Nonstop to NY on SIA:SQ24 SIN-JFK in Premium, SQ21 EWR-SIN in Business, TWA Hotel@JFK

[yflyer]

In daylight, the terminal was even more stunning...



This was not a museum or monument. It was a fully functional hotel with guests coming and going.


There was an indescribable, electric feeling about the place...that this place was unique...


A clock hung from the ceiling in the main atrium...



The sunken lounge, facing the huge airside windows...



Great views of the Connie from inside the terminal. Once again, I felt transported into another era...



There was a model of the terminal in the atrium...



The flight tubes from the terminal would have led to satellite terminals where planes were parked. Now the flight tubes led to the hotel rooms in the new accommodation blocks.

[yflyer]

I had breakfast at the Paris Cafe, by Jean-Georges.



This was on the upper level of the terminal...



I had work commitments later that day, otherwise I would have been tempted to have a breakfast cocktail...



Hmmm...what to eat...



I decided on avo toast, with a poached egg.



Delicious!



There was also a lounge...



...and a 24 hour food court downstairs.

[yflyer]

I explored more of the terminal.

There were displays of old TWA uniforms and other memorabilia...



The Pope's Room...



...with its curved seating...



...and skylight...



A recreation of architect Eero Saarinen's studio...







...and his living room...

[yflyer]

There was a gift shop...



With lots of TWA-branded merch...



...and memorabilia...

[yflyer]

The gym...

[yflyer]

There was a rooftop swimmimg pool, and judging from the PR poster, the view from the pool was excellent...



But when I went up there, I saw next to nothing, excepf for swirling mist and fog...



Occasionally, there were glimpes of planes, and the terminal...



...but this was nothing like what the poster showed. This was the difference between marketing PR and reality, I thought to myself.

I left the pool and returned to my room. But while in my room, an amazing thing happened: the sky cleared up, and where there was dense fog before, I saw clear blue skies!

I left the room quickly and rushed back to the pool. Bingo! What a wonderful view of the tarmac and the runway!



And from my room, the control tower was now visible as well!

[yflyer]

It was now time to check out, but first, I headed outside, in the clear sunlight, for a walk around the Connie....



What a beautiful plane...



I took my time and walked around, and under, this magnificent flying machine...

[yflyer]

Then, all too soon, it was time to check out, and head to the city, where I would check into the Hilton at Times Square and spend the week there for work.

The TWA Hotel is a remarkable place, a destination in itself. The fomer Idlewild Terminal has been beautifully restored, and is now a wonderful, almost magical hotel. I cannot recommend this place highly enough as a place to stay, or at least visit, if in New York.

For me, it also worked very well as a place to stay for the first night after arriving on SQ24 SIN-JFK. After arriving, I had a good nights sleep, then headed into the city around lunch time the next day, fully awake and ready to explore NY.

While the rooms and pool are for guests only, the public areas, including the gorgeous terminal building and the Connie, are open to the general public.

Do check out the TWA Hotel if you have the opportunity!

[yflyer]

After checking out from the TWA Hotel, I walked to the nearby Airtrain station at T5, and took the Airtrain to Jamaica Station.



From Jamaica Station, it was a ride on Subway E all the way to Times Square -- a very cost-effective, and easy way for a solo traveller to get to Manhattan. Time-wise, it also only took a few minutes longer than an Uber or a taxi.



It was nice to be back in New York...



My next hotel was the Hilton Times Square...



This hotel was located right in the heart of Midtown and Broadway, on 42nd Street, in between 7th and 8th Avenues.



As the hotel name implied, Times Square was just steps away.



My room on the 33rd floor was fairly new, and quite spacious, but nothing special in terms of design.



The view from my room.



Two Queen beds...



The bathroom...



Combined shower / bathtub...



Toiletres in large bottles attached to the wall -- this seems to be the current Hilton standard.



At the time I was there, the hotel was undergoing front office renovations, the front desk was a makeshift affair in the upper floor "lobby", colocated with a small bar and breakfast area. There was no Exec Lounge operating at this time, but as Hilton Diamond, I got $18 F&B credit each day (This credit could not be accumulated and had to be consumed each day. "Use it or lose it", the receptionist said...).

As a hotel, nothing special, but the location was super convenient, with attractions, shopping, dining, bars and transport options all within walking distance.

[yflyer]

It was a really hectic work week in New York. I was there for the NRF (National Retail Federation) event, a global trade show for the retail industry.



We had meetings and business dinners essentially all week. By the end of it all, I was exhausted.

There were, of course, nice meals to be had, and great bars to visit.

The day after I arrived, I visited a good friend in his NY apartment. There was a beautiful Steinway Grand Piano in his living room. What a wonderful instrument to play on!



We adjourned to dinner at St Anselm, a very popular steakhouse in Brooklyn.



This was an intimate restaurant with great vibe and character, very different from the large steakhouse chains.



A simple menu that got straight to the heart of the matter: good steak!



Wines by the glass, and something I had not encountered before: Draught wines!



The draught wines were served in glasses, 500ml or 1 liter carafes (Which were actually beakers...)



We ordered a carafe of red, from the Red Hook Winery, located in Brooklyn. How much more local could you get?



Before the main event, some starters, beginning with thick slabs of Berkshire bacon...



These were a relevation. Definitely sinful, but not salty, but simply delicious.

Then, Countneck clams...



Fresh, plump, and ultra flavourful!

The main event: NY Strip Steak au Poivre...



As good and satisfying as steak anywhere! Wonderful!



We also ordered the butcher's steak, which was Hanger steak with butter.

This was equally delicious, and so different from the NY Strip. It was very tender, with an even more beefy flavour to it...

[yflyer]

Just a few simple sides to go along with the steaks...

Artichokes...



...and one of their specialities....mashed potatoes pan-fried in lard...genius...



There was a nice selection of desserts available...



Flourless chocolate almond cake with creme fraiche...



Basque style Cheesecake...



An absolutely memorable meal, and a restaurant I would definitely want to return to, hopefully with Mrs yflyer.

[yflyer]

It was cold and windy in New York that week. On one of the evenings early in the week, there was light snowfall, which began in the evening and went on till morning.



It was quite magical to watch the snow falling in Times Square at night...

[yflyer]

My colleagues and I celebrated the end of the work week at Oscar Wilde, a very well known bar and bistro on 27th Street.



This bar had a stunning interior, in Victorial style, with many antiques and objects of note (All listed on their website), and also boasted NY City's longest bar at 118.65 feet...



The vibe in this bar was quite unique...



We headed to the bar...



We sampled some of their signature G&T's...



...including "What’s The Story, Glory", with Gin Lane 1751, Giffard Crème de Violette, tonic water, and lemon.



Oscar Wilde should definitely be on anyone's list of bars / bistros to visit while in New York.

[yflyer]

This was not the last bar on the crawl that evening. At some point, I had to retire to my hotel, as I had an early flight to catch the next morning.

My colleagues, who weren't flying out so soon, continued to the next bar, and their revelry went on till the early hours of the morning. If I had stayed with them, I would have likely missed my flight, they said afterwards....

The next morning, I checked out at 6am and took a short one-stop subway ride to Penn Station to catch a train to Newark Liberty Airport.



I found the station signage a little confusing, but I eventually bought myself the right train ticket from the self service machines, and found the right train that would get me to Newark.



It was a pleasant ride on an uncrowded train to Newark Liberty Airport station...



To get to the terminals, one had to buy a separate ticket to get on the Airtrain...



Nice views from the Airtain...



The Manhattan skyline was visible in the distance...

[yflyer]

My flight, SQ21 EWR-SIN, was scheduled to depart at 9.35am. I was at the check-in area in Newark Terminal B at 8am.



At that hour, there were no queues to be seen, and security queues were also thankfully non-existent.