TWA Hotel review, JFK Airport, New York: A joyous celebration of the golden era of Jet Age travel

THE PLACE

Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen​ designed many notable buildings including Washington Dulles Airport and the soaring Gateway Arch in St Louis, but he'll always be best known for the futuristic TWA Flight Centre at JFK airport. After serving as the terminal building for TWA Airlines from 1962 until 2001, the sweeping wing-shaped structure got a new lease of life when it re-opened as the TWA Hotel on May 15.

THE LOCATION

The hotel is adjacent to JFK's Terminal 5 and is accessed via a dedicated lift from the JetBlue baggage claim area. After passing a mock-up of the office of eccentric TWA owner Howard Hughes, guests reach the Flight Centre by walking through a scarlet-carpeted elliptical "flight tube". It feels like something from a science fiction movie, a portal into the future perhaps, but in this case it slingshots you back in time to the '60s and the dawn of the Jet Age era of travel.

THE SPACE

It's a testament to Saarinen's visionary design that the Flight Centre still draws gasps of wonder 57 years after it was first unveiled. Fashioned out of concrete and white tiles, its cavernous curved interior is flooded with light thanks to a soaring glass frontage. Staff dressed in '60s-style cabin crew outfits pose for photos beneath an original mechanical flight display board while guests check-in at a row of airline-style counters. Scattered throughout the property is a museum of TWA memorabilia, including colourful travel posters, original uniforms and a mock-up of the lavish dinners once served in business class.

THE ROOM

Housed in two standalone seven-storey curved wings, the property's 512 rooms continue the mid-century design aesthetic. Prepare yourself a drink at the custom-made brass martini bar then sink into a Saarinen-designed tan leather chair and admire the copious Amish-made walnut panelling. Splash out on a higher-floored room in the Hughes Wing and you'll enjoy captivating views of JFK's runway four through floor-to-ceiling windows. Aircraft don't exactly tiptoe around so to ensure they are seen but not heard, the windows are a whopping 11.5 centimetres thick, making them the world's second quietest after the US Embassy in London. Transitting passengers can also book rooms during the day.

THE FOOD