zitsky

I liked your post because I misread it at first. Thought you were saying wifi was bad because of the wind. I need to put in a mental comma or period. LOL

zitsky

Are there any restaurants in T4 that are "must try"? I will have access to the Sky Club. But I wonder if it's better to eat outside before I get there?

cfabar1

bgriff

The dining options in T4 are decent but not great. Blue Smoke, a well-liked NYC barbecue restaurant, is nearby and is pretty good, though its airport rendition will not make you forget about any of the top barbecue places elsewhere in the US (or even elsewhere in NYC). There's also a Palm steakhouse back in the main concourse near gates B20/B18, I'm not sure how it compares to non-airport Palm locations, which are pretty good. And there are several Shake Shack locations, which make a solid burger if you haven't had it elsewhere.

I would avoid Uptown Brasserie right below the club, which I've found has terribly slow service and underwhelming food.

If you're very hungry and want a full meal, personally I would go to Blue Smoke over the club as I find the club's food offerings too often underwhelming, but if you just want a snack or light meal, the club will probably be good enough. Or of course you could always go into the club and see how the food strikes you, and leave for a meal if the offerings aren't to your liking.

cmd320

I was just at the T4 club on Wednesday and it looks like the dining area renovations are complete. Brand new buffet and open kitchen right behind it. It actually looks pretty nice. Big fan of the Aperol spritz they have on special this month too.

What is truly repulsive is T2. What a dump. In many ways I would have rather DL left T3 open for a while and demolished T2 to begin with. Extremely crowded, gate lice block the only areas to walk though the terminal, the SkyClub showers are absolutely disgusting and falling apart. Really hate that terminal.

bgriff

I think you may be forgetting how bad T3 was. As bad as T2 is, T3 was worse, particularly in terms of the landside areas (both departure and arrival). I guess the T3 clubs were okay, although I don't mind the T2 club since it's been expanded. It's far from a highlight of the Sky Club network, but at least it's not usually packed to capacity as many of the clubs are. And any time I've recently had to trek to or from the far gates in T4, the walking distances in T2 are always a pleasant change.

Agree that the gate lice situation at T2 can get bad, but that is a problem in lots of places, including often T4.

AANYC1981

The T4 SC has a full on DJ out on the SkyDeck playing disco music......I've never seen this before. Must be for the holiday? Kinda fun!

Also this place is so busy RN.....line out of the door for the women's bathroom.......lines going back to the skydeck for the food buffet. WOW.

zitsky

Maybe they could sell us a pass to get to the front of the buffet line?

cmd320

I saw this as well last month. It wasn't a holiday, just a random Friday evening. Also super packed.

AANYC1981

greycap7

Hey All - I'm traveling with the family from JFK to ZRH with 6 pax in total including myself. I am Delta Diamond with Amex Plat card. The quirk is that we have 4 different itineraries: one for me, one for my Mom, another for my dad and two siblings and finally one for my sister. All the reservations are linked together though. Fortunately, I and my Mom were upgraded to D1 using a GUC. Will we be able to get into the lounge? I know there might be some process issues for them to process the boarding passes. Thoughts?

bgriff

Not all of you. Your mom will have access by virtue of traveling in D1, and you will have access for yourself and one other guest (not your mom) by virtue of being a Diamond (SkyTeam Elite Plus) traveling internationally. You can also pay for up to 2 guests at $29 each using your Amex Plat card, though I think officially your first guest is the SkyTeam Elite Plus one, I don't think you can "stack" your guest count. So that only gets you to 4-5 people total with access.

If you have some time before your trip and really want access, you could think about adding a few family members as authorized users on your Plat card so they would have their own access (and their own ability to pay $29 for up to 2 guests each), but that would cost $175 for up to 3 people (not per person) which is fairly steep, especially since the JFK T4 Sky Club tends to be a zoo in the afternoons before Europe departures, especially in the summer. But that fee gets you a year, so if any family members would benefit from the ongoing access (and you trust them to be authorized users on your card) it could be worth considering.

cmd320

Are you asking if all six of you will be able to access the SkyClub or just the two of you in D1? If you're in D1 you will have access. The others who are not in D1 and do not hold an Amex Plat or status will not.

greycap7

Well now that I think about it. One of my siblings also traveling with us (the itinerary with 3 pax) has a Amex Plat card although no status. Which means that him + 1 passenger would be able to get into the SkyClub. As you mentioned, my mom will be able to get in with her GUC-cleared D1 seat. With my Diamond status, I can get in with one person and a guest.

I think it'll take a bit of upfront explaining, however it's doable. However if it looks packed in there, I might just use the Wingtips lounge instead. Just need to use the restrooms and grab quick snacks.

apodo77

The "retreat" at the JFK SC is never crowded (people were stadning this day it was so crowded).