The post regarding the "Traxx Club", in LA, got me thinking how I have always enjoyed, when in Portland, Oregon, the "Metropolitan Lounge" at Amtrak's Union Station. I believe the lounge is reserved for passengers with sleeping accommodations, at least that was true the times I have been there.
I think the Metropolitan Lounge, in Portland, is the only such lounge on the west coast. I believe the Amtrak station at Chicago's Union Station has something similar. The lounge in Portland offers tv's, free coffee and soft drinks, and possibly a laptop hookup but I'm not sure.
Just curious...are there other Amtrak stations, across the country, with lounges similar to the one at Portland's Union Station?
Richard
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
I think the lounge in Portland is also open to business class passengers on the Cascades...I'm not positive of that, but that is my recollection.
The PDX lounge is indeed the only one on the left coast. Hard to believe they don't have one in Los Angeles!!
There are others in the Amtrak system, but back east they call it "Club Acela". Washington DC, Philly, and a few of the other biggees have them.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Chicago has a large lounge. DC also has one but it is not open to business class. I think NO has one also
Posted by Railroad Bill (Member # 5097) on :
Yes, New Orleans has the Magnolia Lounge. Not exactly the most fancy room in the system but a quiet area nonetheless. The PDX lounge is very nice and has always had a very polite attendant who is helpful with information. Not as large as Chicago but never seemed to be filled up when we were there. What are the options in LA? Is there a separate room to store baggage while exploring the station area? I suspect that if we check our bags to the next destination that problem would be taken care of but what about the duffles we take on the train's sleeper rooms?
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
If you are Amtrak Select Plus, you can access Club Acela/Metropolitan Lounge any time you'd like---no need to travel in a sleeper of first class on Acela. Just show your card, and you're in.
Posted by HopefulRailUser (Member # 4513) on :
Railroad Bill - you can store bags in LA at the bag check area for a small fee.
St Paul also has a nice lounge, not staffed but quiet, something to drink, great view of the tracks. The Portland lounge is indeed very nice.
And yes, Los Angeles should have one but we don't and aren't getting any closer to it. Sigh.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
In addition to all the places mentioned above, Boston and NY Penn Station have a Club Acela, Raleigh NC has a little unmanned 1st class lounge, and I believe Miami has one as well. I do not think Baltimore or Wilimington have one but I'm not sure.
Los Angeles certainly ought to have one; so ought Seattle, and Denver perhaps an unmanned one, as the station is large enough to accommodate it.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
The last time I was in the Seattle station I was told that a Lounge would be part of the remodel. I guess that hasn't happened yet. What's the status of the restoration work. It looked like they were off to a good start.
In LA, of course, I'd love to see the former Fred Harvey Restaurant turned into a lounge... Hey, if you're going to dream you might as well dream BIG!
I have been in the lounges in Portland, DC and Boston. The Boston Club Acela has a quirky location. You have to either climb stairs of try to get access to the elevator. The attendants didn't seem to really welcom helping with that and, when we wer escorted to the train, we went down the stairs dragging our bags behind us.
Frank in cool but clear SBA
Posted by SouthernServesTheSouth (Member # 2284) on :
When my we were in Portland a couple of years ago, we found the Metropolitan Lounge to be better than Chicago’s. There are windows to look out and watch activity around the station.
The lounge had a nice staff person to assist us. We spent several hours there waiting for the westbound Empire Builder. It was parked right outside the door and we could see the personnel getting it ready for departure.
It would sure be nice for LA to have one. What is there for passengers to do around the LA station while waiting for LD train to depart?
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Southern--
Just exploring the station should eat up some time. One new thing I've just discovered is at the far end (Patsouras Plaza) end of the tunnel. Just before you go outside turn around and look UP. There is a wonderful skylight and an interesting mural.
Olvera Street and the Plaza, where Los Angeles began, are across the street. A couple of blocks up Alameda street (turn right when leaving the station) is Philippe the Original for great French dips. You could also walk or take the Gold Line from Union Station to Chinatown. There are also the DASH buses that will take you all over downtown or use the Red/Purple line Metro.
It would still be nice to have a lounge, though...
Frank in Sunny SBA
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
I am glad it's likely to happen in Seattle. And I was once told the reason LA doesn't have one is because Amtrak doesn't own it, owners don't care about Amtrak, something like that??? I forget precise details. . . .
Oh, and I thought of another place that might have one is Sacramento; gets a fair amount of traffic, doesn't it?
Frank, Philadelphia is something like Boston, with the steps. Both nice lounges, though. BTW, if you simply approach a Red Cap in Boston, I have found them to be quite helpful--perhaps it's because I'm female? not sure. . . .
I had a wonderful walk when I had about 5 hours between trains in LA, after coming up from San Diego: breakfast at Philippe's, then walked thru Chinatown and across the highway to to Downtown (where I saw all sorts of famous buildings I see all the time on TV, like LA City Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; plus also saw Gehry's Disney Building etc, all from the outside but I did walk around some, also saw a TV show filming by a strange modern church), then back to Olvera Street, where I even took a little historic tour. . . . I didn't really mind not having a special lounge, and the staiton is lovely, but I though it very tacky that I had to pay so much to store my luggage, when I had a sleeper!!!
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Sojourner--
I'd bet that the church was the new Cathedral. Did you go inside? It's quite amazing. The tapestries on the side walls alone are worth a look.
Did you walk around the back of the Disney Hall? There's a wonderful sculpture there. It's dedicated to Lillian Disney and is in the shape of a rose covered in broken blue and white Delft pottery. She apparently collected it. It's in the Garden which is open to the public. The inside tour (small fee) is self guided but, sadly, you don't actually see inside the concert hall.
