I Paid $975 for Amtrak Upgrades. Only One Was Worth It.

I started my travel morning in the sun-lit halls of New York Penn Station’s Moynihan Train Hall.

While business class passengers do not usually have access to the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge unless they purchase a $35 day pass (priced at $50 for the flagship New York lounge I went to) and have a same-day Amtrak ticket, first-class private room passengers have access to the lounges prior to their departure at no additional cost.

As soon as I stepped into the Metropolitan Lounge, my ticket paid for itself.

I found the space, which opened in 2021, nicer than some airport lounges I have been in, and regretted not arriving earlier to spend more time there.

Nearly as soon as I got to the lounge, I started looking for the complimentary food.

The menu had a few options, including sandwiches, pastries, fruit, and yogurt. Additionally, the café also had various coffee and espresso options, soft drinks, juices, and teas.

Arriving at the lounge during the not-so-crowded early mid-morning, I was able to claim what felt like a luxurious space for one.

With more than enough sitting room and even a screen showing the current status of departing trains, the space, which was visually separate from the rest of the lounge by sheer curtains, was the perfect quiet spot to relax before my trip.

I went with a warm egg-and-cheese sandwich on a croissant and a pumpkin doughnut for my breakfast.

The sandwich was cheesy, buttery, and tasty, and felt much more elevated than I had expected. The doughnut was similarly elevated and tasty, with nut toppings that added a nice artisanal quality.

The latte was silky and smooth, and the coffee quality was beyond what I expected.

Shortly after getting to the lounge, I noticed the lockers where passengers could store their belongings.

While I would’ve preferred the spaces had a way to lock them for extra protection, I trusted the lounge crowd enough to leave some of my less valuable luggage while exploring the space.

Going into the lounge’s restrooms, I expected a typical public-bathroom experience. Instead, I was greeted by a much more spacious and private space.

I felt comfortable in the restroom, where I had some privacy and space to do my skincare and fix my hair before my long trip.

I also noticed that the restroom had a lockable door leading to a small, separate nursing room, which felt like a thoughtful detail for mothers traveling on Amtrak.

As I walked to my train, I began plotting how I’d book my next trip to ensure I got access to the lounge again.

The first section of my trip was the 3-hour trek to Washington, DC. I felt very refreshed and ready for the trip after my time in the lounge.

When I boarded the business class car, I struggled to see the difference between coach class and the upgrade.

The seat looked nearly identical to the cheaper seats I had traveled in before.

Just like the coach cars, the business-class car featured two restrooms. In my experience, I did not notice any differences between the coach and business-class restrooms, although the latter were overall cleaner than I’ve found coach restrooms to be and had a better supply of soap and paper towels.

Other than the ability to reserve a seat, I didn’t see any major perks to the upgrade.

I probably won’t book a business-class seat again for my future trips.

Amtrak’s website says its business class includes “extra legroom, a wide, comfortable seat, and a complimentary non-alcoholic beverage,” as well as “a more seamless boarding” and bonus rewards points, although “specific features vary by route.”

After arriving in Washington, DC, I went to the station’s Metropolitan Lounge, which I also had access to thanks to my private roomette booking.

While not as lavish as New York’s, the lounge provided free packaged snacks and drinks, a quiet space to sit, and a secure place to store my belongings during my originally two-and-a-half-hour layover.

Shortly after departing New York, I started receiving Amtrak notifications about delays affecting the train I was taking for the second leg of my trip — the one from Washington, DC, to Chicago.

Stuck and stranded in the city, which I had never visited before, I watched the estimated arrival time of my train slowly and steadily climb over the course of the afternoon and early evening as the train remained stopped for six hours near Petersburg, Virginia, due to a mechanical issue.

Earlier in the day, a three-hour delay occurred after local authorities in Plant City, Florida, investigated an incident on train tracks.

While the nine-hour delay gave me an unexpected opportunity to explore the capital’s most significant spots, see the then-green Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and dine in the city’s oldest restaurant, I was truly exhausted by the end of the day.

After a couple more hours sitting in the Union Station lounge, boarding finally began around midnight, nine hours after the original 4 p.m. departure time.

A total of 14,400 steps after arriving in the city, I only looked forward to having a place to land and finally sleep.

Within a couple of days after my trip, Amtrak Customer Service reached out and issued me a $200 voucher for future trips due to the extended delays I experienced.

When I boarded, the dedicated first-class train staff directed me to my roomette, where the bed had already been made.

I almost cried tears of joy. This gesture almost made the many hours of endless waiting worth it.

After the prolonged delays, I was incredibly relieved to put my things away and lie down in a dark, private room with a bed comparable to a twin-size. I quickly fell asleep and had a sound night’s rest until the next morning.

I woke up after a full night of sleep feeling like a different person than the tired-eyed zombie that had boarded the night before.

In the morning, I noticed that, unlike other roomettes I’ve traveled in in older Amtrak train cars, my roomette aboard the newer Viewliner II did not include an in-room toilet; instead, I had access to the shared bathroom in the first-class car.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the in-room sink and did my skincare in the small mirror before heading to the dining car, where breakfast was being served.

The dining car, open only to first-class private-room passengers, serves complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Non-first-class passengers can sometimes buy meal passes on trains with traditional dining, if space allows, for $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and $45 for dinner.

The breakfast menu included options such as scrambled eggs, French toast, a three-cheese omelet, and a continental breakfast featuring Greek yogurt and seasonal fruit.

I ordered scrambled eggs with Swiss cheese, tri-color potatoes, and a biscuit, along with a side of three-pepper natural chicken sausage links.

I also got a hot coffee and an apple juice since they were out of orange juice by the time I arrived. The coffee wasn’t particularly great, but it was comparable to the average airplane coffee.

The breakfast was freshly cooked and very tasty. Overall, it felt closer in quality to a cozy hometown diner than a crammed, moving train kitchen.

I enjoyed having the roomette, which is meant for two travelers, all to myself, during the rest of my 18-hour journey. I ended up spending much of the time working on my laptop or lying down on the folded-out bottom bed.

While I could see the space getting a bit cramped with two passengers during the daytime, it felt like the perfect, spacious nook for a single traveler.

Something that surprised me in the first-class car was the size of the restrooms, which I hadn’t previously needed to use since my roomette always had an in-room toilet.

While I appreciate the option to use a separate, not-in-room restroom — especially for people traveling with another person in the roomette — I was surprised that the coach and even business-class restrooms were significantly larger than the one in the first-class car.

By the early afternoon, I was feeling stale and ready for a refresh after spending all day traveling the day before.

I went to the restroom area of the private room car, where the showers are located.

The shower room is spacious enough for one person and locks access from the inside; along with the shower itself, the room has piles of clean towels and soap bars.

After I grabbed a change of clothes in my roomette, I headed into the shower. The hot water worked, although it wasn’t scorching, and the water pressure was pretty decent.

I felt very refreshed and comfortable after my shower, and, more than anything, I couldn’t believe that I was able to shower and change into clean clothes while traveling on a moving train.

Other than the lounge access, the shower was my second-favorite perk and made the roomette cost feel worth it.

After the announcer said lunch would begin, I got ready and headed back to the dining car.

The lunch menu had many options, including a grilled cheese sandwich, a normal and vegetarian burger, a patty melt, a Caesar salad, a vegan chili bowl, and a baked potato with chili — which I got.

I also got some unsweetened iced tea and a bottle of sparkling water to go along with my meal.

I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty and filling the loaded potato was, and how good the vegan chili tasted.

I didn’t expect my life to be changed when I ordered the butter cake from the dessert options the waiter gave me.

Promptly after trying the mind-blowing, warm, sweet, and buttery dessert, I went on Reddit to see what other people thought of it — something I often do with my Amtrak meals.

It only made sense that I found the butter cake had an online cult following of Amtrak passengers singing its praises, and sharing where to get it off the rails.

While learning about its 800 calories was a less pleasant surprise after eating the whole thing, I can’t say I regret a single bite of it.

While the delays the night before disrupted my travel plans and gave me a Washington, DC-sized headache throughout the day, they also placed much more value on having a bed to sleep in while on the road.

After all, I might’ve missed out on the dinner menu and the peace of a timely travel experience, but I got to experience a new city and a different type of trip.

By the time the train arrived at our destination, I had enjoyed a morning in a luxurious lounge the day before, explored a new city, eaten two full meals aboard, and even showered and changed clothes.

In the end, I found the first-class roomette experience worth the price, from the (actually good) complimentary food to the lounge access and the ease of getting a good night’s sleep and a shower to refresh in.

On the other hand, I didn’t find business class worth it at all, and will probably skip it next time I’m traveling on Amtrak. For a higher price, it essentially offers the same experience as coach class, minus some very minor perks that, in my opinion, don’t justify the upgrade.