Upon seeing rates in the $159+ range for even 2.5* hotels next week (5/26), I used 10K points for the Fairfield Inn JFK.

Two questions about the Fairfield Inn JFK Airport:
1) From what I understand, the Fairfield Hotel JFK used to be a Doubletree--and got horrible reviews on TripAdvisor.com, so I'm just checking to see if anyone has stayed there in the last month or so? TripAdvisor reviews from March said there was a lot of renovation going on, and so I called today and was told that "everything is new". The exercise room is now open, and all rooms have been renovated. Anyone with direct experience to corroborate?
2) Also, could someone simply explain the JFK Airport Shuttle Info? I will have a lot of luggage, and my understanding is that you have to take the "AirTrain" for $5 each way, to a shuttle pick-up area, for most hotels. True for the ex-DoubleTree/Fairfield, too? Or do any shuttles leave from the JFK Terminals?

Thanks for your help!

http://www.panynj.gov/airtrain/around_jfk.html

Thanks, UpgradeMe! Looks like it'll be reasonably simple.

Now, are there any first-hand accounts about what the Fairfield Inn is like these days?

Well, here is mine:

PROS:
Almost everything inside and outside the hotel is NEW: room furnishings, windows (soundproofed, they say), bathrooms, etc.
Free breakfast with make-your-own waffles, and the usual continental breakfast options--cereals, yogurts, breads, juices, coffees, etc.
Free Wi-Fi, which wasn't working when I arrived but was an hour later.
Free Airport Shuttle
JFK AirTrain is free if you get off at Stop C (Federal Circle, where you need to get Hotel and Car Rental Shuttle buses). It's less than 5 minutes from JFK terminals, so it's painless.
Fitness Room (but only cardio machines, so don't expect to lift any weights).
A full-service, in-hotel evening restaurant with Mediterranean menu, very rare for a FI to have its own restaurant, I believe. It was reasonably crowded the evening I was there.
Other food nearby: McD's (4 blks), also Burger King, a Halal Fried Chicken place, take-out Chinese (all 1 blk or less).

CONS:
Smallish room
Shuttle is shared with Comfort Inn and HoJo, both nearby, but we were packed in and it's only offered at :10 past every hour to go to the airport--kinda odd for an airport hotel, but it worked for me just fine--left on time, and was there when I arrived at the airport, too. I watched the evening driver talk two foreign pax out of an extra $5 tip when he got their bags out. I wasn't impressed with that.
Weird neighborhood--it's very industrial, with some houses sprinkled in. But VERY few pedestrians. That said, when I was walking it didn't feel like a "bad" neighborhood, just sparsely populated. Still, a few eccentric folks on the sidewalks, just like in any urban area.
The location, while odd, is a few blocks better than a trio of hotels (Days Inn, Comfort Inn, and HI Express) that are-literally--next-door-neighbors to the NYC Garbage Truck Garage. Yuck!

So, if you can get a good rate and are only there for a night, I highly recommend the Fairfield Inn JFK.