The First Step in a Long Journey

And we’re off!—on the first leg of what for us will be an epic journey. For many years, Allie’s #1 bucket list spot has been India. Now we’re finally on our way! Not a simple trip, not straightforward or brief or inexpensive, but, I hope, epic.

Our travel-mates along the way, the entire way, are our great friends Ray and Coco. Sharing an adventure can make an epic adventure even epic-er. I’m writing this aboard an Emirates flight from New York to Dubai. We will spend a long weekend there before Emirates finally delivers us to India. We’re on a giant A380, upstairs in business class. Life is very, very good here! And it’s Valentine’s Day, so everyone is in a warm, celebratory mood.

Our flight was a morning departure from JFK, too early for us to make a connection directly from Charlotte. This presented me with a great opportunity to experience something recently added to my own bucket list:a stay over at the new TWA Hotel at JFK. Luckily my travel gang was game. I had flown via the futuristic terminal back in the heyday of TWA and PanAm as the leading international airlines. The re-envisioned terminal/hotel/museum experienced a somewhat bumpy opening last spring—related to service rather than facilities—but I can report that everything was working smoothly last evening.

I am keenly interested in aviation, travel and architecture. The TWA Hotel scratched all these itches. The Finnish architect Eero Saarinen designed the terminal that opened in 1962, in time to serve the World’s Fair held in 1964/65 in nearby Flushing Meadows. Saarinen’s legacy also includes the famous Gateway Arch in Saint Louis. The long history of Trans World Airlines as a major force in the expanding global airline industry essentially began in 1939 when Howard Hughes took control of the company that had been cobbled together by emerging several small carriers. It ended after many years of financial struggles when it was acquired in 2001 by American Airlines and permanently dismantled in 2003.

The restored TWA terminal is a cavernous space filled with the trademark red and white logos that TWA used and over-used throughout its existence. There is a noticeable absence of straight lines in Saarinen’s design. The soaring walls of windows are a spectacle in themselves. The long tubular hallways stretching out from the main hall that I remembered are still there, white with bright red carpeting and perilously low ceilings. The walls throughout are adorned with dozens of authentic TWA advertising posters and photos of all the glamorous celebrities who passed through this building long ago.

The rooms in the two hotel wings that were added to the terminal are compact, comfortable and functional. One tip: do remember to close the privacy curtains unless you are a fervent exhibitionist. They are furnished in period pieces including a rotary dial telephone, though the flat screen TV and the wireless iPhone chargers did not look like vintage 1960s products.

The details and touches throughout were a delight. Cars from the era, a real Lockheed Constellation used as a cocktail bar, a sixties-style photo booth—it could all have been too cute, too campy, but no, it works. There is a spectacular rooftop super-heated pool and observation deck overlooking the airport and with the Manhattan skyline in the distance. A museum-like exhibit shows the evolution of TWA flight attendant uniforms by famous designers over its history. There are also re-productions of Howard Hughes’ office, a typical late fifties/early sixties American living room, the studio of Saarinen and much more. Music of the period fills the hallways, highlighted by that of the Beatles, who made their famous first visit to New York and the Ed Sullivan Show via this terminal in 1961.

The only disappointment in our brief visit to the TWA Hotel was the food. The drinks in the Lisbon Bar were perfect, the setting of Café Paris was dramatic and service was friendly, but the food fell short even of mediocre. This despite having Jean-George Vongerichten at least nominally at the helm. No matter—we didn’t come for the food!

JFK is an airport most Americans not from the greater NewYork area try hard to avoid. Having succumbed to its formidable advantages—low fare, service to everywhere, airlines such as Emirates—I’ve flown through here twice recently. Now that I’ve seen the TWA Hotel for myself, I can say there is now a reason to try to schedule yourself though JFK rather than avoid it, provided there is an acceptable itinerary that requires an overnight. The rates at the hotel are very reasonable by NYC standards, and it certainly beats having to go into Manhattan and back for only one night. One thing though: you might want to bring your own dinner!