be a fortune to stay at or even stop by for a drink, and there is nothing in the area really other than the airport to draw visitors in, but it is still standing and looks beautiful, which is great.
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I grew up an airline brat; Dad worked for TWA. Since we flew standby, we'd spend long hours in that terminal. I loved every minute of it. One of my very favorite buildings in the world.
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I worked as a "ground hostess" in the TWA terminal one summer after high school, basically just walking around the place helping travelers with directions, early boarding, golf cart rides, etc. That's how I encountered Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was lovely. Carrier to the stars, indeed.
So I'm happy to see the building restored to some of its former glory, but the insistence on overpriced, high-end amenities, cocktails and the like is so boring! Must everything today be a rip-off?
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Boy, does this bring back memories. I think I was about eight when I first went through the terminal on a flight to the mid-West (on a Connie). Been back there several times before TWA went bankrupt. The last time was in 1983, when we had just bombed Libya. Even though we flew in from California, we were re-routed to the TWA terminal. There were two large men in suits with large bulges under their arms. A scary time and a sad ending to such a wonderful place. I'm glad to see that it has been repurposed. I'm looking forward to staying there the next time I'm in New York. So much nicer than ERW.
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It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to spend more than the required time at an airport before take off and after landing. While sweeping views of airplanes lifting off and landing can be breathtaking, the noise and exhaust fumes can be nauseating. Curious to see how this plays out.
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@Bun Mam
I often stay at airport hotels the night before an early departure. I enjoy sleeping a little later and avoiding the morning rush.
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@Bun Mam The rooms that face the runway have the second thickest glass in the in the world; the thickest glass can be found in the US Embassy in London. Those rooms having a view of the runway are soundproof.
I'm sure it will appeal to anyone nostalgic about TWA, the early 1960's or the mid-century modern aesthetic. Also to have the chance to see Eero Saarinen's masterpiece restored to its' glory is exciting. Travelers who have long layovers will appreciate the short stays the hotel offers. An opportunity for a shower and a nap on airport grounds before continuing to travel is a real convenience.
I'll be channeling my best Peggy Olsen (from Mad Men) persona when I spend a night there in July, just for the fun of it all.
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I have fond memories of the TWA terminal.
My first experience was in 1974 on a 747 to Los Angeles. I remember saying, “This plane is so big, it’s like the Paradise Theater taking off!”
The terminal itself looked like a structure from the distant future. Now it’s considered nostalgia.
I guess we’re all getting old.
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The plane parked outside isn't a jet.
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They will be sorry about the infinity pool next to the tarmac. It will be black in nothing flat. Totally polluted by burned jet fuel and tire shavings. All rather silly.
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1958 Constellation Propeller Plane (not a Jet) parked outside
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@Mark Forman: For the life of me, I can't find the Constellation that you say is parked outside. Maybe they changed the photos. The Connies were very distinctive, with 3 vertical stabilizers in back..
@Giskander
Very first image in the story.
“'Airports recognize that when a customer goes off-airport to a hotel, the airport has zero chance of capturing that customer’s spend,” said Henry Harteveldt....'"
Why do your writers feel the need to capture the babble of some "authority" on what is obvious?
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Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
He gains triple-plane windows and seaweed wraps.
He gains an infinity pool and a yoga studio.
And there is nothing new under the sun.
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A mention should be given to the hotel at MIA, if you’re in the middle of a long trip and feeling stinky, they have a gym with showers available for non guests for just a few dollars.
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@Paulie
Have you ever stayed there ? Dont; depressing at best.
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Is there parking for non-travelers at the new TWA Terminal hotel? We could take the LIRR and then the Airtran from Jamaica Station down to the airport, but for a party of four that would cost about $100.00. ($5 per person on the Airtran, each way, and about $15 per person for the LIRR round trip.) That's alot to lay out if we just want to have lunch, a craft cocktail and see the sights. Parking for non-guests would be nice.
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@PatCC You can park in the regular lots and take an airport shuttle to the hotel. There is also valet parking. I believe for 24 hours the cost is $48.
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The big question is how much are these hotels, etc, going to gouge their clients? We all know of the $12 airport hot-dog, and I would make a strong bet that that kind of markup will continue into these latest spa-type forays.
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@Chicago Guy PDX airport (Portland, OR) requires all airport vendors to charge the same prices that are charged elsewhere in the city -- no gouging. This is one of the lesser reasons that PDX (which lacks an in-airport hotel) consistently ranks as one of the best airports in the country.
IMO, all airports should do this as well.
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The cocktail lounge at the TWA Hotel is not in a 1958 jet parked outside. It's in a 1958 Lockheed Constellation, which has propellers.
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