Old souls like myself often feel as if they are lost in time. Do you ever wish you could go back? Back to a time when travel was a rare luxury, reserved for the likes of movie stars and (M)Ad Men? Yeah, me neither – I love the accessibility and efficiency of internet booking as much as I love a good deal – but isn’t it fun to play pretend? At the TWA Hotel, you can do just that.

A stay, or even just a short layover at the TWA Hotel takes you back to the bygone golden age of air travel. To be honest, the food and drinks aren’t worth writing home about, but it’s still better than the food in JFK (even the American Airlines lounge had an abysmal selection!) The rooms are pretty basic – but this is your best bet if you want a clean, comfortable place to stay, as close as possible to JFK Airport. It’s ideal for those early-morning flights or late-night touchdowns if you don’t feel like taking the AirTrain to Manhattan.

If you just need a nap between lengthy layovers, you can opt for their “Daytripper” stay, anytime between 6am and 8pm. This $150+ U.S dollar daytime nap even comes fully equipped with blackout curtains so that you won’t suffer the same fate as Nosferatu. An overnight stay in a standard room typically costs around $300 USD, but rates at the TWA hotel may vary depending on day, or season.

If the visit to the TWA Hotel is worth anything at all, then it’s for the photo op. There’s a wall-to-wall twister court – because that just makes sense. There’s a replica of Howard Hughes’ office that you could make yours for the day (I did) and a little salon for on-the-go touch-ups…in the mirror. Unfortunately, the salon is non-operational, just for aesthetics, literally. I think I even saw a payphone somewhere in there- just when I thought I’d forgotten they ever existed.

My favorite features by far, were the museum exhibits filled with retro flight crew uniforms, and the Connie Airplane, a full bar inside a 1958 Lockheed Constellation “Connie” aircraft.

They even had one of my favorite cocktails on the menu – a Paper Plane. In a state of COVID lockdown delusion, I thought I’d invented this delightful concoction of bourbon, Aperol, and lemon juice, but I couldn’t decide what to call it. Then I discovered that it already exists – and with a dash of amaro, it is called, a “Paper Plane” – but I digress.

If you wanted to re-enact Britney Spears’ “Toxic” music video for TikTok aboard the Connie, I wouldn’t judge you – I nearly did it myself, but I figured this post was already self-indulgent enough. If you too, would like to lose yourself in this lovely time loop of a liminal space, I highly recommend stopping by next time you fly out of JFK.