Which lounge do you reccommend?

[MSP_Train_Hopper]

Thanks to the generosity of Ben_G, I have a Club Acela pass to use on an upcoming trip. I'll be leaving MSP, and will be making stops in Chicago, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and NYC. All these places have first class lounges of varying quality. I know MSP isn't much more than a separate waiting room with a coffee pot, but don't know much more about the others. Any suggestions where I should spend the pass?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ryan]

I think that much of it will depend on the relative length of the layovers involved.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

When I was in NOL in the beginning of February, the Magnolia Room was closed for renovations. Therefore, depending on when you are traveling, and how long the 'redo' takes, it could be closed . IMHO, before Magnolia closed, it was roughly on par with the MSP lounge. I don't know how improved the new version will be.

 

[BuzzKillington]

I've only been in NY and Chicago. Chicago is nicer.

 

[yarrow]

haven't been in nyp but of the others the club acela in dc was our favorite. best free food and ambience

 

[Eric S]

I think you will find a fair number of people who favor CHI, NYP, or WAS, depending on their particular preferences. Unless any one characteristic is particularly important to you, I'd suggest following Ryan's advice and just use it at whichever station you will be waiting at longest (CHI, NYP, or WAS, probably not worth it for MSP or NOL).

 

[Big Iron]

The boarding process at the CHI lounge allows for pax not connecting to a sleeper to board from the lounge so you get to the coach before the rest of the coach passengers allowing for better seat selection. This is not consistently the case in the DC lounge if you are boarding a Regional train (non-sleeper or Acela).

Others can speak to the boarding process of the NYP lounge. I've only done it once and used a Red Cap to avoid waiting in the line at the gate.

 

[AlanB]

I would not burn it in MSP, don't think that's worth it. And I rather doubt that the people in New Orleans would even know what to do with the pass if you showed it to them. It's not a normal lounge, in that there are no attendants. You go to the ticket counter and speak with a regular agent to gain access to the room if you're in a sleeper. So again, I'm not sure if they've even seen a coupon, much less if they'd know what to do with one. And since the lounge in NOL isn't even classed as a Metropolitan Lounge, technically the coupon would not be valid if they wanted to give you a hard time over it.

So I'd say look towards either using it in DC or Chicago. I'm also not sure about your actual travel plans, but if you are going to be in NY & DC on the same day, then you can use the coupon for both lounges.