Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago

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Hello

A great forum you have here. We are taking the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco next week, and want to drop our carry bags at the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station about 8 a.m., then go sightseeing to the Field Museum, and come back around 1:30 to pick them up and board the train.

Is the Metropolitan Lounge open that early to drop the bags for several hours? Is it customary to tip the employee handling the bags? We assume that there is some security over the bags, that they don't just sit unattended in a room?

Thanks to all of you for helpful information.
 
Hello

A great forum you have here. We are taking the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco next week, and want to drop our carry bags at the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station about 8 a.m., then go sightseeing to the Field Museum, and come back around 1:30 to pick them up and board the train.

Is the Metropolitan Lounge open that early to drop the bags for several hours? Is it customary to tip the employee handling the bags? We assume that there is some security over the bags, that they don't just sit unattended in a room?

Thanks to all of you for helpful information.
There is Red Cap handling the stored luggage in the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago. He takes it, stores it in a locked room, and gives you a claim check for it. While there is no charge, it is customary to tip him. Note that this is unlike Club Acela in New York, which just has an open storage room which you use if you want but has no security, other than only being accessible from inside Club Acela.

As to when it is open, the earliest I've ever been in it was about 8:45am when I arrived on the City of New Orleans (train was a bit early). It was reasonably busy and looked like it had been open for awhile, so I will hazard a guess and say that it is open by 8am. In any case, it will be open shortly thereafter.
 
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The Metropolitan Lounge In CUS opens earlier now, it is 6 AM I believe. An 8 AM arrival should be no problem. Just make sure that you have your sleeping car tickets available to show the "gatekeepers" as they are very fussy about whom they admit into "their" lounge.

The Redcap in the lounge storage room will be happy to provide storage for your baggage, as stated before tips are customary, Redcaps with carts are also available to take you to your sleeping car when it come close to train time, again remember tips are customary.
 
Hello

A great forum you have here. We are taking the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco next week, and want to drop our carry bags at the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station about 8 a.m., then go sightseeing to the Field Museum, and come back around 1:30 to pick them up and board the train.

Is the Metropolitan Lounge open that early to drop the bags for several hours? Is it customary to tip the employee handling the bags? We assume that there is some security over the bags, that they don't just sit unattended in a room?

Thanks to all of you for helpful information.
When I took the SWC #3 from CHI I arrived super early since I had a 5:15 am flight arrival into Chicago that morning. I used the locked lockers that everyone uses but the only drawback with the lockers is make sure you have everything you want out before you lock it as there are no multi-entry previllages. Once you unlock, you pay to relock again.
 
The family is going to New Orleans tomorrow via the Zephyr and City of New Orleans. We have coach tickets for the (relatively) short trip to Chicago on #6, then roomettes on #59 to New Orleans. The same in reverse on the return trip - roomettes on #58, then coach on #5.

Will we still be able to use the Metropolitan Lounge on the RETURN trip since we will be in roomettes from NOL to CHI, even though we will have coach seats on the westbound Zephyr later in the day?

Thanks!

KC
 
The Metropolitan Lounge In CUS opens earlier now, it is 6 AM I believe. An 8 AM arrival should be no problem. Just make sure that you have your sleeping car tickets available to show the "gatekeepers" as they are very fussy about whom they admit into "their" lounge.

The Redcap in the lounge storage room will be happy to provide storage for your baggage, as stated before tips are customary, Redcaps with carts are also available to take you to your sleeping car when it come close to train time, again remember tips are customary.
When did this change? Last time I was down there... it was opening at around 8-8:30AM with the arrival of the first scheduled LD train (usually #29)...
 
The family is going to New Orleans tomorrow via the Zephyr and City of New Orleans. We have coach tickets for the (relatively) short trip to Chicago on #6, then roomettes on #59 to New Orleans. The same in reverse on the return trip - roomettes on #58, then coach on #5.

Will we still be able to use the Metropolitan Lounge on the RETURN trip since we will be in roomettes from NOL to CHI, even though we will have coach seats on the westbound Zephyr later in the day?

Thanks!

KC
Keep your sleeper stub and use that to enter the lounge.
 
Hello

A great forum you have here. We are taking the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco next week, and want to drop our carry bags at the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station about 8 a.m., then go sightseeing to the Field Museum, and come back around 1:30 to pick them up and board the train.

Is the Metropolitan Lounge open that early to drop the bags for several hours? Is it customary to tip the employee handling the bags? We assume that there is some security over the bags, that they don't just sit unattended in a room?

Thanks to all of you for helpful information.
You're going to love the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago. I like Union Station a lot, but it is also complete chaos--lines that rival waiting for Space Mountain at Disney (but with less of a payoff at the end), constant noise, bathrooms that may or may not have been cleaned since the Eisenhower Administration was still in office, crowds of people seemingly standing around at the most random spots imaginable...

...and then those glass doors to the Met Lounge slide over, and it's instant tranquility. Air conditioning that actually works and works well. Carpeting. Couches. Free soda and snacks. Quiet enough that you can watch one of the televisions and actually hear what's happening on screen. Free WiFi (slow and unreliable, yes, but free) and all the outlets your laptop could ever want. It is a very nice way to start or end an Amtrak trip.

Some people will mention that they've had trouble with the staff there, but I guess I've been lucky. There's a bald guy with glasses at the counter--a regular who will check you in and who has always been friendly and helpful when I've been there. The guy at the baggage room is quiet but solid and professional, and very appreciative of tips (doesn't act as though it's expected, but actually thanks you). Staff come around and pick up the wrappers and newspapers left by other travelers fairly frequently, and so the whole place is like a sigh of relief after the stress of trip prep, getting to the station on time, etc. I think your experience will be a good one.
 
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