So, you're ready to make this trip happen, huh? Everything is packed. You didn't forget a single thing. You're just ready to set this trip off, right? WRONG! You find out that your flight has been delayed by an hour or two. What to do? What to do? Well, I will tell you what to do! Check out this slide show of the 10 best airport terminals to be delayed in. Know of a terminal that could have made the list? Let us know!
Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
The 10 Best Airport Terminals to be Delayed
1. The 10 Best Airport Terminals to
Be Delayed In
Travel setbacks never sounded so good.
Photo courtesy of Pitt-Greenville Airport By K. Aleisha Fetters
2. Once travel purgatories, airport terminals are stepping
up their game in hopes that your next travel highlight
will be between their gates. Here are 10 of our
favorites. Will your holiday plans take you through
some of them?
3. 1. Best for DJ Wannabes
Elevator music, be damned. JetBlue
travelers can now use Rockbot in the
airline’s high-tech terminal to pick the
songs that play over the loud speakers.
You can visit the T5 monitor to check
out upcoming tracks, real-time song
requests and votes, and user photos, or
just download the free app and hit
play. Artists including CeeLo Green,
The Wanted, Emeli Sande, Jason
Derulo, and Daughtry have also
played the terminal in JetBlue’s Live
From T5 concert series.
New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, T5
4. 2. Best for Foodies
“My hometown has some of the best
airport food in the country,” says Andrew
Zimmern, host of Bizarre Foods America
on The Travel Channel. If you have time
to sit and slurp, he suggests Shoyu’s pork
ramen and platters of crab fried rice with
XO sauce and a fried egg on top. Need
food for the ride? Surdyk’s Flights will
send you off on your travels with terrines,
cheeses, jamón Iberico and anything else
you need for the flight. I always go for a
prosciutto-and-mozzarella on a split
pretzel that makes in-flight dining a
pleasure. And Minni Bar makes a ham
and pimiento cheese sandwich that is as
good as they come.”
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, T1
5. 3. Best for the Hard-to-Impress
It’s difficult to pick the best terminal at
this airport, which is part theme park, part
spa, and part mall. But with a Balinese
rooftop pool—$13 and change nets you
shower access, plus a free drink—and free
movie theater screening blockbusters
24/7, T3 squeaks by as the best terminal
for keeping busy professionals like
Arabella Bowen, Editor in Chief of
Fodor’s Travel occupied. Still, whatever
terminal you end up in, expect reclining
chairs, recharging kiosks, and free Wi-Fi
hotspots. And here’s hoping for a long
layover: If yours is longer than 5 hours,
you can score a free, guided 2-hour tour
of the surrounding city.
Singapore’s Changi Airport, T3
6. 4. Best for Tree Huggers
What would a visit to San Fran be
without organic quinoa, reusable
hydration stations, paperless
ticketing, and the world’s first
airport yoga room? That’s exactly
what Gensler design firm was
thinking when it renovated the joint
and made it the nation’s first
terminal to earn an LEED Gold
certification. No wonder Bowen
calls it “the U.S.’s greenest
terminal.” Plus, live music series
and rotating museum exhibits offer
plenty of opps to meet like-minded
lasses.
San Francisco International Airport, T2
7. 5. Best for Cultural Connoisseurs
Besides boasting one of the best
airport lounges in the world, T5 is
home to more than the standard
airport fare. Music agent Arash
Shirazi recommends tasting
Wagamama’s East Asian cuisine
and, of course Plane Food from
U.K. native Gordon Ramsay. If
you’re lucky, professional
musicians may even set your
meal’s mood. The London
Philharmonic Orchestra has put
on its far share of T5 concerts
over the years.
London’s Heathrow Airport, T5
8. 6. Best for Stylemongers
Shopping in the City of Angels just
became walkable. LAX’s newly
finished $2 billion renovation bought
the busy Tom Bradley International
Terminal its own Westfield shopping
district. The 32 retail locations
include high-end labels Hugo Boss,
Fred Segal, and Kitson LA. Fuel up
for your search at Michael
Voltaggio’s ink.sack, Umami Burger,
or Pink’s Hot Dogs (an LA hot dog
institution). Plot your route here.
Los Angeles International Airport, TBIT
9. 7. Best for Gamblers
Here’s your last chance to win big. The
airport’s new terminal 3 is complete
with 1.9 million square feet—many of
which are dedicated to slot machines,
according to Peter Greenberg, Travel
Editor of CBS News, host of The Travel
Detective, and author of The Best
Places for Everything: The Ultimate
Insider's Guide to the Greatest
Experiences Around the World. It also
boasts $5 million worth of public
artwork, including four replicas of the
iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to
help set the tone. Or you could blow
through your winnings at the terminal’s
10,000-square-foot duty-free store.
Las Vegas McCarran Airport, T3
10. 8. Best for Aspiring Chefs
Terminal D houses a yoga studio, a
free theater, and showers, but its most
unique offering is its seamless
integration with the Grand Hyatt DFW,
says Greenberg. There, travelers on
layover can watch award-winning
chefs do their thing in the Epicurean
Studio/Cooking School, which also
offers classes quarterly. Watching all
that food can work up an appetite,
though, so the Grand Met restaurant
also has the industry’s first touch-screen
virtual menu, complete with
photos and ingredients listings.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, TD
11. 9. Best for Yogis
One of the country’s most-stressed
airports just loosened up big time by
launching a yoga room in T3. Next to the
terminal’s indoor urban garden, the room
is free for travelers, has a sustainable
bamboo floor, floor-to-ceiling mirrors,
exercise mats, and an area to store your
carry-on luggage—and travel stress.
Twenty minutes is all it takes to slash
stressors and up your brainpower,
according to research from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And the
room operates without a trainer—you
never know which limber ladies will need
help with their down dog.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, T3
12. 10. Best for Locavores
Don’t worry if rain delays hit while you’re
here, says Seattle local Harriet Baskas,
author of Stuck At The Airport: The Very Best
of Services, Dining, and Unexpected
Attractions for Travelers. The airport, with
plenty of views of the neighboring Mt.
Rainier, is home to farm-to-table eats
including Anthony’s Homeport & Fish Bar.
It’s the highest grossing airport restaurant in
North America. Ivar’s is another local
favorite famous for its fish and chips and
clam chowder. Finish things off with a
Washingtonian wine at Vino Volo. Bonus:
“There’s street-pricing in the shops and
restaurants, which means prices—even on a
cup of coffee—can’t exceed what you'd pay
at the same shop in town,” she says.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Central Terminal
13. Visit our website at www.diamondhospitalityservices.com or take a peek at our
blog at www.diamondhospitalityblog.com for more interesting hospitality and
career-related articles!
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