Summer trip on SW Chief

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UKPhil

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My family (two adults and two children-7 and 10) will be travelling on the Southwest Chief in August. We have booked the two roomettes (numbers 5 and 6) to travel all the way from Chicago to LA in one go. We did the LSL and CZ back in 2004 and the Coast Starlight in 2005 - the Children loved the journeys, especially the trips to the dining cars. Just one thing concerns me - will the dining experience still be good or will we find the standards have changed? How does this journey comare with our previous trips?

As you may tell from the name we will be traveling in from the UK to Chicago prior to the train journey - can any one suggest a fairly reasonable hotel near to the Chicago station that we can stay in the night before - perhaps one that is also close to the subway route from O'Hare?

In anticipation

PHIL
 
UKPhil said:
the Children loved the journeys, especially the trips to the dining cars. Just one thing concerns me - will the dining experience still be good or will we find the standards have changed?
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Aloha Phil

Sorry to say the standards have changed, The quality has declined. But now that I have said that It is still an incredible journey. I rank the Southwest Chief as the 3rd best ride in the Country, #1 full Coast Starlight, #2 Empire Builder. I last road the Chief in Sept. 2004. If you like to look at my Southwest Picture Gallery here is the Link

Sorry I can't answer the Chicago Hotel queston but others here can.
 
I have ridden the SWC with the former full dining menu and the current simplified. The food was probably better then - I did not think it was great. It is at least passable and some of my meals were quite tasty. they need to jazz up the salads. You'll enjoy the trip.
 
My girfriend, her daughter who is 15 and I just spent 4 nights at the Hostelling International Hostel at 24 E. Congress Parkway. It is a 5 minute cab ride from CUS and you can walk it if you feel cheap. (cabfare was like $7) Free continental breakfast. If you get a 6-person coed room, you will only be sharing the room with two other individuals. We shared a coed room with a brother and sister from Columbus OH. There were 20 and 15 years old and then a young couple who was seniors in High School from Wisconsin. Both were great roomates. Take the blueline from O'Hare to Jackson. Thats just a few blocks from HI. HI cost us about $33 per person/per night, we are also members so we had 1 night per person free since we used our "one night free" coupons. We stayed for 4 nights, 3 of us, in the Loop for under $300 and had free breakfast as well. You are on the "Magnificent Mile", 8 blocks from the Sears Tower, 1.7 miles from John Hancock Building etc. Great location! They also have a volunteer manning the "information desk" telling you which buses to take, subways, el etc. Get a visitors pass from the CTA and it will be a snap. PM me if you want more info.
 
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There's a travelodge about a mile or less from Union Station that is about $150 a night. That's the cheapest I could find. I will be there in June if all goes well. Got my tix on Amtrak, the hotel reservation and tix to the Cubs game so I am set I think.

DanO
 
I was on the Southwest Chief earlier this month from Chicago to Flagstaff, AZ. This was my second time on the SWC and overall, it was a great trip (I'm still working on a detailed trip report). I found the meals to be quite good and the service of the dining car staff was great.

We were in roomette #5 which put us on the right side of the train. My previous trip had us on the left. I personally found the right to have a few more interesting things to spot, but with you having roomettes across from each other, you will be able to scoot across the hall if anything interesting comes up on one side or the other. Of course, there is also the sightseer lounge car as well.

Have a great trip!

Dan
 
One thing about the SWC is that at least between La Junta, CO and Barstow, there is plenty of 90mph running through the beautiful high desert. The average speed is much higher than the CZ's.

Also, from about Albuquerque onto Los Angeles, you're also on BNSF's main line (the "Transcon") between L.A. and Chicago, which is (I think) the busiest rail intermodal container shipping lane in the U.S., if not the world. You'll meet (and pass) many of America's biggest and greatest freight trains along this route.
 
I have to disagree with GG-1; I have been on the SWC a few times since the restoration of the menu - it's actually BETTER than it was two years ago before the cuts in the menu. OK, so they're still using plastic (though it's been said that even the china and glass will be coming back), but steaks are back on the dinner menu, eggs are on the breakfast menu, and there are now appetizers, which haven't been seen in almost a decade out West (NOTE- appetizers are NOT included in the meals for sleeper passengers, though dessert still is).

Count on spending ALL of the "main" day looking out the windows - the scenery through Colorado, New Mexico, and eastern Arizona is, in my humble opinion, some of the finest and most iconically American in the entire country. It's the honest-to-God Old West. And do make sure (assuming that you're on time into Albuquerque, which is absolutely likely, probably even early) to get out and walk a block or two from the station at ABQ. There are some interesting little shops, and if you're tired of train food, plenty of take-out alternatives; DEFINITELY stop at the Cold Stone Creamery, directly across from the station. Creamy, sugary heaven. And there are usually plenty of stands right on the platform (correct me please, anyone, if the policy toward vendors has changed!) where you can find very good deals on silver/turquoise jewelry and Navajo-style blankets and other souvenir items.
 
Hi Phil,

Greetings from Nottingham.. Let's hope you are not flying BA from Terminal 5!!

I find an idea that works well for me is to stay at a hotel near O'Hare and travel into Chicago the next day.

It is nice to "crash out" straight after a flight, I find.

I often use the Holiday Inn at

CHICAGO-ELK GROVE

1000 BUSSE ROAD

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL 60007

UNITED STATES

They have a free bus between the airport and hotel, and will give you a free lift back to the airport to catch the

Blue line into Chicago, next day. The nearest blue line station to Amtrak Union Station is Clinton. The hotel has an indoor pool,

always a plus for my son. Prices in August are around $150 a night in the week, $75 a night on Saturday.

If you are planning on staying in Chicago for a day or two's sightseeing before you board your train, then you might be

better to find a closer hotel to the city, as it takes around an hour from the airport to town. CTA sell a one day travel card which

you buy at the airport, $5, includes bus and blue line, etc.

There is another Holiday Inn very close to the Clinton station, similar prices $165. This is probably the closest of any hotel to Union Station.

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites

CHICAGO-DOWNTOWN

506 WEST HARRISON

CHICAGO, IL 60607 UNITED STATES

(p.s. Holiday inn dont seem to come up on expedia, etc, so you might need to google their hotels..)

I don't get any commision from Holiday Inn ! I stayed in the Chicago Hostel on my last visit too, but it is popular and gets booked up in summer.

If I can give any advice from a Brit perspective, feel free to ask!

Ed. B)
 
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I will also be on the SWC this summer (June) with my kids who will also be 10 & 7. I will post a travel report and I also blog our journeys on my website so you can check those out to see how things are going this summer before your trip.
 
here.

caravanman said:
I find an idea that works well for me is to stay at a hotel near O'Hare and travel into Chicago the next day.
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I agree with Ed here, if price is important stay out by the airport. There's a dozen hotels out there, almost all of which provide either shuttle service or are within walking distance of the Blue line. You can find a list of many of those hotels on Kevin Korell's website by clicking here.
 
I would like to chime in and say that you may want to bring a DVD player or laptop computer for your children's entertainment after dark. There are no more movies on board. :(
 
We will be on the SWC from Los Angeles in about three weeks, will let you know what we find. I found that the new diner menu at least on the City of New Orleans, while not wonderful, was about as good as we experienced on the Empire Builder last spring when they still had the old menu. Everyone is right about the Flat Iron Steak, its usually good, although as in anything one can get a poor one. I noticed when one of the passengers got a selection he didn't like that the waitress quickly brought him something different.
 
Thanks everyone - I reckon we will have a good trip. Thanks especially to those who sent private notes regarding hotel in Chicago
 
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