{"id":230052,"date":"2026-03-21T12:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/230052\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T12:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:03:07","slug":"roomette-vs-bedroom-on-amtraks-california-zephyr-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/230052\/","title":{"rendered":"Roomette Vs. Bedroom on Amtrak’s California Zephyr Train"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re traveling somewhere between Chicago and San Francisco, I highly suggest making a trip of it by taking the California Zephyr<\/a>, an incredibly scenic overnight Amtrak train<\/a> through the American West<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’ve ridden it twice. In January 2025, I took a 15-hour leg of the route from Denver to Salt Lake City <\/a>and booked a roomette for $400. Then, in February 2026, I took the entire 53-hour journey from Chicago to Emeryville, California, and booked a bedroom for $2,200.<\/p>\n

If you’re wondering if the bedroom was worth the upgrade<\/a>, I think it depends on how long your trip is. But I’ll give you all the details so you can decide for yourself.<\/p>\n

Have you traveled on Amtrak’s California Zephyr? Contact this reporter via email<\/a> to share your experience.<\/p>\n

I’ve taken two overnight train trips aboard the California Zephyr.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The California Zephyr stopped at a platform in Colorado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

The California Zephyr is a double-decker Amtrak Superliner train<\/a> that runs between Chicago and Emeryville, California.<\/p>\n

The train has coach cars with regular seating and sleeper cars with private cabin<\/a> accommodations \u2014 roomettes (the lowest tier), bedrooms, and bedroom suites (two joined bedrooms). There are also larger, family-sized bedrooms and accessible bedrooms.<\/p>\n

First, I stayed in a roomette for a 15-hour trip from Colorado to Utah.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The author relaxes in a roomette on the California Zephyr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

For the shorter journey from Denver to Salt Lake City, I booked a roomette for $400. With two seats and two beds, the roomette sleeps up to two passengers, though I was traveling alone.<\/p>\n

Then I booked a bedroom for a 53-hour trip from Illinois to California.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The author enjoys a bedroom in the California Zephyr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

I booked a bedroom for the full journey from Chicago to Emeryville for $2,200. The bedroom is roughly twice the size of a roomette and also includes a full bathroom. The bedroom also sleeps two, but again, I was traveling solo.<\/p>\n

At 50 square feet, the bedroom was more than twice the size of the roomette.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the bedroom accommodation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

The bedroom had a couch and a seat facing each other, with a table between them. I appreciated having a couch for the longer trip because I could stretch out and relax during the day. <\/p>\n

I also liked that there was a bit more floor space in the bedroom.<\/p>\n

In the roomette, the two chairs folded down to form a lower bunk.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Seats in the roomette folded down into a bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

The bed was cushy and wide enough to snuggle up comfortably.<\/p>\n

In the bedroom, the couch folded down to form a cot that appeared to be slightly wider than the roomette bunk.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The author rests in the lower bunk in the bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

The lower bunk in the bedroom felt more spacious than the one in the roomette.<\/p>\n

Both rooms also had a top bunk that pulled down from the ceiling.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The author relaxes in the bedroom’s top bunk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

Since I had two nights in the bedroom, I spent one night in each bunk.<\/p>\n

The bedroom had a full en suite bathroom.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The bathroom inside the bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

Inside the bedroom, there was a sink and vanity with a built-in cabinet where I found hand towels, soaps, toilet paper, and space to store my own toiletries. The toilet and shower were in a tiny space separated by a door.<\/p>\n

For two nights on a train, I was thankful to have my own shower.<\/p>\n

Roomette passengers shared a bathroom and a shower with other sleeper cabin passengers.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The shared shower in the sleeper car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

Since I only spent 15 hours in the roomette, I didn’t mind not having a bathroom in my room. I didn’t use the shared shower; instead, I washed up once I arrived at my destination.<\/p>\n

The bedroom had more storage space than the roomette.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Storage in the roomette (left) and bedroom (right).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

Each room had a mini closet with two hangers inside, as well as a shelf that appeared to be for storing luggage. In the roomette, the shelf was only large enough for my backpack, but in the bedroom, it held my carry-on suitcase.<\/p>\n

On both trips, I also had access to shared luggage storage space in the train car.<\/p>\n

The bedroom also had a larger mirror.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The mirror in the roomette (left) and the bedroom (right).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

Both rooms had mirrors, but the roomette mirror was shorter and thinner. So I appreciated the wide, full-length mirror in the bedroom. It wasn’t just convenient for getting ready \u2014 it also made the space feel larger.<\/p>\n

Both bookings included meals.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the dining car on the California Zephyr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

Passengers had the option of eating in the dining car or in their rooms.<\/p>\n

I think I booked the right room for each trip.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The author in the roomette (left) and a peek inside the bedroom (right).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joey Hadden\/Business Insider <\/p>\n

The bedroom served me well for the two-night journey, and I would splurge on it for any Amtrak trip 24 hours or longer. I think it’s worth the added price for the extra space and full bathroom.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I’m glad I booked the roomette for the 15-hour journey. It was a short trip compared to other overnight rides, so sacrificing some comforts and privacy to save money was a good move for me. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you’re traveling somewhere between Chicago and San Francisco, I highly suggest making a trip of it by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-230052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}