Imagine going back in time to an era when taking to the skies was a pleasure. When flying was a special event and one experienced elegance and leisure. Airlines catered to your comfort in a vibrant market of competition vying for your travel business, whether it was for an important business trip or a vacation to an exotic destination. 

Located at New York’s JFK airport, the much anticipated TWA Hotel has opened to fanfare, taking guests back-in-time to the golden age of air travel, with its centerpiece being the newly restored mid-century modern iconic landmark, the 1962 TWA terminal designed by architect, Eero Saarinen - mastermind behind the St. Louis Gateway Arch and Dulles International Airport’s main terminal.

After a sweeping restoration, and the construction of two additional buildings, it stands as an award-winning showpiece encapsulating commercial aviation’s glamorous 1960s heydays. The boutique hotel’s 512 rooms are housed in the two new buildings, located directly behind the terminal, perfectly blending in with its mid-century design. In keeping with this design, lighting designers One Lux and Cooley Monato Studio utilized hundreds of Zaniboni Lighting’s small aperture fixtures to blend seamlessly into their design. 

Guests are treated to views of planes taking off from JFK airport, either from the comfort of their hotel room, which include 4 1/2 inch thick, soundproof windows, or from the rooftop deck infinity pool, a view that rivals that of air traffic controllers. The signature bar is located in a retrofitted Lockheed Super Constellation airplane, named “Connie,” positioned on the tarmac between the TWA Hotel and JFK’s Terminal 5.

Nostalgic TWA terminal mainstays have been incorporated, such as hotel check-in counters modeled after 1960s TWA baggage check-in stations, the signature TWA clock and a reproduced Solari flight arrival/departure board that has its distinct clicking sound, as well as TWA’s famous flight tubes (featured in the movie Catch Me If You Can with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio) taking visitors directly from the hotel to JFK’s Terminal 5.

While air travel nowadays can mainly seem like a hassle, filled with crowds and lines of hurrying passengers who are then packed into planes, the TWA Hotel offers a window into a time period that played host to the golden age of travel where air travel was a luxurious and relaxing experience.

Developers: MCR/Morse Development

Architect: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, Lubrano Ciavarra Architect.

Lighting Designers: One Lux & Cooley Monato Studio

Photos: TWA Hotel, David Mitchell, Max Touhey, Stefano Ukmar, Christopher Payne