In reply to Cooter :
If you were coming just for the hotel it’s very convenient. Fly in, take a shuttle to and from your airline’s terminal, and never need to leave the property.
In reply to Hungary Bill :
Before the security theater kicked in we could walk right up to the gate to drop off/pickup my aunts. PanAm has gigantic windows where you could see into the windows of the waiting 747s. If we went to LaGuardia there was an observation deck over the gates where you could stand outside and damage your hearing.
That is an awesome hotel!
From the main level you can either go up one of the two tubes, out to the Constellation bar, or up to a mezzanine with the Lisbon Lounge, Paris Cafe, a sitting room, and a display of captain and stewardess uniforms through the years. Our first stop was outside. You go down a ramp to the simulated piece of tarmac and across to the plane. I had to brave this alone as there’s only stairs leading up right now. Once inside there are tables and seats trimmed in a very 60s pattern and a small staff serving from a bar at the rear of the plane. One amusing thing was that you could walk away with your drink so it seemed like there were people all over sipping martinis.
Back in the terminal we went up to the tower on the right of the terminal to our room. The windows are about 4 inches thick and soundproof. It was incredible sitting that close to the planes and not hearing them. My parents house is about 8 miles east of JFK and if weather was bad the plates would rattle about every three minutes.
The window was floor to ceiling and wall to wall with motorized shades to block them if you wanted. I did not and spent most of the night sitting in that womb chair watching the planes come and go.
When we went back down for dinner we first headed to the end of our tube where there was a small exhibit about Eero Saarinen and the architectural model of the terminal.
The end of the other tube has a replica of the president’s office: 
Instagram filters let me look like low level management in any era:
An earthball to help map my trip home
Enigma
New Reader
6/27/19 7:38 a.m.
Looks like you've spent great time there!
