The New Chicago Metropolitan Lounge

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dlagrua

dlagrua

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I have not been to Chicago Union station in 2 1/2 years and heard that the Metropolitan lounge at Chicago's Union Station has been relocated and upgraded.

If anyone knows for sure I would like an opinion on the new facility.

Found this picture online. Does it look like this:

002-M.jpg


Have any extra amenities been added. Is it much bigger? Does the WiFi now work? Are the complementary soda and coffee machines still there? Expect to be there shortly.

Any info would be appreciated
 
Thanks for the info. The metro lounge at Chicago Union station isn't bad, it just sometimes gets very crowded. I was hoping to see a larger lounge on this trip. As for the WiFi; on my last two visits , you could not pick up a signal. Glad to hear that it has improved some and that the soda and coffee machines still work. Actually I shouldn't complain as its one of the better lounges in the system.
 
I'm looking forward to the new Chicago Lounge but ,in my travels, I cant think of a better one in the system!!! The top 3 that come to mind is CHI,NYP& WAS! However, I've never been to BOS!
 
IMO BOS and PHL are the Best CAs with WAS a Close Third! NYP is too Small and Poorly Located/Hard to find for Newbies! CHI WILL BE Better when Amtrak moves to the Great Hall Area of Union Station as there will be More Room for the Metro Lounge! Currently with most of the LD Trains Arriving/Departing So Close Together it gets Very Crowded in the Afternoons!
 
The new Metropolitan Lounge (to be located off the Great Hall) is still in Amtrak's budget, with money being spent on it every year, but the last thing I read was that the *earliest* possible opening was "end of 2013". Not sure whether that was fiscal year or calendar year, but either way the old Metropolitan Lounge is going to be around for a while.

I'm not sure what's caused the project to take so long, but if I were to guess I would guess that toxics remediation (lead and asbestos) was slower than expected.
 
jimhudson said:
IMO BOS and PHL are the Best CAs with WAS a Close Third! NYP is too Small and Poorly Located/Hard to find for Newbies! CHI WILL BE Better when Amtrak moves to the Great Hall Area of Union Station as there will be More Room for the Metro Lounge! Currently with most of the LD Trains Arriving/Departing So Close Together it gets Very Crowded in the Afternoons!
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Ditto. :)
 
I'm sitting in the lounge right now and it's nice, calm, and comfy. The ladies at the desk have been friendly and courteous. Just the place to be between the. LSL and the Builder.
 
No idea if this is the best place to post this (there are a number of CHI Metropolitan Lounge topics, but this was the one that seemed to be about the new/relocated lounge), but Trains Magazine is reporting that Amtrak will spend $14 million in 2016 on a number of projects at CHI including moving the Metropolitan Lounge to the location that has been talked of for years. Unfortunately the article does not give a date as to when the lounge is projected to open in the new location, so perhaps this will just slip into the indefinite future like other CHI projects have as well.

I believe the article is behind a paywall, but for those who have access, it's here.
 
Oh, fantastic. Thanks for linking to the press release. So "next summer" is the first time we've seen a date (of sorts) for this, I think. The direct access from Canal Street does suggest that the two-level lounge that some had referred to could indeed be the case, as street level is above the main station level.
 
Was at CUS this August. Outside of the Legacy club that is near the far corner of the great hall, we didn't notice any new lounge consruction. On our trip from PHL to DEN we used the metro lounge for about 1 hour between the Card and the CZ, preferring to spend most of the layover time for our usual walk to Greektown 5 blocks W. down on Jackson St to S. Halstead. As I've said many times before, they have everything there; two gourmet supermarkets ( Mariano's and Whole Foods), a CVS pharmacy, Starbucks Coffee, a bakery, and a host of restaurants. If you take the walk you pass Paul Mitchells, a famous Chicago diner about two blocks away. We Could never justify sitting on our duff for a 4-5 hour layover when we can go out, get some exercise and have some fun close to the station but that's just us. The Legacy Club is nice but for an hour of use for $20, the old Metro lounge is OK..IMO, the Legcy club may be an ill conceived idea. In the two times that we have past it there have been less than a dozen people there.
 
CHI does need more seats. Has always been quite crowded when we have been there, as has NYPenn.

We enjoy Boston and Washington D.C. stations. Every time we are in the WAS station we are overwhelmed by its beauty and setting and have not felt

crowded.

Also like LAX station with its patios.
 
Sadly, a favorite spot of many on this board, the Metro Deli, was collateral damage in the CUS reconfiguration plans. A few months back I posted a link or copy of the CUS Master Plan (I don't remember which) If I can find it again, maybe I'll drop it into a new CUS thread.
 
There's a link to the CHI master plan in the press release linked above. As of right now, the major changes (other than moving the Metropolitan Lounge) are only funded through the study phase, not through construction.
 
anumberone said:
Can a person leave luggage in the Metro lounge while taking a walk around the area?
Click to expand...
Yep, there is a check room staffed with a Red Cap right in front of the check in desk. You will be given a claim check for your bag(s) and the attendant will give you a Lounge pass with a time to return and claim your bag. There is no charge but Tips are appreciated when you reclaim your bag.
 
This is a significant step towards a revamped Union Station, which will provide new andwider and therefore safer platforms for more than 50,000 daily Metra riders ...
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I hope this means the red caps start blocking the wider Metra platforms instead of the apparently still narrow Amtrak ones.
 
NorthShore said:
Of what is this a picture?
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I believe it is the back room of the Legacy Club lounge. In the first picture that I attached, the view is of the same room. The original photograph would have been taken from the left side, perhaps out of view. The second photo I attached shows the front room (the one closer to the Great Hall). The doorways on the left are the doorways visible between the columns in the original photograph. The third photo I attached is of the third room in the Legacy club. Its entrance is behind and left of the photographer's position when taking the second picture.

IMG_0204.JPG

IMG_0198.JPG

IMG_0206.JPG
 
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