GoPlaces21601301588
Sep 2024
We road this route as part of a larger 8 day tour that started in Salt Lake City and ended in Denver. But the segment on the Rocky Mountaineer was a major consideration in booking the tour. Other than the spectacular natural beauty found traversing this part of the Rockies (which can be seen and enjoyed for substantially less money via car or Amtrak) this excursion misses the mark.
The most glaring deficiency is the included one night hotel stay in Glenwood Springs. We were put up at the Hotel Colorado. It has a fabulous history, but in its present state, it is substandard when compared to, say a Holiday Inn Express, but they are charging exorbitant room rates that can exceed $500 a night! The bathrooms are woefully out of date, hot water service is inconsistent and you are subjected to the ironic whine of a tiny window air conditioner despite the fact that the overnight temps drop into the 50s.
But you spend less than 12 hours in the hotel. The remainder of the 28 hour trip you are on board a reconditioned train that wants to take you back to the golden age of rail travel, but feels more like — well, imagine if Spirit Airlines had a First Class section. I should note that we were in the Silverleaf Service car which provides a snack and three meals (along with unlimited alcoholic beverages) as well as the one night hotel stay for around $2200 per person. The meals are usually selected from two options (generally chicken or not-chicken), the portion sizes are meager, and if you are traveling as a couple, the on-board chef asks that you each select a different option so that they don’t run out of one. The food tastes like it was prepared well in advance and re-heated. Even a highly touted breakfast cinnamon roll from a local bakery tasted like day-old product. This is a far cry from the food service aboard the luxury trains of the mid-20th century when meals rivaled high-end restaurants. I know those were “different times” but if that’s the era you are trying to recapture, rubber chicken just don’t cut it!
Then there’s the well meaning and hard working staff on board. There is a “conductor” type character who delivers a prepared spiel intended to set the scene of the golden age of rail. But it’s a little too cornball, especially considering he’s the only one play-acting. The other servers and attendants are very 21st century creatures we encounter all the time. They make a big production (prior to departing Glenwood Springs) of blowing a weak train-whistle sound effect (when there’s the real thing on the engine right next to us) and having everyone yell “All Aboard”. You know what they’re trying to do, but …
Perhaps the elephant in the living room is the route itself. It runs from Moab, Utah to Denver. Riding eastbound like this works great if you find yourself in Moab and need a lift to Denver. Going this direction also has the benefit of starting out with some pretty nasty, boring scenery and ending with the big finish of the beautiful canyons, rivers and Rocky Mountains. But the westward route seems problematic: you go from the spectacular to the mundane. AND you end up in Moab — where you probably need some kind of tour connection to get you to the National Parks or somewhere else where you can travel home (because I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna want a return ticket on the Rocky Mountaineer!