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I Paid $400 For A Roomette On A 15-hour Amtrak Train. The 23-square-foot Space Was More Comfortable Than I Expected.
The reporter took a 15-hour ride on Amtrak's California Zephyr, an overnight Superliner train.
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- I spent 15 hours in a sleeper car on an Amtrak Superliner train going from Denver to Salt Lake City.
- For $400, I stayed in a private cabin, which had two seats during the day and two bunks at night.
- The 23-square-foot space was cozy and full of space-saving hacks that made it feel larger.
Taking a sleeper train from Denver to Salt Lake City was more expensive than flying or driving — and it took a lot longer. But for a locomotive enthusiast like me, it was worth it.
In January, I took a 15-hour ride through the American Southwest on Amtrak's California Zephyr, an overnight train. I paid $400 to stay in a private, enclosed 23-square-foot space with two chairs and two bunks — also known as a roomette.
I found that 23 square feet is plenty of space for me to feel comfortable on a long journey. And with an efficient arrangement and a design that seemed to prioritize relaxation, I was far cozier than I am on flights and road trips.
On a cold morning in early January, I boarded the California Zephyr at Denver's Union Station.The entrance to the reporter's sleeper car on the California Zephyr.
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Amtrak's Superliner is a two-story train fleet that runs on routes west of Chicago and New Orleans, including the California Zephyr. The cars are roughly 30 to 50 years old, and Amtrak plans to replace this fleet and others in the 2030s, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Business Insider.
For now, the train line is investing $28 million into interior renovations on long-distance trains, including new carpets, LED lighting, and a seating makeover in coach, communal, and sleeper cars.
Roughly 76% of the Superliner sleeper cars have been updated, and the rest are scheduled to be completed in 2025.
I was lucky enough to ride in a newly refreshed Superliner.
My ticket included lounge access, priority boarding, and three meals on board.Inside the dining car.
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A roomette accommodation is a step above coach seating and a step below a bedroom, which is twice as large and includes a full private bathroom. Two steps above, a bedroom suite joins two bedrooms, providing four beds and two bathrooms with showers.
The train also has family bedrooms, which sleep two adults and two kids, and accessible bedrooms with two bunks.
My ticket also included access to a first-class attendant who took meal reservations, offered turndown service, and fielded questions and requests.
My roomette was on the first floor of the double-decker train.A hallway leads to the reporter's room in the sleeper car.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I skipped the coach passenger line to board, stepped onto the train, and placed my luggage in a shared storage space where each passenger was allowed two suitcases.
Then, I walked down a short hallway to my room, which had a sliding door that locked from the inside.
Inside, I found two cushy recliners facing each other beside a wide window.Two views inside the reporter's room.
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The roomette sleeps up to two people. During the day, the room was set up with two seats, which reclined to form the lower bunk. The upper bunk could be pulled down to reveal the cot.
Next to one of the chairs, there was a shelf below a tall mirror. There were multiple hooks around the room that I used for jackets and accessories.
I could tell the seats were new. They were wide and cushy with no signs of wear. But just to make sure, I asked Magliari how a passenger could tell if they were in an updated sleeper car.
"Doing away with the blue fabric is the biggest giveaway," he said. "If you see gray, vinyl seating, then you know that you are in a fresh room."
Magliari added that the new seat cushions and upholstery provide more lumbar support than the older models.
The sides of each headrest contained room controls.Room controls in the roomette.
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There were lighting, speaker volume, and temperature controls, as well as one outlet and a call button for the attendant.
Between the chairs, a pullout table had two foldout leaves for extra space.The pullout table folded out.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
There were cupholders on either side of the table — each holding a complimentary water bottle. However, the holders were too shallow to contain the bottles when the train shook, causing them to fall over during turbulent stretches.
"The cupholder size is a challenge we've faced. Beverage shapes and sizes change over time," Magliari told BI, alluding to the rise of brands expanding circumference like Stanley and Yeti.
A thin closet stood above a small trash can next to one seat.Amenities inside the roomette.
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Inside the closet, I found some hangers and fresh linens.
The sleeping car shared four bathrooms and a shower.A peek inside the shower.
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My booking didn't include a private bathroom. The shower and three of the bathrooms were on the first floor. I never had to wait in line to use the restroom, and I noticed they had been cleaned since my last visit a couple of times during the ride.
At night, I slid the chairs into bed mode.The reporter's roomette is situated with a lower bunk.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
After dinner in the dining car, I reclined both seats to be flat, forming the bottom bunk. The bed was wider and more comfortable than most train bunks I've slept on. The pillows were thick and fluffy, and the plush blanket had a luxurious feel.
The highlight of the 23-square-foot roomette was the expansive window.A view of the train passing through Colorado.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
A 23-square-foot room may seem small, but the wide, comfy seats, impressive space-saving hacks, and views outside the expansive window made it feel large.
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