I took the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago with my husband and parents. We each had one of the sleeping accommodations with bathroom. The scenery was amazing, the food similar to diner, but the issue was the cleanliness of the cabin/sleeping accommodations. I unfortunately was bitten by mites/bed-bugs. The sheets are changed between accommodations but the mattress and blankets... more

What a hoot! Two of us couples decided to take a train ride in America and picked the Empire Builder from Seattle to Glacier National Park for our adventure. We reserved Roomettes. Unfortunately, when you take off from Seattle there is no observation car (it comes later when the Portland portion of the train connects in Spokane). So until dinner... more

If you have travelled with accommodation on Amtrak's "Coach Starlight" (Seattle-LA) you will miss not having the Parlour Car on the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr. Except for your room, all the other areas of the train are shared with coach passengers and so the "observation car" gets ovetaken by seat savers who understandably prefer that location to their... more

We took the Empire Builder round trip, departing from Chicago on July 8 and departing from Seattle on July 20. The trip west was wonderful. With the exception of our car attendant who was too lazy to change the car number on the train, causing considerable confusion, the staff was professional and provided first class service. The shank of lamb... more

I rode the Empire Builder from Chicago, Illinois to West Glacier, Montana. After a few days there, I rode it on to Seattle, Washington. The countryside was similiar to that in Canada when one rides Via's The Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver. After getting out of the cities, one enters flat prairie country and, later in the trip, begins the... more

Our 9-member, 3-generation family group took Amtrak's Empire Builder train from Seattle to Whitefish MT and back during the week of August 10, 2008. We very much enjoyed it and would like to update the existing reviews with our experience. The main reason for enjoying the trip was the fantastic scenery; this is particularly true of the stretch immediately leaving... more

We took our 8 yr old daughter on the Empire Builder starting in D.C. with a 3 day stop in E. Glacier Montana and then on to Seattle. During our route, we had every mode of sleeping accomodation: bedroom, family bedroom and roomette. The ONLY sleeper accomodation that is bearable is the bedroom which is the only one with a... more

We took the EB from Seattle to Essex Montana to visit Glacier National Park and stay at the Izaak Walton Inn. While the train was 3 hours late departing we thoroughly enjoyed eating in the dining car as the train headed north up the coast. We had a family car, two upper bunks and 1 1/2 lower. It was very... more

My wife and two daughters (11 & 12) just returned from a fabulous trip on the Empre Buiilder from Chicago to Seattle. As a rail fan, I had looked forward to this trip for months. We booked a family sleeper (sleeps 2 adults and 2 children); was more spacious than we thought--it spans the entire width of lower floor of... more