Rt Coast Starlight from Sea, alternatives to lax, hotels, and question

[catbus]

We're taking the Coast Starlight roundtrip from Seattle to Lax this January (we'll be in a sleeper (roomette) both ways). What alternatives to Lax would you suggest as the turnaround point?

We are only staying one hotel night, the train being the primary part of the trip (we just have 3 nights/4 days for a short vacation). Any hotel suggestions for Lax or other turnaround points?

Since we are going roundtrip, will the train consist be the same both ways, how about the crew? If there is not a Pacific Parlour Car one way, will that mean there won't be one the other way? How often is the PPC missing these days?

It has been a while since we've been on a sleeper, can one request a specific side or room ahead of time or is it assigned when you get to the station?

Thanks!

 

[WhoozOn1st]

A hotel I always recommend at LAX is the Metro Plaza. A very short walk from Union Station, reasonably priced, and right by some great food. Not a palace, but certainly not a dump.

Other cool turnaround points might be Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo, but I know nothing about the lodging situations; only that they're very popular and picturesque towns.

The other questions I'll leave to somebody more knowledgeable about Amtrak operations.

Have a fine trip!

 

[AlanB]

Since we are going roundtrip, will the train consist be the same both ways, how about the crew? If there is not a Pacific Parlour Car one way, will that mean there won't be one the other way? How often is the PPC missing these days?
It has been a while since we've been on a sleeper, can one request a specific side or room ahead of time or is it assigned when you get to the station?

Odds are that the consist will be more or less the same both ways, however a car could be swapped out as needed. More likely though that you'll have different engines. And no, the lack of a PPC southbound would certainly not preclude one being added to the consist for the northbound run. Similarly having one southbound is no guarantee that you'll have one northbound. No idea how many times the train has run without one.

Rooms are always assigned at the time of booking no matter what. You'll automatically be assigned a room number when you book online and will get no choice as to which room is assigned. If you call up or visit the station you can request a specific room, but be warned you could pay more for requesting a specific room. And finally since the sleeping car can be orientated in either direction, bedrooms first or roomettes first, you certainly shouldn't be trying to book a roomette on one side or the other hoping for the best views.

If you want a room on the upper or lower level, or don't want a room at the very end of the car, then requesting may be advisable.

 

[gswager]

Los Angeles is a service/maintenance shop for Amtrak. Seattle is somewhat a light maintenance shop, except for Cascades.

Los Angeles is a crew starting point.

There are several $$/$$$ hotels near the Chinatown and downtown areas, serving by light rails/subway. You might want to search by using hotels.com.

 

[catbus]

Thanks for the info. For this trip, is there an advantage to being on the 1st or 2nd level or not being on the end?

The train will get in at 9pm (or later) into LA, is it a safe area to walk around at night (like walking to a hotel that is say 3-4 blocks away)? How about the safety of the metro?

How far from Lax going north until the scenary becomes 'don't miss'? I might want to stay up in Santa Barbara or between there and Lax instead of Lax, but don't want to miss any nice scenary.

For the first morning going south and north, will there be breakfast served? Going south leaves around 9:45am, going north leaves about 10:30am.

Thanks!

 

[the_traveler]

You may want to check out this list of hotels near rail. I'm not sure where the "must see" begins, but I do know it's in or around Santa Barbara.

I'm not sure, but I don't think they serve breakfast out of either endpoint.

 

[catbus]

Booked our trip from Sea to Lax. Think we'll stay in the Metro Plaza Hotel, which is close to the station (any thoughts on that?). We received room 5 both ways. Where is this located? Is there a way to tell what side it will be on? Thanks!

 

[AlanB]

Booked our trip from Sea to Lax. Think we'll stay in the Metro Plaza Hotel, which is close to the station (any thoughts on that?). We received room 5 both ways. Where is this located? Is there a way to tell what side it will be on? Thanks!

Room 5 will be on the upper level, as you can see in this diagram. Look at the Superliner diagram, not the others. There is no way to tell which side you'll be on though, as the car can be orientated in either direction.

 

[Konrad]

Booked our trip from Sea to Lax. Think we'll stay in the Metro Plaza Hotel, which is close to the station (any thoughts on that?). We received room 5 both ways. Where is this located? Is there a way to tell what side it will be on? Thanks!

Metro Plaza is fine, we've stayed there twice. The only 'problem' we had was the number of homeless people sleeping in the area (our CS got in at midnight). It can be a bit confronting but we weren't hassled by them.

On the plus side is the proximity to Union Station and LA's chinatown area - great for cheap eats.

You won't get breakfast in the diner on your first day in either direction but IF the PPC is there they provide all the requirements to make your own breakfast (cereals, milk, pastries, etc.) And there are muffins, juice and coffee provided in the sleeping cars.

The most spectacular scenery out of Los Angeles is really after Santa Barbara through the Vandenberg Air Force base and the climb in and out of San Luis Obispo. That said, the ride into LA is likely to be in the dark and the ride to Santa Barbara is in no way lacking in the scenery stakes.