Amtrak roomette experience
While I’ve ridden a lot of trains, until this summer, I’d never tried any of Amtrak’s sleeping car services. So when my wife and I recently traveled to Minnesota to visit friends, we decided to book a roomette on Amtrak’s Empire Builder between Chicago and St. Paul as a test, before considering longer train trips.
Roomettes accommodate one to two people and afford riders with a comfortable and quiet trip. By day they feature two facing seats. By night a roomette converts into two berths, an upper and a lower, making it much easier to sleep on the train than riding in coach. The typical roomette on a Superliner measures 6’-6” x 3’-6”. (six and a half feet by three and a half feet)
These are private accommodations, and each roomette has a sliding door with a window facing into the hallway. There are dark curtains that can be drawn across this, and all other windows in the roomette for privacy.
When we boarded the train and entered our roomette, we found it ready and waiting with our pillows sitting on our seats, as well as a greeting card from Roger, our car attendant.
Our first order of business during this Amtrak roomette experience was to settle in and get our baggage stowed away. My wife and I were traveling with two small suitcases, and we could easily fit one into the in-room luggage space. There was also a pair of coat hangers to hang clothing, a rack to store smaller bags, such as my laptop case and my wife’s purse, and a fold-down coat hook.
As we were not going to be on the train for more than half a day, we kept the second suitcase in the roomette with us, positioning it on the floor between the two seats.
However, those traveling with larger bags and not wanting to share the roomette’s cozy space could use the storage rack on the lower level of the car.
Another option for an Amtrak roomette experience is to check the bags before boarding the train and have them ride in the baggage car. Note that checked bags are not available to passengers while riding the train, so don’t check anything you think you might need while on your trip.
Our roomette was comfortable and featured its own set of climate controls. It also had a variety of lighting controls for the overhead room lights, which could be set to full on, a nightlight effect, or completely dark. There were also individual reading lights, as well as a standard 110V outlet.
In a small rack on the windowsill, we found a timetable and map for our trip. It also contained the all-important dining car menu, so after getting settled, we both perused it eagerly.
Sleeping car passengers are provided complementary meals served in the dining car or brought by the car attendant to your room, based upon your preference. The dining car hostess walked through the sleeping cars before departure to take dinner reservations for that evening, as well as food orders for those wishing to dine in their rooms.
In addition, there was a coffee station across from the bathroom at the top of the stairs. Sleeping car guests have access to free coffee, soft drinks, and bottled water at all times during the trip.
While at Chicago Union Station, Roger, our sleeping car attendant made a series of announcements, explaining how the sleeping car worked, where to find things, and how to get his attention if we needed assistance. Roger was a seasoned pro, and I was repeatedly amazed at how easily he handled even the most difficult passenger requests during our Amtrak roomette experience.
Superliner sleeping cars provide private in-car restroom and shower access. While bedroom passengers have bathrooms in their rooms, roomette passengers have access to several
community bathrooms in the car.
On the upper level, our car had a single bathroom located at the top of the stairs in the roomette section, as well as three others downstairs, plus a shower and changing room. Amtrak provided small hand towels and wash cloths in the roomette. Bath towels were located in the shower room.
The bathrooms are typical of the compartments found in on an airliner with a compact toilet and sink. There is also a fold-down baby changing station along the back wall of the bathroom.
Using the bathroom while the train is moving can be tricky, as the train moves around more than a plane in flight. It didn’t take me long to discover the seasoned traveler would wait until the train was stopped in the station before using the restroom.
Although I did not use the shower on this trip, I was pleased to find that the bathrooms had plenty of hot water available, and our car attendant and staff worked hard to keep them clean.
Our train was full, and despite that, I was pleased to discover how quiet the roomettes were even with the door opened. And with the door closed, the hallway noise did not overly intrude while we were in our compartment.
Also, our roomette was on the upper level of the car, so the running train noise, while still present, was not as pronounced as it can be on the lower level. It was very pleasant reading or simply watching the country roll by one town after the next.
Initially, we thought we’d be in St. Paul by 10 PM, and it had not been our intention to sleep on the train on this trip. However, we got held up in several delays in Chicago, which put us four hours behind schedule, meaning a 2 a.m. arrival.
As such, after dinner, we had the top berth made up, and my wife got a good four hours sleep before we reached our destination. To reach the berth, there are two steps built into the wall next to one seat. As long as you have a reasonable agility, climbing into the top berth is fairly easy to do, so away she went.
Deciding I wanted to enjoy all the ride and not miss anything, I had the car attendant leave the seats as is. The top berth rests on top of the seat backs, which actually still leaves plenty of head room even for someone like me, who is 6 feet tall. So, while my wife slept soundly with the rocking of the train, I enjoyed watching a half-moon reflected across the waters of the Mississippi, the stars of the big dipper in the night sky, and the lights of small river towns along eastern Minnesota.
20 minutes before our station stop, Roger the car attendant knocked lightly on our door to let us know that St. Paul was coming up next. He then helped us down the stairs with our bags and was kind enough to pose for a photo with my wife on the platform, before bidding us a good night and returning to his duties. Our roomette was required by boarding passengers, so he needed to turn our compartment quickly and get it ready for the next guests on their journey west.
We thoroughly enjoyed our roomette adventure. Although the equipment is showing its age in places, the service was wonderful. And despite the delays in Chicago, the experience proved to be fun and relaxing, which is more than I can say for driving or flying these days. We are now eagerly planning future Amtrak sleeping car travel to visit family and friends in far-away places.
You cannot be on a hard schedule when traveling most of Amtrak in America. Other than commuter service, Amtrak is mostly leisure travel at best. I would recommend taking a battery operated or small plug in fan in the small compartments as they can get stuffy. I agree noise levels were minimal compared to Coach. The upper bunk has no window and can be a bit cramped, if you are not used to it. I like the fact that you can get up to stretch and walk around the train, plus food comes with sleeper service. Just don’t be in a hurry and enjoy the ride.
Well now, I’ve done all those things that are supposedly “difficult” in the sleepers–brushed my teeth, shaved, used the communal shower–and never had a problem with any of it. The installation of showers was the best thing to happen to train travel since the late, great real dome cars. Crews: Personal experience with those here in the Pacific NW has been very positive, both on-board service and operating personnel. The conductors out here and on the length of the Empire Builder are meticulous about keeping pax apprised when there are delays. East of Chicago…hardly at all in my experience. Bottom line: when you travel, there will be hiccups, whether they be flight delays, road construction, weather, etc. I expect some of that when I leave home and am happier for it.
My wife and I spent most of July traveling on Amtrak from PGH, Chicago, Denver,Sacramento, Portland OR, Everett WA, Chicago, PGH. Used a roomettes on every leg except Portland OR to Everett WA. Equipment: yes the superliner cars are showing their age. BUT — They were always spotless and well maintained by the onboard crew. It is obvious that more superliner equipment is badly needed, ALL the western trains were sold out most always. Coach & sleepers. On Board Personel: We had some excellent car attendants and dining crews. BUTTTT We also encountered (2) “not so good” car attendents, one a new hire and one who just did’nt “give a sh—. The dining car crews again went from excellent to poor. Training and oversight seems to be severely lacking! Needless to say I left tips accordingly! Conductors: Some made good announcements so we always new what was happening (delays etc.) what station what coming up and a couple who didn’t announce almost anything. FOOD: The food on the western trains is a BIG IMPROVEMENT for sleeping car passengers!! The “grab and go”breakfast was to our liking because is is what we pretty much eat at home. The microwave dinner on the Capitol, leaves much “to be desired”. TIMEKEEPING: Believe it or not we were never more than (1) hour late arriving at our endpoints!! EXCEPT Denver to Sacramento on the Zephyr we were (12) hours late. Hit/killed a man on a bicycle(3hrs), heat restriction slow orders(2hrs), pick up disabled loco in Minnemucca(3hrs), rock slide(2hrs), disabled UP engine with train blocking the main(2hrs). Most passengers “just took it in stride”. All in all ,it was a great trip!! I don’t want to sound judgemental but——– its sounds like Robert Mc Guire could have two “warm loaves of bread” under each arm and have some complaint?
David – Thank you so much for sharing your personal story. I found it heart warming and greatly enjoyed it.
The company that I used to work for was quite large. I rode Amtrak extensively for a few years, mostly on the northeast corridor (Washington DC to Wilmington, Philly, NYC and Boston). It was a godsend for me when compared to slogging it out on the highways or airports. I always found that the Amtrak train staff works really hard under very difficult conditions that are not of their making. Amtrak always got me to my destination. I never had a major schedule issue.
I’ve had lots of good experiences traveling in roomettes on Amtrak. I haven’t gone outside the NE Corridor since Covid since I consider socializing with other passengers in the dining car and lounge a big feature. Also they haven’t restored full dining here in the east, and no coach passengers in dining. Looking forward to all that being corrected. Some is lack of staff of course.
Thank you David for both the photos and commentary. While each passenger may have different tales to tell, i apppreciate your article. When my DRS ( heart attack in June) clear me for some travel I should like to see the old route of the Empire Builder. Being forewarned i shall take a fresh pair of showr shoes along as well. Again thanks for this informative article.
This column presents a pretty “rosy” picture of an Amtrak trip. I would say that since this is the writer’s first sleeping car experience it may be colored by his inexperience and the shortness of his trip. Amtrak long distance trips can “go south” pretty fast these days. He was lucky that he was only 4 hours late. And because he didn’t spend the night on the train, he didn’t get the pleasure of having to get dressed in the 6″ of space between the edge of the bed and the door. He also did not try to take a shower on the moving train, and he didn’t have to worry about getting his foot infected by using the communal shower which isn’t always cleaned after each user. Did he try to shave or brush his teeth on a moving train with water and air spitting at him from the faucet? All of these things can be done but they are not as easy on the train as they are in a spacious hotel bathroom. Enough has been said about dining on the train but food quality and service are subjects themselves. I’m glad David enjoyed his trip but please don’t think that they all end up this way or are as comfortable as he suggests.