Amtrak Viewliner Roomette Vs. Bedroom: Why It's Worth It to Upgrade - Business Insider

Feb 23, 2025

In 2021, I traveled on overnight Amtrak trains from NYC to Miami and back. For each 30-hour journey, I had a private cabin in a sleeper car.

The ticket to Miami cost about $500 for a Viewliner roomette, and the ticket back to New York cost about $1,000 for a bedroom.

Read on to see how the two overnight train cabins compared — and which was more worth the price.

A step up from sitting in coach, where you get a seat among other passengers, a roomette is a private space with a door and blinds to cover up the windows. Inside, I found two beds, two chairs, a table and a toilet.

According to Amtrak's website, roomettes are around 22.75 square feet, which, for reference, is a little bigger than a standard twin-size bed. The roomette sleeps up to two adults.

Bedrooms are around 45.5 square feet, which, for reference, is a little bigger than a standard king-size bed. Like the roomette, they sleep a maximum of two adults with two bunks.

The bedroom had a couch, an additional chair, a shower, and an enclosed bathroom.

Having a private space was the most important thing to me on this long train journey, and both rooms offered that.

Both rooms also had some clever storage hacks, like a table that pulled out between the chairs.

You could select this option in either room. So, if you're bothered by the train's bumpiness during the day, as I was, I recommend sleeping on the bottom bunk in either accommodation.

As someone who deals with travel anxiety, I found 30 hours on a train to be overwhelming.

But staying in a bedroom made me feel more comfortable than staying in a roomette. The bedroom offered ample space to stretch out and move about, which made all the difference to me.

Frankly, I don't feel comfortable sitting for 30 hours.

To pass the time, get moving, and feel more at home, I took frequent dance breaks in my bedroom, where I closed the curtains and blasted music in my earbuds.

This felt freeing and satisfying, and if I wanted to, I think I could have even done some yoga poses, body-weight exercises, or practiced my karate moves.

Having room to lounge in the bedroom made me feel more relaxed throughout my journey.

After staying in a roomette with a toilet for the first half of my trip to Miami, I was moved to another room without a toilet for the remainder due to the availability of roomettes when I booked my ticket. I had access to a bathroom at the end of the sleeper car.

While traveling home in a bedroom, I appreciated that the toilet was separated from the rest of the room by a door.

I also thought the bedroom had a nicer vanity with three mirrors facing each other, which made it easier to wash my face in the morning.

However, with two seats and no privacy curtain around the toilet in the roomette, I was grateful to be a solo traveler.

The bedroom upgraded my 30-hour journey from anxiety-inducing to comfy and homey.

The bedroom is especially worth the splurge for those traveling with a buddy since there's more room to stretch out.