Neil rightly expressed dismay at the state of train travel in the United States in one of his posts, but Amtrak is going upscale on some routes. The company isn’t going it alone however. It’s pairing up with GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, a private company in Evergreen, Colorado that was once called the American Orient Express.
If you’ve seen any movies of train travel back when men and women wore cool hats and overcoats, the GrandLuxe Limited train cars look like people from that era might hop on. Think mahogany, five-course meals, and an ambiance that captures the high life. There’s personal butler service even. In a way, as I read about this mode of travel, it reminded me a bit of the cruise to the Bahamas that my dad and daughter took this past December. The experience on the ship was the main thing they talked about. In the case of the GrandLuxe Limited, you’re traveling across the land instead of the sea and getting pampered along the way. While getting to a place is part of the reason for taking one of these train trips, the ride is like a vacation on it’s own.
If you’re thinking about going between Chicago and San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Denver or Albuquerque or between Washington to Miami, this might be what you’re looking for. It’s not cheap, but it looks fun. The trains aren’t heading down the tracks until November, but you can make reservations now on the GrandLuxe Web site.
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