Travel Expert’s Lackluster Review of Bucket-List NYC Hotel Is a Buzz Kill

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OK, so let's say you've had this amazing hotel sitting on your bucket list for years. You've heard great things about it, and it looks really cool and unique, so you go out of your way to plan a trip there and check it off your bucket list. Finally, the big day comes, and you show up and check-in, only to find that the experience you built up in your mind was actually just kinda... meh.

That's how travel expert "Max Miles Points" felt when he showed up at one well-known NYC hotel that's on a lot of travelers bucket lists for its location and unique design. After a lackluster recent stay there, Max dropped a brutally-honest review of it on April 17 that, while necessary, is kind of a buzz kill.

Not gonna lie, I was kinda bummed that @maxmilespoints didn't dig the TWA Hotel , because that was perhaps the only airport hotel in the world I know of that I'd want to stay at (or at least, I did before his review). Built in an old terminal at JFK Airport , the TWA Hotel is designed in a stunning mid-century modern aesthetic, to the point where it could easily pass as a set from Mad Men . It's got style in spades, and even Max was quick to acknowledge that.

Related: World Travelers Try out Tiny Capsule Hotel Inside Bangkok Airport

But style matters little if there's no substance to back it up. While hotel staff were technically present, Max found them to be impersonal and unhelpful, forcing him to check in and haul his bags by himself. He was also disappointed by the size of the room and the lack of room service, coffee machine, or even a trash can ! And sure, you'd generally expect an airport suite to be small and pared down (though they could at least have a trash can), but if that suite costs $300-400 a night as it does at TWA, you'd hope for more bang for your buck! Oh, and the power went out too, so there's that.

In short, Max felt that while the TWA Hotel is a great tourist attraction and a neat place to take pictures, it's far from great as an actual hotel. Save your money, but stop into the lobby for some cool vintage photos and social media clout.

Other TWA Hotel Customer Complaints

Obviously, I didn't want to come down on the hotel over just one bad review. Maybe Max just had a subpar experience, or they stuck him in a bad room (though again , trash mats instead of trash cans is pretty egregious). Looking into the comments, though, it soon became clear that Max's poor experience was no fluke.

"I liked the hotel design but it's also run down, like the rooms," said @huntergdavis. "My room's electronic curtains were broken, handyman couldn't fix it, so I got to watch headlights going right next to my room all night."

"I stayed there and agree. The lobby is definitely cool looking, but the red carpet looks neat but made the roller bag hard to move on a not-short walk to a mediocre room." @missm1975 vented.

The carpet tripping up roller bags seemed to be a common complaint among guests. "Restaurant was very expensive. The red carpet wouldn't allow my wheels to roll on my luggage. Never again," affirmed @cloe_daddy.

One former guest, @asflyboy, even encountered the same electrical issues as Max: "OK I've stayed there twice and the power went out BOTH TIMES. I always say it feels like it's managed by people that have never managed a hotel."

Well, rats. It sucks to have one of your travel dreams shattered, but better to find out in advance than waste your money. This one's off my bucket list for now, but I still hold out hope that someone will give the TWA a glow-up someday.

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