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rosemary kay

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we are taking the SWC from chicago to albuquerque, in a sleeper, are we able to use the metropolitan lounge at union station
 
we are taking the SWC from chicago to albuquerque, in a sleeper, are we able to use the metropolitan lounge at union station
Yes you can. When you find the big escalators, at the bottom, you'll find they lead to big glass doors. This is where Amtrak's gates are. Continue through those doors and straight ahead you'll find another set of glass doors which is the Metropolitan Lounge. Just show them your tickets when you enter and you can store your bags with a red cap.
 
I had always assumed that the Metro Lounge was open 24 hours a day.

We have been through Chicago numerous times via the LSL and SWC or EB and always spend some time in the lounge.

No one ever said anything about hours but then I never asked either.
 
I had always assumed that the Metro Lounge was open 24 hours a day.We have been through Chicago numerous times via the LSL and SWC or EB and always spend some time in the lounge.

No one ever said anything about hours but then I never asked either.
It isn't open 24/7. It opens just before the first LD train of the day arrives and closes after the LSL boards everyone at night.
 
I had always assumed that the Metro Lounge was open 24 hours a day.We have been through Chicago numerous times via the LSL and SWC or EB and always spend some time in the lounge.

No one ever said anything about hours but then I never asked either.
The station itself is only open from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., it's not a 24-hour operation.
 
Just for your information the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago Union Station opens at 8:00 am and closes after the Lake Shore Limited leaves.

This comes from an Amtrak employee that works in the lounge.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
we are taking the SWC from chicago to albuquerque, in a sleeper, are we able to use the metropolitan lounge at union station
Yes you can. When you find the big escalators, at the bottom, you'll find they lead to big glass doors. This is where Amtrak's gates are.
Unless they've changed the entrance in the last few months... :p
Which they haven't. Amtrak's lounge and gates are still in the same place, and all entrances to the station are in the same place they were before.
 
we are taking the SWC from chicago to albuquerque, in a sleeper, are we able to use the metropolitan lounge at union station
Yes you can. When you find the big escalators, at the bottom, you'll find they lead to big glass doors. This is where Amtrak's gates are.
Unless they've changed the entrance in the last few months... :p
Which they haven't. Amtrak's lounge and gates are still in the same place, and all entrances to the station are in the same place they were before.
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.

Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
 
Just for your information the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago Union Station opens at 8:00 am and closes after the Lake Shore Limited leaves.
This comes from an Amtrak employee that works in the lounge.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
This raises a few questions in my mind.

What happens when the California Zephyr (Train 6) finally gets to CHI at 1:00 AM, reeeally late? That happened on July 13, 2009.

The Metro Lounge is closed, as the LSL left at 9:00, as usual, and the whole station closed at midnight, as usual.

Are the PAX just on their own to figure out what to do in the middle of Chicago in the middle of the night?
 
Just for your information the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago Union Station opens at 8:00 am and closes after the Lake Shore Limited leaves.
This comes from an Amtrak employee that works in the lounge.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
This raises a few questions in my mind.

What happens when the California Zephyr (Train 6) finally gets to CHI at 1:00 AM, reeeally late? That happened on July 13, 2009.

The Metro Lounge is closed, as the LSL left at 9:00, as usual, and the whole station closed at midnight, as usual.

Are the PAX just on their own to figure out what to do in the middle of Chicago in the middle of the night?
No. Often if the train is that late, Amtrak customer service agents are boarded onto the train downline several hours away from Chicago. These agents deal with each connecting passenger, both to arrange new reservations to get them where there are going as well as to give them a hotel voucher, taxi voucher, and meal allowance. If for some reason it's not possible or practical to board agents downline, then agents are kept on duty in the customer service office at CUS and everyone is directed there to do the same.

And since the station is closed, they'll usually set up some baracades and some police presence to guide people out of the station through one open exit.

On occasion, they'll sometimes setup cots in one of the waiting rooms for those who can't get home.
 
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.
Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
Man, isn't that like comparing apples to walnuts? They're the same general concept, but they're catered to two different audiences for two different modes of transportation.

  • Amtrak is a rail service and Quantas is an airline. Wouldn't it be more fair to compare Amtrak with Aussie rail services and Quantas with U.S. airlines? There still might be differences, but I think it would be more relevant.
  • The mode of service and type of passengers contribute to different intended audiences. If security and customs encourages passengers to be at the airport about two hours ahead of time, I imagine there would be more passengers to utilize the lounges. For Amtrak, I doubt people would be at the lounge two hours ahead of departure.
  • Likewise for transfers, air travelers are usually stuck at the airport, train travelers can often leave and come back (and they often do).
  • That said, if a plane or train were late, it would probably be nice to be in an upscale lounge. Waiting around is still waiting around no matter how nice the room you're in.
  • Wildly different qualifying rules for Quantas Club membership and access make Amtrak lounge access rules look ridiculously simple.

I would also refute the claim that we "get crap" and love it. There are so many different threads on this board bemoaning the accommodations in the Amtrak first-class lounges (with the New Orleans Magnolia Room garnering special mention).

It's interesting that we're talking about services that the vast majority of travelers would never access (whether or not they were "true global travelers").

I've been traveling for 24 years. I've never been in an airline first-class lounge and I've only been in an Amtrak lounge once.

Portland's Metropolitan Lounge was decent enough while I waited to transfer from the Empire Builder to Coast Starlight. The room may have not been sleek and upscale, but it was appealing enough and had everything I could've hoped for (luggage storage, advanced check-in, Red Cap service, clean bathrooms, complimentary drinks, newspapers, magazines and TV, etc.).

In any case, I figure I spent about 15 minutes of my four-hour layover in the lounge. The rest of the time I was exploring downtown Portland with some navigational assistance from the lounge attendant.
 
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oh dear, i'm such a dumb blonde!!!! but this IS the first time we have travelled long distance on a train anywhere in the world!!! so am i right in saying, we can check out of our hotel about 11am, take our cases to the metrapolitan lounge, leave them there, wander around town and be back to catch the SWC, oh dear, i was thinking we would have to leave the cases at the hotel checkout and then go back, collect them, get a cab to the station!!!!! waste of time and money, am i right
 
oh dear, i'm such a dumb blonde!!!! but this IS the first time we have travelled long distance on a train anywhere in the world!!! so am i right in saying, we can check out of our hotel about 11am, take our cases to the metrapolitan lounge, leave them there, wander around town and be back to catch the SWC, oh dear, i was thinking we would have to leave the cases at the hotel checkout and then go back, collect them, get a cab to the station!!!!! waste of time and money, am i right
Never posted as a guest before, obviously!

Yes, you may use the lounge at CHI. Store your bags with the attendant, and visit the city. Return in time for the SWC departure. Enjoy your trip!!

Mike
 
we are taking the SWC from chicago to albuquerque, in a sleeper, are we able to use the metropolitan lounge at union station
Yes you can. When you find the big escalators, at the bottom, you'll find they lead to big glass doors. This is where Amtrak's gates are.
Unless they've changed the entrance in the last few months... :p
Which they haven't. Amtrak's lounge and gates are still in the same place, and all entrances to the station are in the same place they were before.
My quip was a nod to AlanB... :lol:
 
oh dear, i'm such a dumb blonde!!!! but this IS the first time we have travelled long distance on a train anywhere in the world!!! so am i right in saying, we can check out of our hotel about 11am, take our cases to the metrapolitan lounge, leave them there, wander around town and be back to catch the SWC, oh dear, i was thinking we would have to leave the cases at the hotel checkout and then go back, collect them, get a cab to the station!!!!! waste of time and money, am i right
If you are traveling in a sleeper, then yes you can leave your bags in the lounge.

If you're traveling in coach, then you will not have access to the lounge. On the other hand, there are lockers in the station where you can store your bags for a fee.
 
OK ?? Now show me something relevant like a sleeping car/first class rail lounge as used by true global "travellers" like you! Appreciation for different experiences, prospective and correct spelling must be optional in the global travel world, but the seats did look comfortable. :}

Mit22

for the

we are taking the SWC from chicago to albuquerque, in a sleeper, are we able to use the metropolitan lounge at union station
Yes you can. When you find the big escalators, at the bottom, you'll find they lead to big glass doors. This is where Amtrak's gates are.
Unless they've changed the entrance in the last few months... :p
Which they haven't. Amtrak's lounge and gates are still in the same place, and all entrances to the station are in the same place they were before.
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.

Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
 
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.
Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
Well, clearly the OP who asked the question cares. If your interest is in Qantas lounges, clearly you have lost your way and landed in a wrong forum. But whatever..... . How are the Queensland Railway lounges these days? Or for that matter any railway lounges in Australia that are available to general long distance sleeper/first class rail passengers (as opposed to just available to exceedingly expensive luxury trains only)? Maybe they are pretty good. I have no idea. Was just wondering.
 
oh dear, i'm such a dumb blonde!!!! but this IS the first time we have travelled long distance on a train anywhere in the world!!! so am i right in saying, we can check out of our hotel about 11am, take our cases to the metrapolitan lounge, leave them there, wander around town and be back to catch the SWC, oh dear, i was thinking we would have to leave the cases at the hotel checkout and then go back, collect them, get a cab to the station!!!!! waste of time and money, am i right
If you are traveling in a sleeper, then yes you can leave your bags in the lounge.

If you're traveling in coach, then you will not have access to the lounge. On the other hand, there are lockers in the station where you can store your bags for a fee.
yes, we are travelling in a roomette
 
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.
Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
Well, clearly the OP who asked the question cares. If your interest is in Qantas lounges, clearly you have lost your way and landed in a wrong forum. But whatever..... . How are the Queensland Railway lounges these days? Or for that matter any railway lounges in Australia that are available to general long distance sleeper/first class rail passengers (as opposed to just available to exceedingly expensive luxury trains only)? Maybe they are pretty good. I have no idea. Was just wondering.
I have never been to Australia so have no idea re lounges there whether airport or trains/however I have been in all the lounges in the US and Canada,

both airport and train and with the exception of the Magnolia Room in NOL and the crowding in CHI @ times IMHO the lounges are comfortable/suit their

purpose and the pax seem generally satified!(BTW,the best first class airport lounge I was ever in was the one in SFO whenCP Air had true "First Class Service")In the case of airports of course the lounges seem like heaven compared to the cattlecar conditons @ the gates but come @ a dear price if one is not fortunate enough to travel @ business expense!Id just as soon see Amtrak put their $$ and effort into fixing up the trains and improving the service/routes as opposed to creating luxury lounges that are only used for a short period of time as opposed to the trains themselves!Of course one reason we are a re great country(could be better,were working on it! :) is that everyone is entitled to their opinion,even visitors,so thamks for your opinion

but truely we DONT generally settle for "crap" in this country except occcasionally in Amshaks and politicians!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.
Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
Man, isn't that like comparing apples to walnuts? They're the same general concept, but they're catered to two different audiences for two different modes of transportation.

  • Amtrak is a rail service and Quantas is an airline. Wouldn't it be more fair to compare Amtrak with Aussie rail services and Quantas with U.S. airlines? There still might be differences, but I think it would be more relevant.
  • The mode of service and type of passengers contribute to different intended audiences. If security and customs encourages passengers to be at the airport about two hours ahead of time, I imagine there would be more passengers to utilize the lounges. For Amtrak, I doubt people would be at the lounge two hours ahead of departure.
  • Likewise for transfers, air travelers are usually stuck at the airport, train travelers can often leave and come back (and they often do).
  • That said, if a plane or train were late, it would probably be nice to be in an upscale lounge. Waiting around is still waiting around no matter how nice the room you're in.
  • Wildly different qualifying rules for Quantas Club membership and access make Amtrak lounge access rules look ridiculously simple.

I would also refute the claim that we "get crap" and love it. There are so many different threads on this board bemoaning the accommodations in the Amtrak first-class lounges (with the New Orleans Magnolia Room garnering special mention).

It's interesting that we're talking about services that the vast majority of travelers would never access (whether or not they were "true global travelers").

I've been traveling for 24 years. I've never been in an airline first-class lounge and I've only been in an Amtrak lounge once.

Portland's Metropolitan Lounge was decent enough while I waited to transfer from the Empire Builder to Coast Starlight. The room may have not been sleek and upscale, but it was appealing enough and had everything I could've hoped for (luggage storage, advanced check-in, Red Cap service, clean bathrooms, complimentary drinks, newspapers, magazines and TV, etc.).

In any case, I figure I spent about 15 minutes of my four-hour layover in the lounge. The rest of the time I was exploring downtown Portland with some navigational assistance from the lounge attendant.
Qantas Club is not first class - it's a members lounge. And it's a damned site cheaper per annum than anything the US airlines offer. Travel first class on Qantas and you get a totally different experience to anything available anywhere (and one day I might experience it).

On the other hand I was on a transcontinental service that crashed a few years ago (and people died) and I was treated like a lord until I completed my journey. Of course, I was in the Great Southern Land when it happened.

Americans just don't get it.

Just keep on tipping and hoping.

My next transcontinental journey will involve me getting back on QF107 at LAX after it has been refuelled. And I'll save thousands of dollars over my usual Amtrak bedroom fare and additional costs.

And I'll probably arrive ON TIME!
 
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.
Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
Man, isn't that like comparing apples to walnuts? They're the same general concept, but they're catered to two different audiences for two different modes of transportation.

  • Amtrak is a rail service and Quantas is an airline. Wouldn't it be more fair to compare Amtrak with Aussie rail services and Quantas with U.S. airlines? There still might be differences, but I think it would be more relevant.
  • The mode of service and type of passengers contribute to different intended audiences. If security and customs encourages passengers to be at the airport about two hours ahead of time, I imagine there would be more passengers to utilize the lounges. For Amtrak, I doubt people would be at the lounge two hours ahead of departure.
  • Likewise for transfers, air travelers are usually stuck at the airport, train travelers can often leave and come back (and they often do).
  • That said, if a plane or train were late, it would probably be nice to be in an upscale lounge. Waiting around is still waiting around no matter how nice the room you're in.
  • Wildly different qualifying rules for Quantas Club membership and access make Amtrak lounge access rules look ridiculously simple.

I would also refute the claim that we "get crap" and love it. There are so many different threads on this board bemoaning the accommodations in the Amtrak first-class lounges (with the New Orleans Magnolia Room garnering special mention).

It's interesting that we're talking about services that the vast majority of travelers would never access (whether or not they were "true global travelers").

I've been traveling for 24 years. I've never been in an airline first-class lounge and I've only been in an Amtrak lounge once.

Portland's Metropolitan Lounge was decent enough while I waited to transfer from the Empire Builder to Coast Starlight. The room may have not been sleek and upscale, but it was appealing enough and had everything I could've hoped for (luggage storage, advanced check-in, Red Cap service, clean bathrooms, complimentary drinks, newspapers, magazines and TV, etc.).

In any case, I figure I spent about 15 minutes of my four-hour layover in the lounge. The rest of the time I was exploring downtown Portland with some navigational assistance from the lounge attendant.
Qantas Club is not first class - it's a members lounge. And it's a damned site cheaper per annum than anything the US airlines offer. Travel first class on Qantas and you get a totally different experience to anything available anywhere (and one day I might experience it).

On the other hand I was on a transcontinental service that crashed a few years ago (and people died) and I was treated like a lord until I completed my journey. Of course, I was in the Great Southern Land when it happened.

Americans just don't get it.

Just keep on tipping and hoping.

My next transcontinental journey will involve me getting back on QF107 at LAX after it has been refuelled. And I'll save thousands of dollars over my usual Amtrak bedroom fare and additional costs.

And I'll probably arrive ON TIME!
Oh, and by the way, I'm posting this from Seattle and you can be sure that I didn't use the Coast Starlight to get here and neither shall I be taking it south. I need to connect with my flights and Amtrak just can't do it, no matter how flexible I organize my schedule. And believe me, I've tried and unfortunately Amtrak hasn't.

Dollars lost to Amtrak and foreign currency lost to your limping economy.
 
And who cares? US lounges are a great way to stow your luggage in transit but they do not provide first class services.
Go to http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q...-club/global/en to see what true global travellers expect.

Seriously, you Americans are sooo satisfied with so little.

You get crap and you love it.
Man, isn't that like comparing apples to walnuts? They're the same general concept, but they're catered to two different audiences for two different modes of transportation.

  • Amtrak is a rail service and Quantas is an airline. Wouldn't it be more fair to compare Amtrak with Aussie rail services and Quantas with U.S. airlines? There still might be differences, but I think it would be more relevant.
  • The mode of service and type of passengers contribute to different intended audiences. If security and customs encourages passengers to be at the airport about two hours ahead of time, I imagine there would be more passengers to utilize the lounges. For Amtrak, I doubt people would be at the lounge two hours ahead of departure.
  • Likewise for transfers, air travelers are usually stuck at the airport, train travelers can often leave and come back (and they often do).
  • That said, if a plane or train were late, it would probably be nice to be in an upscale lounge. Waiting around is still waiting around no matter how nice the room you're in.
  • Wildly different qualifying rules for Quantas Club membership and access make Amtrak lounge access rules look ridiculously simple.

I would also refute the claim that we "get crap" and love it. There are so many different threads on this board bemoaning the accommodations in the Amtrak first-class lounges (with the New Orleans Magnolia Room garnering special mention).

It's interesting that we're talking about services that the vast majority of travelers would never access (whether or not they were "true global travelers").

I've been traveling for 24 years. I've never been in an airline first-class lounge and I've only been in an Amtrak lounge once.

Portland's Metropolitan Lounge was decent enough while I waited to transfer from the Empire Builder to Coast Starlight. The room may have not been sleek and upscale, but it was appealing enough and had everything I could've hoped for (luggage storage, advanced check-in, Red Cap service, clean bathrooms, complimentary drinks, newspapers, magazines and TV, etc.).

In any case, I figure I spent about 15 minutes of my four-hour layover in the lounge. The rest of the time I was exploring downtown Portland with some navigational assistance from the lounge attendant.
Qantas Club is not first class - it's a members lounge. And it's a damned site cheaper per annum than anything the US airlines offer. Travel first class on Qantas and you get a totally different experience to anything available anywhere (and one day I might experience it).

On the other hand I was on a transcontinental service that crashed a few years ago (and people died) and I was treated like a lord until I completed my journey. Of course, I was in the Great Southern Land when it happened.

Americans just don't get it.

Just keep on tipping and hoping.

My next transcontinental journey will involve me getting back on QF107 at LAX after it has been refuelled. And I'll save thousands of dollars over my usual Amtrak bedroom fare and additional costs.

And I'll probably arrive ON TIME!
Oh, and by the way, I'm posting this from Seattle and you can be sure that I didn't use the Coast Starlight to get here and neither shall I be taking it south. I need to connect with my flights and Amtrak just can't do it, no matter how flexible I organize my schedule. And believe me, I've tried and unfortunately Amtrak hasn't.

Dollars lost to Amtrak and foreign currency lost to your limping economy.
What do want, a cookie? Don't let the door hit you on your way out.
 
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