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I wasn't about to sacrifice comfort to save a few bucks. Not when booking the longest train ride in the US.
Most people use trains to get from one place to another. But in February, Amtrak's California Zephyr was my destination. I wanted to thoroughly enjoy the 53-hour journey from snowy Chicago to sunny Emeryville, California.
That's why I spent $2,200 on a bedroom accommodation, a private cabin with a full bathroom.
While I was excited to stay in the tiny, moving hotel room, I wondered whether I'd regret spending so much. In the end, I was sure I had made the right choice for such a long journey.
Here's a look inside the 50-square-foot bedroom.
My bedroom was on the second level of an Amtrak Superliner train.
The California Zephyr is an Amtrak Superliner — a two-story train with coach seating, bedrooms, roomettes (a private cabin that's about half the size of a bedroom), a dining car, and a lounge car. There are also larger, family-sized bedrooms and accessible bedrooms.
I'd ridden the California Zephyr a year earlier, but I took a shorter trip in a roomette. This was my first time riding the entire route from Chicago to California. It was also my first time booking a bedroom on an Amtrak Superliner.
The 50-square-foot enclosed space packed in two bunks, a couch, a single seat, and a full bathroom.
The couch folded out to form the bottom bunk, and the top bunk pulled down from the ceiling.
The Amtrak bedroom sleeps up to two passengers, though I traveled solo.
The booking also included some perks. Sleeper-car ticket holders get a first-class attendant, priority boarding, lounge access at some stations, and complimentary meals on board.
When I first boarded the train, there were no bunks in sight.
During the day, the lower bunk was set up as a couch, and the upper bunk was folded up. A single seat faced the couch with a pullout table in between.
There was a pullout table between the seats that I used for working and eating.
The table also had two foldout leaves for more space. I thought this was a smart space-saving hack.
There was also a narrow closet at the front of the room.
The closet had two hangers inside. I used it to store my coat, sweater, and winter boots.
The closet was across from a sink and vanity.
The sink and vanity had two power outlets and an overhead light. Although the cabinets were stocked with extra hand towels, tissues, and soap, there was still enough space for me to store my own toiletries. The paneled mirror made getting ready in the morning feel a tad luxurious.
On the other side of the vanity, a door led to a compact bathroom with a toilet and shower.
Only bedroom accommodations on Amtrak Superliner trains have private bathrooms.
Showering next to the toilet felt odd, but I couldn't deny that it was a clever use of a limited space. And I certainly preferred it over having just a toilet or just a shower.
To use the shower, I set the temperature first. Then I pressed a button to start the water. There was another button on the showerhead itself to turn the water on and off. On the wall above the toilet, I spotted shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
There was a full-length mirror on the far end of the bedroom behind the single seat.
The mirror was not only useful for getting ready — it also made the tight space feel larger.
I used the shelf above the single seat to store my luggage.
When I changed my clothes each morning and evening, I pulled my suitcase down to the single seat. Passengers can also store their luggage in a shared space in the sleeper car, but I prefer to keep my stuff with me.
I found room controls on either side of the couch.
Both sets of controls had a reading light. One had a power outlet and a temperature dial, and the other had an attendant call button and lighting options.
Among these controls was a night setting for the lights.
The night setting was a dim blue light, which I thought added a dreamy glow to the space before bed.
When it was time for bed on night one, I selected the top bunk.
When I pulled the top bunk down from the ceiling, I found a ladder on the cot and attached it to the far side of the bunk. There were safety straps that I hooked onto the ceiling.
There was also a mattress topper, soft bedding, and pillows. I used a wall-mounted pouch to store a water bottle and my phone.
I liked sleeping on the top bunk — despite hitting my head on the low ceiling — because I could store my backpack and other belongings on the couch below, which kept the room neat. I got seven hours of sleep that first night.
I slept in the bottom bunk on the second night.
I pulled a lever beneath each couch cushion to form the lower bunk.
Although the room wasn't as tidy, since I didn't have as much space to store my belongings, I appreciated that the lower bunk was slightly larger than the top cot.
I also liked being right next to the window when I woke up in the morning. I got eight hours of sleep in this bunk.
After 53 hours on the California Zephyr, I decided the bedroom was worth the steep price point.
Unlike most overnight trains I've taken, the bedroom was comfortable enough to actually enjoy spending 53 hours in a confined space. I arrived in California feeling well-rested and squeaky clean.
I wouldn't splurge on a bedroom for just any long-distance Amtrak train. I think the smaller roomette is comfortable enough and worth saving money on shorter overnight journeys. But for rides that are more than 24 hours long, I'll book a bedroom every time.
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Joey Hadden is a travel reporter and photojournalist at Business Insider based in NYC. She covers transportation modes, alternative lifestyles, and luxury travel. Many of Joey's stories are visual features that give readers a front-row seat to her personal experiences at home and around the world.Joey graduated from St. Edward's University in May 2019 with a BA in Photocommunications. Since joining Business Insider in 2019, Joey has traveled by train in seven different countries, including overnight rides lasting up to 53 hours. She's ridden on many different train lines, including Amtrak, Via Rail, Nightjet, and the iconic Orient Express of the 21st century, among others. During her travels, she's slept in countless accommodations — five-star hotels, unique tiny homes, and private train cabins, to name a few.When traveling in North America, Joey takes readers inside the continent's wealthiest enclaves where billionaires hide away, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Medina, Washington. When she's not taking trains, notes, or pictures, Joey spends her time singing and playing drums for the indie-rock band Blanket Approval.
