My Amtrak Roomette Review: Overnight From Pittsburgh to Chicago

My girlfriend and I took the Capital Limited Amtrak in a Roomette overnight from Pittsburgh to Chicago. This train began in Washington D.C, and we hopped on at midnight eastern time in Pittsburgh and got to Chicago around 8:30 central time.

(Update: This train is now called the “Floridian” because they extended it from D.C. down to Florida.)

This article covers my full breakdown from our experience so that you know everything you need to before booking and riding a roomette.

From cost, to comfort, to food, I’ll cover it all, with pictures. (Yes, including pics of the snazzy Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago Union Station.)

What Is An Amtrak Roomette?

An Amtrak Roomette is a private room with bunk beds that turn into cozy seats for up to two people. It’s on many long-distance Amtrak trains. The service includes meals, attentive service, Metropolitan lounge access in Chicago (with free snacks), and other perks. Think of it like the equivalent of first class, but for Amtrak.

What’s The Roomette Like? It’s A Bit Like The Hogwarts Express, But With Bunk Beds.

You have your own private car with doors you can close.

Unlike the Hogwarts Express cars, which comfortably seats 4-6 people, this Amtrak Roomette in thinner, with two seats that turn into bunk beds.

You don’t have a private bathroom all to yourself, but our roomette car had plenty of bathrooms, and even a shower.

Amtrak Roomette vs Bedroom

The roomette is NOT the the highest-level option available. You can also get a private bedroom.

I have yet to stay in a bedroom.

However, I did catch a glimpse of the private bedroom on this ride and it’s much more spacious.

Rather than bunk beds, you have a couch thing that converts into a full-size bed, which would comfortably sleep two. In general, the bedroom means a bigger bed, more space, and shower and bathroom all to yourself.

The roomette already felt like what I imagine first-class on a plane would be like. Not that I would know. So the private bedroom would be like whatever is above first class.

Amtrak Roomette vs Coach

I’m a regular on the northeast corridor trains, and I usually ride coach.

In coach you have ample leg room and reclinable seats, which in theory you could sleep in. However, for my first overnight trips, I paid more for the roomette so I can get the blankets, pillows, the actual bed, and the closed curtains which all make it easier to sleep.

Plus, for two of us, the cost difference for the roomette wasn’t as big as it would’ve been for a solo travel.

That said, Amtrak coach will still be easier to sleep on than a plane.

For two people, the roomette prices begins even more appealing.

Sleep and Comfort Experience In The Roomette

We got on in Pittsburgh, which arrived on time for an 11:59pm departure. So we were ready to bed. In retrospect, I wish we had gotten on earlier closer to DC because I would have liked the few hours to chill, enjoy the complementary dinner, and wind down before sleeping.

How Did We Sleep?

I won’t pretend that I slept like I was in my own bed, but I did get a decent 6 hours. My girlfriend didn’t sleep as well, as indicated by her Oura Ring.

However, she was getting over a cold still, and she didn’t do any of the following tips to improve your sleep on the Amtrak Roomette.

5 Tips to Improve Your Sleep on The Amtrak Roomette

1) Ear Plugs

This is absolutely essential in my opinion. I grew accustomed to wearing earplugs when I lived in the heart of New York’s Lower East Side. They’re an essential piece of my Urban Backpacking toolkit. I don’t travel without them.

I like the silicone ones, personally. They’re more comfortable than the foam ones in my experience.

You will hear occasional sounds if you don’t wear them, like the rattle of the train and the conductor announcing stops. You’ll want earplugs.

2) Eye Mask

I bring a beanie and cover it over my eyes, but I also carry an eye mask with me. For optimal sleep, you want to eliminate as much light pollution as possible. The curtains are effective, but let some light on the edges. As such, an eye mask also is a no-brainer.

3) Bring a Travel Pillow

The pillows and blanket were really comfortable, but each bunk bed only had one pillow. So if you’re a two pillow person (or a one and half pillow person like me), bring your trusty travel pillow.

4) Get on Earlier and/or Relax Before Sleeping

This of course depends on when you get on. We got on in Pittsburgh at midnight, and we tried to fall asleep right away. But that’s hard because we had some adrenaline from getting on still. As such, we laid there in a half sleep, trying to get comfortable, trying to find the right temperature, and deciding whether we would sleep in the same bunk or separate bunks.

Even getting on late, I wish we had hung out with the reading light on reading or talking until we dozed off to sleep.

Ideally, we would’ve gotten on earlier.

We were visiting a friend in Pittsburgh partially because it was part way to the Midwest. Next time I’d leave right from the east coast (New York, Boston, or DC.) Leaving at midnight is just not ideal for sleep. Even 2am would’ve been better, because then we probably would’ve sleep a few hours before the train came.

5) Set the Temp to Cool, But Not Too Cool

There’s a knob in the roomette to set the temperature to cool, hot, or in the middle.

When we got on, it was in the middle, which for us was too hot to sleep comfortably in. So we turned it down all the way to cool and stripped most of our clothes. Then we got cold.

Next time I’ll set it to cool, but not all the way.

Features and Perks of The Roomette

I’ve already mentioned some of them.

• Bunk beds that transform into comfy seats. This is the hallmark of the roomette. The top bunk is easy to move up to if it’s just you and you want more space.
• Custom temperature setting. Just give it a few minutes for the new air to fill up the room before you mess around with it too much.
• Bathrooms and showers (shared.) Honestly, I don’t see why I’d need a private bathroom. This train wasn’t really long enough to shower, either. As someone on reddit said, why would you want a private bathroom if you’re going to stink if up later.
• Meals included. I’ll talk about this later.
• Reading lights and bright lights.
• Blackout curtains. They have velcro straps too, so they stay closed. As I said they don’t block everything though. Pull them back during the sunset and sunrise!
• Outlet. It’s over your shoulder next to the temperature setting.
• Wifi. But it’s Amtrak wifi, which means it’s mediocre at best and often spotty. I use it to write and browse all the time, but don’t plan on doing any work video calls unless you’ve check your phone service on the route ahead of time.
• Tray Table. It’s easy to hide too.

• Ample legroom. It is, after all, the length of a bed.
• Lounge Access. I’ll also talk about this later. But when we got to Chicago we got to go into the fancy Metropolitan Lounge and steal more snacks.
• Cafe car hangout. From my experience taking coach, I know you can only sit in the cafe car while eating. But with the roomette you can hang out there all you want. It’s a better place ot work than your roomette and has stunning views.
• Views. We woke up to stunning snowy views. That experience was like a drug, one of those special life moments that’s hard to put a price on.

How to Book The Roomette

You can do it both on the app or on Amtrak’s assertively mediocre website. The app is usually easier, but I did it on the desktop. Here’s an example.

1) Set your destination, date, and number of travelers

2) Select “Private Rooms”

3) Select Roomette

And you’re off to the races. I’ll talk more about cost later. You can see that the bedroom and family room are a lot pricier.

Booked Coach and Debating a Roomette? Use Bidup

With Amtrak’s BidUp, you can submit a bid for an upgrade. If the roomette price doesn’t look worth it for you, I recommend putting a bid in (you’ll get an email a few days before if there are any upgrades available.

You can learn more about this process in my article on Amtrak BidUp Tips.

Getting to Pittsburgh Union Station

I always talk about how the transit experience itself doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s also about getting too and from the station or airport.

This played a big role in my experience on Florida’s Brightline train.

Typically, this plays into the train’s favor, as train station are often in city centers, whereas airports are outside. Since Orlando was a mess of sprawl, it took us an hour to get to the station on transit.

In Pittsburgh, Union Station was close and easy to get to. We had a short bus ride and a less than two minute walk, even at this hour of night.

That two minute walk was under a bridge, though, so I can’t say Pittsburgh’s station was in the best location.

Still it was one of those moments where I thought, yeah, this is so much better than flying. And we didn’t need to get there two hours early. We arrived 15 minutes early.

Check-In Experience and Service

Roomette includes first-class service. In coach, I’ve had a mixed bag of attendants in several years on the northeast corridor, but it’s clear you get more and better service on the roomette.

The private room section was the closest car to the station in Pittsburgh, so we didn’t have to walk far before being greeted by Phil. He proudly told us that he’d been doing this about as long as we’d been alive (26 years, which was spot on as I’m 25 and my girlfriend is 26.)

He showed us to our roomette, gave us a tour of all the features and told us to get some sleep.

When we woke up, Phil reminded us that breakfast was upstairs to our left and that it was complimentary.

I’ve never had first-class service for anything, so this was freaking awesome. It was my first taste of luxury travel, and I won’t lie, I loved it.

Waking Up and The Views From The Roomette

We woke up to an announcement that breakfast service was ending soon. I had set my alarm for 8am so that we didn’t miss breakfast.

When we opened the curtains we we both struck by the incredible snowy sunrise views.

This alone made the roomette worth it. The views are commonly what people say they love most about long-distance Amtrak rides.

Eating Breakfast and The Meals in Roomette

Since we got on at midnight, we missed dinner, but we did get to experience the complementary breakfast.

Here was the menu.

We both went upstairs. Thanks to our first-class status, we immediately got asked what we wanted and skipped the line of those in coach waiting for food. We each got steaming hot coffees (a bit too hot) and the three-egg omelettes. It came in plastic, but it was decent. The views from the cafe car made it better.

This food was better than the Amtrak food I’ve eaten on the northeast corridor trains.

If I were taking a longer train that was 24-48 hours, I would pack a few meals for myself, because it is microwaved, plastic-wrapped food. It’s fine for a meal or two, not ideal for several days.

But having it included and with drinks was a nice perk. But the best part was sipping on the hot coffee in the cafe car and looking out at the views. Especially as the caffeine started to hit.

Bathroom and Shower Experience

The bathrooms were clean. There were several bathrooms shared amongst the roomette cars, and I never had to wait. Overall, this was good enough for me.

For just one night, we had no reason to shower. I’d be curious to take an even longer train ride and test out the shower experience. The roomette came with towels, so they take care of you on that front too.

Chicago Metropolitan Lounge Experience

Depending on where you’re going, you may wind up somewhere with an Amtrak lounge. You can find them in the following cities:

• Boston
• New York
• Philedelphia
• Washington D.C.
• Chicago
• Los Angeles

Our roomette came with metropolitan lounge access included when we got to Chicago.

Includes Coffee, Snacks, and Soft Drinks

We got there and had nowhere to be (often the case if you’re choosing Amtrak, since it’s slow), so we decided to hang out in the lounge. We had some more coffee and loaded up on snacks. These are included. You can also buy alcoholic beverages. We got their before 9am though, so we stuck to coffee, green tea, and snacks.

It’s a Really Solid Working or Resting Space

I’ve written about digital nomading before and the importance of finding a good workspace. The lounge had everything you could need, and was so much bigger than I imagined. It has several floors and probably half a dozen rooms on each floor. Some were set up for comfort with coaches and TVs, others were set up for working wiht outlets and desks.

Amtrak Roomette Price

The price will vary a lot depending on your route and when you book. I booked our roomette about a month out, and it cost $380 total.

If you’re a regular on the Amtrak subreddit like me, then you’ve seen people complaining about crazy prices on the Amtrak.

The roomettes and bedrooms are no exception. I’ve seen roomettes listed at upwards of $1000 or more. Yes, it’s a luxury experience, but it’s hard to justify that price for a much longer trip. Personally I’m looking for the $300-$700 range. It has to compete with economy flying on price.

So you’ll have to check different times and dates to see the price options. We got a decent deal booking a month out.

Amtrak, I believe, fumbles the bag by not making it more affordable. But hey, I’m just an armchair CEO with a blog.

Is the roomette more expensive for two people?

If you book it for two people it is more expensive than booking for one, even though you’re using up the same amount of space. I don’t have a great explanation for this, but it is how it works. With that said, it’s not twice as expensive for two people. When I was booking, for one person it would have cost $280.

I debated booking one person for $280 and just…seeing what would happen when we showed up with two people. But I’m too nice to try and pull a fast one like that.

Amtrak Roomette Price Versus Flying, A Breakdown

Okay so by now it should be clear that in terms of customer experience the roomette is way better than flying economy. It’s much convenient, more comfortable, and with better service.

When I broke down the numbers, I realized I got a luxury travel experience for only a little bit less than being crammed in a coach seat on a plane.

The total cost of the roomette from out the door to downtown Chicago included $5.50 for the bus in Pittsburgh, putting the total cost at $385.50.

Now let’s look at the total cost of flying.

The Total Cost of Flying

Cost of Plane Tickets

At the time of booking, the cheapest direct flight would would have allowed us to have carry ons was $90 each on United. So that put the total cost of the plane tickets at $180 for two of us. This was cheap for flying standards.

Cost of Extra Hotel Night

We got to sleep on the Amtrak! So we didn’t need to book an Airbnb. Our private room (not a full place) in Chicago cost us $110 per night, but I’ll air on the conservative side and say $75.

Cost of Uber to Pittsburgh airport

Getting to the Pittsburgh airport on transit would have taken an hour and 15 minutes and would have required a bus transfer. It would’ve cost us $11. However, we probably would’ve taken a rideshare, which would’ve cost around $25.

Cost from O’Hare to Downtown Chicago

From here, we would’ve taken the train, which from the airport costs $5, so we’re looking at another $10 total.

Overpriced Airport Meals

Let’s just call this $15 per person, so $30 total. We also probably got about $20 worth of coffee and snacks in the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, but we’ll keep this number at a conservative $30.

When you add it all up, it would’ve cost us ~$320 to fly. So for an extra $55.50, we got a luxury travel experience.

I will gladly pay that difference all day. Plus, no dealing with TSA and other inconveniences of flying, which I’ll talk about next.

If you need a budget trip though that’s in the 2-hour or less flying range, look into buses. I’ll have an article coming out about this soon, because I’ve taken the Greyhound in many parts of the country.

Convenience Cost: Flying vs Amtrak Roomette

Why I Take Amtrak Instead of Flying (Most of The Time)

On the surface, flying seems more convenient because it’s an hour and 40 minutes compared to over eight hours.

However, let’s not be so sure about this.

The Amtrak roomette is an experience, flying economy on a domestic US flight is miserable. No crammed seats, no barely being able to fit your laptop on the tray table. No not being able to use your devices for the half the flight anyway.

Next, there’s the extra time to and from airports. Both for Pittsburgh and Chicago, on transit this is an hour each way. So that’s two hours wasted.

Then, you gotta get there about 90 minutes early because of security. No getting my toothpaste examined by a guy who hates his job.

Instead I got to literally lie in a bed and watch a sunset, while the train moved and took me right to downtown Chicago. They fed me too, and gave me free wifi and chargers.

Second, why are we always rushing? The Amtrak roomette was a big, “life is about the journey, not the destination” moment for me. Maybe we could all benefit from sitting in awe at the beautiful landscape of our nation while on an Amtrak for 8+ hours. The train ride is part of the travels when you get a roomette. When you fly, you just want to get it over with.

This reminds me of a recent train I took from Boston to Washington D.C. Look at this view was the train pulled in to New York.

Environmental Cost: Flying vs Amtrak

Through reading and learning, I’ve come to see how we need to reshape our transportation to make systemic changes necessary to fight climate change. In fact, I include certain passenger rail expansion on my list of 5 big ideas to fight climate change.

I learned from the excellent short book Flying Green: On The Frontiers of New Aviation that air travel is, for any individual who flies frequently, almost definitely their leading source of emissions. I also learned that flying will be very hard to decarbonize. This, despite the consistent greenwashing from major airlines.

With this two-pronged knowledge, I’ve began to take trains almost whenever possible, even if the financial cost is more if it takes much longer.

Rail per mile is the cleanest transportation option (besides walking and biking) and it’s not close. Second, rail will be mush easier to electrify (the northeast corridor Amtrak most is), so if we support rail that exists, we can support it moving to an all-electric fleet.

I view these long-distance Amtrak rides as reducing my personal carbon footprint and voting for the infrastructure that I want and we deserve with my dollars.

Passenger Rail is a Good Investment

Plus, fuck the airlines. They make tons of profits only to require massive bailouts when there’s a catastrophe (9/11 and the pandemic). They’re a classic “too big to fail” industry. Private shareholders and executives makes millions during the profitable years, and then taxpayers bail them out when when crises inevitably happen. (And this will keep happening.)

For more on this, I really enjoyed this book, Why Flying is Miserable.

Yes, Amtrak isn’t profitable, but I’m not sure passenger rail (or any transportation build for the masses) should be.

If Amtrak’s first priority were profit, they would just run their profitable lines from Boston to DC (and a few others). If you think transit systems need to “turn a profit” then let’s look first at the airlines.

They’ve made a massive profit, in good years, then requires tax bailouts in down years. And they’ve done that while under-servicing rural communities.

Next let’s look at our roads and highways in the United States.

If roads needed to make a profit, then rural areas would never have roads.

We all agree it’s a good investment of public funds to connect rural places with roads, yet for some reason we don’t apply this same logic to other forms of transportation.

And for more on my vision for rail in America, I think it’s not just about how speed rail. Read this article for 12 underrated rail rates that would grow rural economies. Again, it’s a good economic investment to connect people to more economic opportunities, which is what effective transit does.

Next, it probably would be profitable, or close to it, if we had better service. The most profitable Amtrak routes, the Northeast Regional and the Acela, compete with flights on time, exceed it on experience, and compete on price. Yet, we don’t have better service because car dependency in the US is a forced marriage.

This is summed up in this great article on Amtrak in the Berkeley Economic Review:

“Politicians who are strongly connected to the oil or car manufacturing lobbies often vocally oppose spending money on Amtrak and improving train infrastructure. This introduces the idea of induced demand – if we build more highways and make cars cheaper through subsidies this will encourage more people to drive. This same postulate has the potential to hold true for rail travel.“

Nearly every other developed country has figured this out. From Spain and Italy to Japan, they all have it and the general consensus is that it kicks ass and makes money.

This is why I support rail infrastructure in America.

More Amtrak Roomette Tips

This is what I would advise to myself for any future roomette trips.

As I mentioned, don’t forget some sleeping essentials, like earplugs and an eye mask.

Second, put your bags in the bag area. The roomette is wide but narrow, so even handbags hardly fit between the bed and the door. Similarly, put your shoes underneath the bed.

Most importantly, enjoy the journey. The Amtrak private room experience is a part of the travels, not just about getting to where you’re going.

Delays Are Common

The Capital Limited/Floridian has decent on-time performance, but most long-distance Amtrak trains get delayed. Some have on-time performances below 30%. That’s because they operate on freight rail tracks, and are at the mercy of the freight companies. If a freight train is coming, Amtrak legally has to pull over.

I hardly care, because frankly I want to stay in that roomette as long as possible, and I’m not in a rush. But it’s a real downside of long-distance Amtraks. (If you want this to improve, tell your elected officials to support Amtrak.)

Amtrak Roomette FAQ

Can You Cuddle Together Or Should You Sleep on Different Beds?

I don’t know how frequently this is asked, but it’s what my girlfriend and I wanted to know when we got there. The bunk beds are narrow. My girlfriend and I are cuddle monsters, so we did cuddle on the lower bunk and tried to sleep, but ultimately I got relegated to the top bunk.

What Amtrak Routes Have The Roomette Option?

When you book your route, you’ll see if there are options for roomettes or other private rooms. It’s not available everywhere. For example, my ride-or-die route, the Burlington to New York City train (The Ethan Allen Express) doesn’t have roomettes. And it shouldn’t because it’s always during the day.

Amtrak Guide has put together the full list of Amtrak Routes with Sleeper Options. Amtrak’s website itself is not as clear as this, so check that out.