Roomette or Bedroom?

[SarahZ]

We have a roomette on the way to ABQ, but I haven't booked our return trip yet. We have enough points for a bedroom, but I'm sort of hesitant to spend 10,000 additional points for just one night. I keeping thinking it would be a nice splurge, but then I start thinking I should hang onto the points for another trip.

What are some of the pros and cons to both?

For example, I was reading that the bed in the bedroom is positioned perpendicular to the tracks, so you feel the train braking much more (i.e. you move more). I don't mind the rocking/swaying in a roomette that comes from laying parallel to the tracks; I find it comforting.

On the other hand, a bedroom has more room, plus the toilet and shower. Is the toilet/shower compartment smaller/narrower than the toilets downstairs, though? Would it be a tight squeeze compared to the regular shower?

What do you prefer, and why?

 

[VentureForth]

With that 10,000 points, I would personally take a coach trip somewhere. I think the bedroom is nice, but if you can be comfortable in a roomette, that's what I'd likely do.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Try the bedroom, just because you have not yet travel in one.

Dumb maybe, but only you and your BF will be able to tell if it's something you like or not.

My 3 cents.

 

[Don]

Get the bedroom. It's a treat. The bathroom/shower is small but very nice in that it is right there. If you have to GO in the middle of the night, you don't have to get dressed and put your shoes on to hike down the aisle in the sleeping car. Also you can just lay on the couch in the daytime configuration if you feel like napping. In the roomette it is a lot less comfortable to take a daytime nap. I have a TE trip coming up later this month and I got a bedroom both ways.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Since its just the one night Id say go with the Roomette and Save your Points so you can do a Long 2 Nighter Trip in a Bedroom Later! The Shower is a tight fit for those Tall or Big and it gets the whole stall wet if you use it! I usually use the Downstairs Shower when I have a Bedroom!(been awhile due to the Points increase and the High Buckets on Paid Trips! )

Its nice, and the SWC is running @ High Bucket so the Value wmight be there, but still would think another Trip would trump a one nighter in a Bedroom!

 

[pennyk]

I like bedrooms. The shower is not very large, but I am not sure how much smaller it is compared to the one downstairs. It is big enough for me - however I am fairly small.

 

[Ispolkom]

Try the bedroom, just because you have not yet travel in one.

Don't try the bedroom, because you haven't traveled in one yet. You're perfectly happy in a roomette and are worried about wasting points. If you travel in a bedroom, you'll start wanting all of that space on future trips. Remember when you were happy in coach?

Voice of experience here.

 

[amamba]

Personally, my H and I can only travel in bedrooms together. There isn't enough space for us in a roomette.

 

[MikeM]

My thought, what the heck, live large and try it out. The shower really isn't that large, sort of like showering in an RV (a small RV at that), but having the sink and toilet in the room is pretty nice. Plus you get a side chair in the room, and a couch, which is nice when traveling with a significant other. The biggest downside to the bedroom is the cost, which is what keeps me out of them any more. The price differential didn't used to be as high, now on most trips it isn't all that uncommon to see them going for double if not triple the economy room price.

So, in summary, I think give it a shot, it's one night, enjoy yourself and see what it's like.

 

[Jim G.]

My wife and I had a bedroom one time. We went with another couple on the EB from Chicago to Seattle and reserved a suite. The door between the rooms was taped completely shut on both sides. So much for that idea. The restroom/shower is so small I found it better to use the car restrooms and much better to use the regular car shower. We feel that a roomette works just fine and a bedroom is not worth the extra points. Just another opinion...

 

[AutoTrDvr]

We have a roomette on the way to ABQ, but I haven't booked our return trip yet. We have enough points for a bedroom, but I'm sort of hesitant to spend 10,000 additional points for just one night. I keeping thinking it would be a nice splurge, but then I start thinking I should hang onto the points for another trip.

What are some of the pros and cons to both?

For example, I was reading that the bed in the bedroom is positioned perpendicular to the tracks, so you feel the train braking much more (i.e. you move more). I don't mind the rocking/swaying in a roomette that comes from laying parallel to the tracks; I find it comforting.

On the other hand, a bedroom has more room, plus the toilet and shower. Is the toilet/shower compartment smaller/narrower than the toilets downstairs, though? Would it be a tight squeeze compared to the regular shower?

What do you prefer, and why?

Bedroom for me. Having the full sofa to stretch out on (without needing the bed to be made up) as well as the private bath. And, of course, the extra room and space for my carry on bags.

Although, I might consider a roomette for LD travel other than the AT. At least, I'll have a "sofa" like seat that I know will face the direction of travel with a roomette. That one seat opposite the sofa in a bedroom just isn't all that comfortable.

 

[Dovecote]

Since its just the one night Id say go with the Roomette and Save your Points so you can do a Long 2 Nighter Trip in a Bedroom Later! The Shower is a tight fit for those Tall or Big and it gets the whole stall wet if you use it! I usually use the Downstairs Shower when I have a Bedroom!(been awhile due to the Points increase and the High Buckets on Paid Trips! )

Its nice, and the SWC is running @ High Bucket so the Value wmight be there, but still would think another Trip would trump a one nighter in a Bedroom!

My rule of thumb is the same as Jim. Roomette for one night on the train, Bedroom for two or more nights.

 

[williamflemming]

IMHO, you should get a bedroom for 2 nights ld for a splurge, or on the auto train. We always go roomette :lol:

 

[SarahZ]

You've all raised good points. Thanks. We'll probably get a roomette for this trip since it's just one night and save our points for a bedroom when we do a longer trip. We're hoping to take the EB someday, and it would be nice to have extra space for that trip.

 

[dlagrua]

We have only done our trips in a bedroom as my wife is 6' tall and I'm 5'11". Nothing wrong with a roomette but the opposed seating doesn't give much legroom for taller people. For a 10-12 hour overnight trip the roomette seems perfectly adequate but the best decision might be based on your height and weight. Roomettes can be a bit tight for bigger taller people but the bedroom bathroom is not exactly roomy.

 

[FunNut]

You're making the right decision. Roomette for one-night trip is fine and you'll save points. For a longer trip with 2 people a bedroom might be a better choice.

 

[winterskigirl]

Pros to the 1 bedroom are having the restroom (in my opinion) but I've found the shower is roomier downstairs because in the 1 bedroom the shower is positioned over the toilet. It's the size of a phone booth really. The beds are slightly wider in the 1 bedroom and you also have additional seating space plus the sink/vanity.

Pros to the roommette is the cost savings of course. I find it quite comfortable for two. I suppose you need to decide which is more important.

Personally I'd save the 10,000 points for another trip

 

[rusty spike]

My wife and I just completed an overnight in a roomette on the SWC. I'm a big guy and to get up and down out of that upper bunk was somewhat a challenge. (Being chivalrous, I opted for the upper.) No window though; I missed that more than anything. I could not justify the extra 10,000 AGRs for a Bedroom. Changing clothes is a bit awkward. Even with the glass door opened and the curtain shut, part of you hangs out into the aisle when you go to put on your pants! But being Room #9 in the sleeper immediatedly behind the trans/dorm, there was hardly any traffic in the aisle. Mostly the crew going back and forth to their rooms/lounge.

 

[zephyrstar]

One of the biggest factors in choosing for me is the availability of windows on both sides of the train. If you are in a roomette and the person across the aisle has their door / curtain closed, you can't see out that side. In a bedroom you have the windows in the aisle to look out. I know there are some who say "just go to the lounge car." That's fine and good at some points, but if you are going to spend 100% of your time there, then just go coach. Having said all that, if you happen to be travelling with someone who books the roomette right across the aisle from you, then a roomette will work just fine!

 

[SarahZ]

BF is 5'8", and I'm 5'5". We do okay with the space in a roomette. Last time, we put the seats into the nighttime configuration, propped pillows against the walls, and shared the leg space. It was pretty comfy.

I'm claustrophobic, so he takes the upper bunk.

 

[TraneMan]

I was going to do the bedroom for our recent trip, and I asked my partner, if he wanted to do that.. He said nah, save the extra points for a longer trip (more than one night) and the roomette is fine for the both of us.. We are both 6'1.

I did get a chance to sit in the bedroom on our way home when I met my old roommate from school, and said, Wow this is really nice! He said the shower was a bit tight for him.. (He is a skinny guy!) So he used the shower downstairs instead.

 

[cassie225]

I would opt for the bedroom on a 2 nighter if I were doing that. But be forewarned once you have had a bedroom you won't want anything else. My daughter and I had the H bedroom,she is disabled-the shower and bathroom in that bedroom is AWESOME. We also traveled in the A bedroom-the shower and bathroom were a bit small after having traveled in the H bedroom,but for comfort you just can't beat having a bedroom. I will travel coach for short distance,but once you've had a bedroom you're hooked.