Amtrak lounge, Los Angeles Union Station

[Maurice Davis]

Is the Amtrak lounge in L.A. open to customers in view of the current virus issue.?

 

[Maglev]

Welcome to Amtrak Unlimited!

Last I heard, the lounge was open but snacks and beverages were not self-service and were limited.

Please let us know how your trip goes!

 

[MARC Rider]

Anybody know the status of the Washington Club Acela? I'm heading for DC tomorrow, and the reduced schedule is going to mean I'm arriving early and will need some place to hang out. If they're not serving food and beverage, does that mean I can pick up a coffee at Starbucks and bring it in? (The Washington Club Acela is pretty hardcore about not allowing outside food.)

 

[crescent-zephyr]

(The Washington Club Acela is pretty hardcore about not allowing outside food.)

You’re telling me! They wouldn’t let me walk through the lounge with a Jamba Juice to board the train so I had to go to the coach boarding... the lady at the gate there said I had to join the back of the line because “I should have boarded through the lounge”

 

[MARC Rider]

By the way, the Club Acela in Washington is open. When I was in on Monday morning, I was the only one there. There were a few more people around in the afternoon. The cold drink dispenser is operational, the coffee machine is not. The packaged snacks and fruit they put out were the same as usual.

 

[ja5151]

I've never been to the LAX lounge, but do they have a self-storage luggage area similar to the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge?

 

[Cal]

I've never been to the LAX lounge, but do they have a self-storage luggage area similar to the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge?

No, they don't. I believe you can ask the attendant. The attendants have always been great and friendly in my experience.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I've never been to the LAX lounge, but do they have a self-storage luggage area similar to the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge?

They do not. The attendant did allow passengers to leave their luggage next to her desk at the entrance in my experience.

 

[zephyr17]

They do not. The attendant did allow passengers to leave their luggage next to her desk at the entrance in my experience.

And if there is too much for that, they use a little used conference room for luggage storage.

 

[ja5151]

Okay, cool. Apparently the Palm Springs station where we were going to board next month is out of service (track or switches were apparently damaged by a sandstorm), so Amtrak is offering to rebook us from LA (or Pomona or Ontario but those stations look kind of iffy to me).

 

[jiml]

You are not missing much with Palm Springs other than convenience. There is an entire recent thread about the station and its less-than-ideal location. Ontario is similar - a platform, however it is next to the airport with all the services and infrastructure that brings - car rentals, secure parking, hotels, alternate transportation. Plus it is only an hour drive from Palm Springs on I-10.

 

[ja5151]

I was surprised how remote that Palm Springs station was too. We had them rebook us from LAX, and I'm hoping that Amtrak will help us out with the difference in the rental car price, because we booked it awhile ago and if I change the return to the LA area it costs twice as much.

We're considering returning the car to the Thrifty location in Pasadena and then taking the Metro L line to Union Station. Wondering if there's much to see within a short drive/walk of Union Station at that hour, or if we'd be better off spending the afternoon in Pasadena or Santa Monica or some place on a Metro line that will bring us downtown.