Chicago Union Station Metropolitan Lounge

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greg1956a

Train Attendant
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
53
Location
Philadelphia,PA
Is the metropolitan room opened to people who didnt travel first class i was there acouple years ago when i didmy first cross trip first class
Thanks
Greg
 
Unless something has changed, one can purchase a day pass for the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago for $25.00.
 
Am sitting in the CUS lounge now. Better food than on the Eastern sleepers but the dragons are still here in force doing their best to keep passengers unhappy.
That wasn't my experience last month. The food was just snacks, not at all comparable to Contemporary Flex dining. The staff was fine, they didn't do anything to make me unhappy. They even let me in just by showing my Select Plus card, made no problem about my not showing them a sleeper ticket.
 
I saw three people purchase passes to use the metropolitan lounge on Thursday while waiting to board 7. The passengers were told they could only use debit or credit cards. No cash. But they could use cash to buy a pass at the ticket office.

Some people enter the lounge actually thinking it’s the waiting room. The agents have to continually prevent them from entering.
 
Is the metropolitan room opened to people who didnt travel first class i was there acouple years ago when i didmy first cross trip first class
Thanks
Greg

In addition to premium ticketed passengers it is open to people with lounge passes (you get a couple of these with AGR select tier and with the credit card) or it is open to Select Plus and Executive tiered AGR members. Select plus and executive members may use the lounge anytime without restrictions, so if you saw people waiting without premium tickets they were either select plus/executive or they had/purchased a pass.
 
That wasn't my experience last month. The food was just snacks, not at all comparable to Contemporary Flex dining. The staff was fine, they didn't do anything to make me unhappy. They even let me in just by showing my Select Plus card, made no problem about my not showing them a sleeper ticket.
The fresh vegetables and cheeses were far ore edible than the flex dining food.
 
I am arriving on the Texas Eagle at Los Angeles Union Station at (hopefully) 5:30 a.m. and will be leaving on the Southwest Chief at 6:00 p.m. I have a roomette on both trains. Will I be allowed in to the L.A. Metroplitan Lounge when it opens in the morning even though my train isn't for another 11 hours?
 
I am arriving on the Texas Eagle at Los Angeles Union Station at (hopefully) 5:30 a.m. and will be leaving on the Southwest Chief at 6:00 p.m. I have a roomette on both trains. Will I be allowed in to the L.A. Metroplitan Lounge when it opens in the morning even though my train isn't for another 11 hours?
Yes, you should be. I left my luggage there for an equivalent period, entering the lounge around 10 am, and leaving on the 10 pm eastbound Sunset. I had come in on the Starlight the day before and went to the station after checking out of the Metro Plaza that morning.

I was out and about for most of the day, but came back around 6:30.
 
I am arriving on the Texas Eagle at Los Angeles Union Station at (hopefully) 5:30 a.m. and will be leaving on the Southwest Chief at 6:00 p.m. I have a roomette on both trains. Will I be allowed in to the L.A. Metroplitan Lounge when it opens in the morning even though my train isn't for another 11 hours?
As long as you have a same-day sleeper ticket, whether arriving or departing, you're allowed into the lounges.
 
OK, I'll guess we'll have to agree to disagree about that.
The snacks were fine, but were by no means the equivalent of a meal, even a meal as unsatisfactory as the flex dining options.

I believe you're misunderstanding what me_little_me is referring to. Pre covid, they had a vegetable and cheese bar that they stocked at 12:30 and restocked until about 3:30-4. Obviously, you're referring to the current snacks. I agree with both. The veggies and cheese were definitely sufficient for a meal and far better than flex. The current snacks are single serve chips and popcorn, from what I've been told and not good enough to replace a meal, although I'd rather even load up on those vs. flex any day, it's about as healthy, and better tasting.
 
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I do not consider cheese cubes and carrot sticks sufficient for a meal but they were better than flex that’s for sure!

I was fine with the veggies as a meal, being that I did it more than two dozen times there (and occasionally at home). I did skip the cheese. To each his own, I guess. But we’re in agreement on the flex thing. My hope that’s gone for good! I do hope they return to the veggies at some point. It’s far more healthy than the bags of chips that are being offered now, Of course, sounding totally hypocritical (health wise), I also hope the pop and coffee comes back soon as well. It would be another step towards pre-pandemic normalcy in the lounge.
 
I was fine with the veggies as a meal, being that I did it more than two dozen times there (and occasionally at home). I did skip the cheese. To each his own, I guess. But we’re in agreement on the flex thing. My hope that’s gone for good! I do hope they return to the veggies at some point. It’s far more healthy than the bags of chips that are being offered now, Of course, sounding totally hypocritical (health wise), I also hope the pop and coffee comes back soon as well. It would be another step towards pre-pandemic normalcy in the lounge.

Excellent points about the Flex Meals and Healthier options!

If all the Metro Lounges would follow the example of the Food and Drinks @ the Monihan Lounge, we would have real "First Class" Lounges.
 
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The Chicago lounge was billed as the greatest improvement since sliced bread.
Yes, It IS roomy, bright, well appointed, and has provisions for a big outlay of
snacks and refreshments.
Alas, the new lounge came with a long schlep from ticketing, another l o o o o n g
schlep to trainside, and has grumpy and belligerent "hosts", and overall inconvenience.
The old lounge, while crowded at times, was cozy, convenient, had some snacks
- SNACKS, mind you, not meals - and the folks there were just downright pleasant
at all times. I miss them.
Sometimes "progress" isn't progress.
 
The Chicago lounge was billed as the greatest improvement since sliced bread.
Yes, It IS roomy, bright, well appointed, and has provisions for a big outlay of
snacks and refreshments.
Alas, the new lounge came with a long schlep from ticketing, another l o o o o n g
schlep to trainside, and has grumpy and belligerent "hosts", and overall inconvenience.
The old lounge, while crowded at times, was cozy, convenient, had some snacks
- SNACKS, mind you, not meals - and the folks there were just downright pleasant
at all times. I miss them.
Sometimes "progress" isn't progress.
The old lounge in CHI had chicken salad sandwiches and etc. The further back you go, the better the service was. BTW the new Metropolitan Lounge did offer fresh veggy plates with dressing... and it was very good... but during the flu season I realized that everyone using the bar used the same utensils... and realized that this was just downright unsanitary... wherever all those traveling hands were... were shared with all.

Don't know what they're doing now in CHI but will soon find out when I begin my traveling in October. This time around I will carry snack foods with me to supplement the flex meals on the Eastern overnighters.
 
Don't know what they're doing now in CHI but will soon find out when I begin my traveling in October. This time around I will carry snack foods with me to supplement the flex meals on the Eastern overnighters.

As I said above, it's bags of single serve popcorn, chips, etc. The pop and coffee machines have been removed. I'm going to be there a month from tomorrow, so I'll see if there's any changes to this. I doubt there will be, however as I have a feeling that changes won't happen until after the mask mandate is lifted, and then we'll see.
 
As I said above, it's bags of single serve popcorn, chips, etc. The pop and coffee machines have been removed. I'm going to be there a month from tomorrow, so I'll see if there's any changes to this. I doubt there will be, however as I have a feeling that changes won't happen until after the mask mandate is lifted, and then we'll see.
Boston lounge has the same offerings... and those bagged snacks and candy bars can be very pleasant while waiting. And I do appreciate the safety of individual packaging.
 
The Chicago lounge was billed as the greatest improvement since sliced bread.
Yes, It IS roomy, bright, well appointed, and has provisions for a big outlay of
snacks and refreshments.
Alas, the new lounge came with a long schlep from ticketing, another l o o o o n g
schlep to trainside, and has grumpy and belligerent "hosts", and overall inconvenience.
The old lounge, while crowded at times, was cozy, convenient, had some snacks
- SNACKS, mind you, not meals - and the folks there were just downright pleasant
at all times. I miss them.
Sometimes "progress" isn't progress.
While I like the New Lounge itself with its 2 floors that are bright and clean (the Showers are especially Nice!) I miss some of the Services the Old Lounge had, such as a Secure Luggage Room,( with a Friendly Red Cap running it)the closeness to the Platforms as was mentioned, including an Amtrak employee taking you to your platform from the Lounge, ( some people called it the Kindergarden Walk but it was Great for Newbies)and the fact that the Red Caps would meet you @ the Front Door with their Carts parked right outside ready to load!( as far as I know, LAX is the only Station doing this for Lounge Passengers now @ the back door)

I never was impressed by the Snacks that were on offer in the old Lounge, they were slow to refill them just like the Old Lounge in NYP and the Drink Machines and One Computer were often Out of Order!

And as for the staff @ Old the Lounge, it depended on who was on duty @ the Desk when you entered. A couple of the attendants were first rate, but some of the Dragons were unsuited for their jobs,and one even had to be moved to the Amtrak Ticket office away from Passengers.

The times I've been in the New Lounge( Pre-COVID) I found the Attendants much Friendlier and Helpful, and I agree that the Veggies,Fruit and Cheese that were put out ( I was never there in the Morning)were good! YMMV
 
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