I may not be a frequent overnight guest, but I am a frequent visitor to the TWA Hotel at New York JFK Airport for one primary reason. Sadly, that reason has now vanished like a good cup of coffee on a cold day…
Intelligentsia Coffee Closes At TWA Hotel In New York JFK
In many ways, I love the TWA Hotel…it’s one of the coolest hotels in the world in terms of its design and the history… designed by Eero Saarinen, it was the home of TWA from 1962 to 2001 and now is a very nostalgic hotel that seeks to honor the legacy of this temple of aviation.
While I have not spent a night in this hotel, I’ve unfortunately heard from multiple readers about how this property has declined: prices are up, amenities are down, check-in and check-out policies tend to be inflexible, and the hotel has not maintained its rooms as it should.
That’s not something I can personally speak to, but I can speak to the hotel’s coffee…at least could. In the lobby, directly across the check-in desks, was an Intelligentsia Coffee branch. That’s great coffee and it was always my go-to spot for coffee at JFK, especially after a redeye flight.
> Read More: Why My First Stop At JFK After A Redeye Is The TWA Hotel
But without fanfare or explanation, Intelligentsia has shuttered its New York JFK location. There was no announcement from TWA or Intelligentsia (though its Google listing now shows it as “permanently closed” and Live And Let’s Fly verified this).
The Intelligentsia website also now only lists one location in New York state:
With two trips to New York coming up, where am I going to get my coffee?
I’m told there is still coffee available in the “Food Hall” on the adjacent side of the lobby, but it will be hard to measure up to Intelligentsia. While the Delta One Lounge in Terminal 4 has excellent coffee, as does the Alaska Airlines Lounge in Terminal 7, I’m not sure where else to get coffee at JFK and would welcome your suggestions!
CONCLUSION
It’s sad to see the TWA Hotel lose Intelligentsia, and I count it as another strike against the hotel. I still love that magical terminal, but my visits there will be fewer and farther between going forward unless the coffee alternative is somehow able to deliver.
Coffee at JFK? Good luck. It’s Dunkin or 1990s style bodega filter coffee. There’s not even good coffee in the surrounding neighborhoods in Queens. I love JFK for it’s connectedness, diversity of carriers, and great lounges, but the airport amenities suck otherwise.
As for Intelligentsia, I say no big loss. The Austin location, which I refuse to go back to, was always as rude as can be to me. Almost as if they think they created the idea of third wave coffee. They’re a global chain cosplaying as a local indie hangout.
That’s been closed for a while. Passed through in November on a connection to Singapore and it was gone.
November? I was there.
I fully agree with this assessment. A year ago or so, my business partner and I stayed at the TWA hotel in the top accommodation – the Saarinen Suite. What a joke. As Matthew said aside from the historic architecture, Constellation lounge and novelty, no special treatment at all for their top suite. Motel 6 quality with scant towels, soap and amenities. I can only imagine with the pedestrian rooms are like. They have NO CLUE how to run a top boutique class hotel deserving of better customer care. The staff was no better than Amtrak staff on a bad day. I would never ever book here again and would recommend everyone else to STAY AWAY, unless you are an aviation buff looking for a unique one-off experience, and I mean one-off only.
The standard rooms were nothing to talk about either, even if they were in the $300 range.
I stayed a few times as I needed to be at JFK for an early international departure and thought the premium was worth it, but aside from the convenience, it was a disappointment. Both times I was given rooms adjacent to a service road with full view of it from the window, vehicles traveled along it all night and at times with sirens on. Desk was nonexistent and it was just a ledge on the backside of the bed’s headboard. Shower only bathroom.
Only positive I could give about it was it was actually clean… second the closing statement, it’s nice for the nostalgia or looking at TWA history, but aside from that, it’s not worth the stay as a hotel.
Ha – Clean? I would describe this hotel as Sterile…..
I am a total TWA nerd. I have 100 or so different editions of the TWA Ambassador Magazine. I have menus from the Pope’s flights on TWA, etc.
So of course, I had to be at the TWA Hotel public opening night.
It sucked then, too. I assumed it was just pre-opening jitters, but every article I’ve seen that honestly evaluates the hotel says what you say, unless it’s an obviously comped influencer hack piece.
So while sad, this is on brand for the hotel, which is operated by an owner that I understand focuses primarily on lower cost properties.
The sad state of the STL airport must be soul crushing for you.
To be honest, I stopped flying them after a very bad experience well before they were acquired. Plus I moved to the west coast, and UA made more sense.
But they still have a place in my heart.
Among the many things I hate about JFK, the coffee situation (or lack thereof) is high on the list.
It boggles my mind…and New York City has some great places.
Newark at least has a Bluestone Lane in the new A Terminal.
I was reading in another travel blog that one good reason to go to TWA hotel is for rideshare pickup: Supposedly it’s out of the “airport zone”?
Which blog was that? 😉
The thing that kills me at the TWA Hotel is that they now serve drinks in their beautiful sunken bar…in *plastic glasses*. When flying JetBlue, I’ve tested this like three times, because I keep refusing to believe it. In an instant, it completely undermines the whole bygone era of jetset luxury they’re trying to evoke. The time portal to 1962 vanishes before your eyes, the illusion is broken. Opening night (where I had a blast) is long, long gone.
It also feels ghostly, abandoned, soulless in there. There are hardly any staff even visible.
I still like walking through it for the beauty of the place, but it’s shocking to me that whomever is running it doesn’t seem to have the first clue about or interest in hospitality, as if the renovation and construction was performed with vision and love and care, and everything since with unfathomable indifference. And yes, basic room prices can be more than nicer places in midtown (which is easily and inexpensively gotten to via AirTrain+LIRR, for those so motivated).
As for rideshare, yeah, I prefer to take a taxi, but if you’re coming in on JetBlue, it’s still the fastest (and prettiest) way to get to the taxis in the T5 parking lot, as opposed to that endless skyway. During the current construction, you actually have to AirTrain from T5 to T7 for official airport rideshare, making the hotel angle (or taxis) that much more compelling. The hotel has figured this out and has felt compelled to put signs up all over the T5 connecting elevator and walkway declaring it private property, not an airport rideshare pick up location, etc.
But you know what? F***’em. Let the service honor the beauty and historicness and specialness of the building, and then I’ll care more whether people tromp through to catch an Uber.
While I know that we all have our issues with American Airlines, on my last trip through terminal 8 I took note that an Eataly is supposed to open up this year. So it is possible that there will be barista coffee there – we will have to see I guess.