Amtrak Metropolitan Lounges

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Alice said:
Anyone know if any of the showers in Chicago are wheelchair accessible? Shower bench or chair, hand held shower head, grab bars. I'll be arriving on Zephyr, leaving several hours later if we are not too late.
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I asked on a FB group (asking for a freind question) and got this answer and picture.

Yes, showers are very roomy and clean. You can't see it in the picture but there is a bench to the left as well, to put your clothes on. They give you a towel or 2 and there is a shampoo and soap dispenser.

May be an image of sink
 
The shame is that there are not more first class lounges in the major city stations. There are a few that are unmanned like at New Orleans and and Minneapolis/St Paul. There you have private waiting rooms and depending on the location, you may find coffee or minimal snacks. Last we were there a while ago, New Orleans had the "lounge" in the corner of the station and you needed an access code to open the lock. There was coffee there but rest rooms are outside, but not much else. There were a couple of concession stands in the station but this was pre-covid.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5082/5200327462_521bc9ed29_z.jpg
 
I wonder if this is an advance change to account for the renovation of the station itself in Chicago?

If they're going to have to close off / redo the station, it'd make sense to cut business class to help with that.
 
Yes I mean just who is this lounge meant for then? How many people actually are in sleeper cars? I know when I go in there at 9 am when my train arrives in CHI it is not crowded at all so why keep us out? My ticket for under 2 hour ride is $50 in BC, so for $100 round trip I think you could allow lounge access!
 
The Chicago Lounge seems to have a slightly different clientele than the lounges in the Northeast. Chicago seems to cater mostly to connecting sleeper passengers, whereas the Northeast lounges cater mostly to Acela First class and Select Plus+ members riding the corridor trains (although they also serve sleeper passengers on the LD trains serving the northeast, too. I'm surprised there would be a crowding problem in Chicago, as the LD consists have been shortened, and thus there are now fewer sleeper passengers than there were a few years ago. Thus, it seems that the lounge also ought to be able to handle Midwest corridor BC and Select plus members as well as it's always been done.
 
At the Chicago Union Station the space for luggage is too small, and can be totally jampacked. The lounge area with people is not jampacked. There are multiple levels and most of the people hang out on the lower level so it may appear that it’s full sometimes, but go up to the upper levels and there’s plenty of space.
 
There are interesting questions that come up. on the state supported trains, how much of the BC upcharge actually goes to support the lounge, and is there a plan to upgrade snack and drink offerings. Would BC/BC pasengers load up on snacks and food to avoid buying it? I don't think there is a space issue, it has to be something else.
 
Just-Thinking-51 said:
Yes it can.
Luggage storage is complete inadequate too.
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The Common Sense solution is to expand the Luggage Storeage Area as Rennovations proceed, and to once again have a Red Cap work in the Luggage Room like they did in the old Metro Lounge @ Union Station!
 
Bob Dylan said:
The Common Sense solution is to expand the Luggage Storeage Area as Rennovations proceed, and to once again have a Red Cap work in the Luggage Room like they did in the old Metro Lounge @ Union Station!
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LA’s Metro Lounge is quite small and sometimes it is filled to beyond capacity. On one such occasion I moved to the ticketed seating area. Shame there are no such lounges in cities that could really use them like Seattle and Sacramento. Passengers transferring to the Starlight from the Zephyr have a ten hour wait(if on time) Lots to do near the station but after dark a lounge would be nice for sleeper passengers waiting on the Midnight Starlight arrival, Seattle is a major station serving the Starlight and the Builder. Guess the City of Seattle has no interest in a first class lounge.
 
Sidney said:
LA’s Metro Lounge is quite small and sometimes it is filled to beyond capacity. On one such occasion I moved to the ticketed seating area. Shame there are no such lounges in cities that could really use them like Seattle and Sacramento. Passengers transferring to the Starlight from the Zephyr have a ten hour wait(if on time) Lots to do near the station but after dark a lounge would be nice for sleeper passengers waiting on the Midnight Starlight arrival, Seattle is a major station serving the Starlight and the Builder. Guess the City of Seattle has no interest in a first class lounge.
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When I did the CZ-CS connection last summer, there was a makeshift lounge at the Sacramento station. You had to go up to the ticket counter and show your ticket to gain access. It was sectioned off with partitions from the rest of the station. The mini lounge had couches, snacks, drinks, and reading material. was a pleasant surprise.

And yes, Seattle is in desperate need of a lounge.
 
Since Chicago is a major hub, I have been in the Metropolitan Lounge there many times coming from the west and/or east. The seating areas on all levels can be crowded, especially when multiple trains are arriving and departing. Afternoon seems to be the most crowded until the California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief depart. I have also used the shower facilities which I think are quite nice and safe.
 
wwchi said:
Yes I mean just who is this lounge meant for then? How many people actually are in sleeper cars? I know when I go in there at 9 am when my train arrives in CHI it is not crowded at all so why keep us out? My ticket for under 2 hour ride is $50 in BC, so for $100 round trip I think you could allow lounge access!
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This is symptomatic of the larger problem of Amtrak outside the NEC: the inability to comprehend that people might actually want to take the train as a form of travel. Should they incentivize regional business travelers in the Midwest to use Amtrak, or discourage them?

When I rode the Lake Shore Limited in business class, the perk of being able to sit in the lounge and take part in the pre-boarding was a nice touch. Given that the lounge already exists, the cost of me sitting there and pre-boarding is virtually nil. These small perks were a reason to spend more on a ticket. Imagine that.
 
I visited the Chicago lounge yesterday (10-8) as a business class passenger on the Lincoln Service (train 307). I was allowed entry and was told the new rules requiring business class passenger to pay an entry fee don't go into effect until November 1.

The club was relatively full at 6:00 pm but cleared out when they announced boarding of the Capitol Limited (30) and the Pere Marquette (370). The only two departures after that were train 307 and the Lake Shore which was almost 2 hours later. The upstairs PRR room was empty as always, I am so glad most passengers haven't discovered that space.

Between the much less comfortable new Seimens business class seats and the lack of the lounge access I will be considerably less likely to purchase business class after November 1. It just isn't worth the $35 to $50 extra anymore.
 
Metro Lounge in DC has "modern" seats that are not so comfortable. There were very good attendants on my most recent journey.

Last time I was in LA Metro Lounge the TV was set to something unwatchable. I asked the attendant if I could change the channel and she said she would change it. I asked her to stop when she reached PBS. I asked the several folks near me if that was OK and they agreed. So we pegged it on PBS and got a light round of applause around the room.
 
After reading about the changes to the lounge access, I’m guessing coach passengers can’t buy a day pass to the lounge in Chicago anymore?
 

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