The Pool Bar

The staff are unprofessional, the service is poor—especially at the pool—and the facilities are very basic, cramped. It does not live up to the standards of a hotel with such a long history.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Service was amazing! Natasha was super friendly, excellent mixed drinks and her recommendations were on point. I always like to order some food to go with my drinks and the sliders did not disappoint.
The pool is perfect to hang out as group and shallow enough to have the kids play without worry (3’ 6”). I’ll be coming back to be taken care of by Natasha without a doubt.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Been here twice and I've completely loved the experience. The staff is welcoming and the service was prompt. Special thanks to Natasha at the bar that was able to clarify any questions and made recommendations.

The pool is heated so if lukewarm water isn't tour preference I would suggest visiting during fall/early winter.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Pool experience at the TWA Hotel has been on my to-do list. It is a great view and nice for an afternoon, the $50 entrance fee for an hour and 45 mins is a little pricey, in addition you have to pay $25 as a hotel guest for the same amount of time. So they should take a look at those stay and play deals they offer.

All in all I we enjoyed out time at the pool, on a hot july day. Drinks and food were good, staff was attentive and pool was clean. There may have been a total of 12 people on the rooftop, and they make you cycle out every hour 45 mins.

Cost Breakdown - This is an kinda of an expensive afternoon excursion - parking at the hotel was $66 and drinks and food totaled around $130. Plus admission of $117 for two.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Got a local IPA and enjoyed watching planes take off and land. Great experience especially during the sunset hours

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Waiting for our flight we decided to go to the pool bar…glad we did. Our bartender Rosa made our experience fantastic.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

I saw earlier reviews saying the service attitude was very poor, but I didn’t pay much attention. Unfortunately, they were right — the attitude was terrible.

On April 25, 2025, I visited the TWA Hotel pool with a day pass. As a first-time foreign tourist and swimming enthusiast, I was excited to visit this iconic place. Sadly, it became the only discriminatory experience during my month-long trip across eight U.S. cities.

I had a transparent waterproof bag and a foldable tripod. A staff member immediately said tripods weren’t allowed. I respected that and never used it. I only filmed myself minimally with a small handheld DJI Pocket 3.

They claimed filming might disturb others, but there were only me and a couple in the pool. When the woman kindly offered to help film, the staff stopped her, saying “No tripods,” despite my explanation that it wasn’t a tripod and we weren’t filming anyone else.

Minutes later, I saw other guests freely using large cameras and phones—no staff intervention. Two men had professional DSLR gear for plane-spotting and were not stopped.

Feeling singled out, I confronted the staff member. She couldn’t explain why others could film but I couldn’t and sent me to the manager.

The manager offered two options: either remove my clothes and swim again to be allowed filming, or a $25 refund. This felt dismissive and humiliating. There was no proper changing room, just a cramped stall. When I asked for their names to complain, both staff and manager refused in writing. The female staff even tried to slam a door on me, and the manager threatened to call security.

This treatment was unacceptable. Though my English is limited, I was treated like a nuisance, not a guest. The double standard and cold attitude made me feel unwelcome and discriminated against.

I ask:
• Why was I the only one stopped?
• Why no apology?
• Why were others allowed large cameras while I was singled out?

This ruined a part of what should have been a happy memory. I hope the hotel reflects on its staff’s attitude and training. If the pool is public, service should be fair and welcoming.

I will file formal complaints with relevant organizations. This is a call for accountability.

Before visiting, I admired the hotel’s vintage red design and even bought a matching swimsuit. But this experience left a shadow on my impression of America. I don’t know if the employees are American, but they represented America to me — and it was a negative image.

After traveling to many U.S. cities for a month, this was the only place that disgusted me enough to write this review.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Definitely recommend this place especially if you're a Aviation Plane Spotter

We visited in March 2025 chilly day but the pool was very warm. The staff is very friendly and accommodating.

We just spent the day here and was completely worth it. The restaurant is great, the heated pool was amazing and the whole building is gorgeous!

Instead of assisting someone with directions TWA employees say you’re trespassing…. This is the world we live in today. Horrible Service and just for that I would not stay there.

Instead of assisting someone with directions TWA employees say you’re trespassing…. This is the world we live in today. Horrible Service and just for that I would not stay there.

Would never go back. I found the place old, the “changing rooms” (accessible toilets really) smelled of urine, the pool was overcrowded and the water didn’t seem clean at all. There were children shrieking and couples about to make love in the pool. No showers afterwards. The only nice thing was the view of the planes taking off/landing from the pool but I wouldn’t pay $50 again for that.

Atmosphere: 2

I’ve been to the pool bar 3 times now and I always enjoy my experience. We got day passes this visit and were able to enjoy drinks, snacks and get loungers too! The drinks are simple but enjoyable. We ate the nachos, turkey club, chicken tenders and the fried chicken sliders and liked them all. The sliders were flat out tasty, way better than they need to be at a hotel pool bar. Sessions are currently 105 min each and we did 11-12:45. And 1-2:45. We were able to get loungers both times which really made it enjoyable to relax & drink at the pool. If you have a long layover at jfk, it’s def worth a visit. The planes aren’t too noisy, it’s more like a constant white noise in the background. And it doesn’t smell like jet fuel, which my friend sarcastically asked. The hotel is beautiful and the pool is great, I’ll happily visit again when my friends have a long layover and need to kill some time.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Nachos

THE PARKING $$$ :0
Ok so 50$ for visiting the pool is a lot but manageable for a night out once in a while. But nobody is talking about the parking which can cost you $60 if you stay over 2 hours and $45 FOR TWO HOURS.
So make sure you got that sorted, use the shuttle or something.

Atmosphere: 5