Sleeping in Style: Unveiling the Ultimate Luxury of the Caledonian Sleeper Train - Caledonian Double Club Room

When I found out that there were going to be brand new trains introduced onto the Caledonian Sleeper train route I thought this was so exciting, especially as the initial marketing made it all sound so interesting, especially with references to a hotel-style service by ICMI. Transport Scotland awarded Serco the contract to manage the New Caledonian Sleeper service in 2014, for a 15-year contract. Previously this was run by Scotrail.

“A partnership with luxury hospitality firm Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI) and Michelin-starred chef Albert Roux will introduce hotel-style service and an improved all-round travelling experience and passengers will benefit from the sleek new trains, a wider range of ticket types and a more family-friendly ethos.” 

I contacted Caledonian Sleeper to find out when the new rolling stock would be introduced and they came back with this email:

“Thank you for contacting Caledonian Sleeper. I can confirm that our new rolling stock will start going out around January-February 2018. The new rolling stock will not all be released at once, but we hope to have them all out by 1st April 2018.”

Despite this, delays meant that trains were not going to roll out until October 2018. We were originally booked to travel on 11th November, I thought this would leave some buffer time in case of further delays, but clearly not enough. In October we received an email advising that our selected cabin was not going to be available (the Caledonian Double - only available on the new service) and we were given options of being rebooked into two first class bunks on the old service, a full refund or being able to change our tickets to a later date. We therefore rebooked to August 2019, thinking this was definitely more than enough time to get through any further delays (at that point the introduction was meant to be May 2019) and iron out any teething difficulties. Although they did launch in May, the service has been riddled with technical and service issues since, so I must say we were taking this trip with a degree of trepidation as to what it would be like, if indeed it took place at all. I contacted Caledonian Sleeper about a week before travel to check if everything was still ok with the booking, however before travel (and indeed since) they have not responded!

Arriving into London St. Pancras International from the Eurostar from Brussels, we immediately took an Uber to Euston. Immediate impressions of the station were not great, but we followed the signs for the Virgin First Class lounge upstairs - we had been advised on the rebooking of the sleeper service that an email would suffice as entry to both the lounge and train tickets:

“I am delighted to inform you that I have made the reservation for the Caledonian Double for *** August 2019 Euston to Edinburgh.

There shall be an email called Authority to Travel which is your reservation which you can show either on your smart device or by printing it off. 

To access the Virgin lounge in both Euston and Edinburgh you will be required to show the Authority To Travel.”

Despite this, on arriving at the lounge and showing the email to the desk attendant, he said he had worked there for a while but had never seen anything like this - despite the fact that it did indeed have the booking reference noted. He then called someone else over, who agreed with the desk agent that he had never seen anything like it either - to avoid confusion here was the email:

“Caledonian Sleeper Reservation: Authority to Travel   Reservation Reference: GA214***

Journey Details: **/08/2019 23:30 Euston to Edinburgh

Accommodation Type: First

Reservation Details: Coach:  B Seat\Berth Number(s): 02L , 02R”

They then called a third lounge attendant over to see whether she had “seen anything like before” - she took one glance at the email, told them it was clear that it was a First Class ticket for the Caledonian Sleeper and of course we should be given access. I must say I’m not a massive Virgin fan, there always seems to be great ideas and innovations but, certainly in the train arena have always found they disappoint time after time. I therefore, especially noting the rest of Euston Station on arrival, didn’t have particularly high expectations of the lounge. It was actually ok, there were various seating areas but the buffet area was almost non-existent. There was a bar which served drinks (alcoholic drinks were available to purchase, there was a menu of drinks available on the bar) and next to that a self-service area with a couple of cartons of orange and apple juice and some plastic cups. Next to this was a water dispenser and to that a glass container with some pretzel snacks, a jar of large sultana cookies and another with shortbread round packets. There were various types of teabags to make tea from the water dispenser (also chilled and sparkling available too), the coffee machine was located in another part of the lounge. It did seem to be a work in progress, but there was a separate fridge in another seating area which stocked cans of Pepsi/Pepsi Max, Sprite and lemonade. Also fruit was available in a basket on the counter - it actually wasn’t bad, display and layout just seemed very haphazard.

The train was due to depart at 11:30pm, with boarding (allegedly) from 10pm. When we arrived in the lounge there was nothing showing on the departures’ board, the last train noted (at that point) was one at 9:31pm.  Toilets were exceptionally clean, actually very new looking and well maintained. I think first impressions of the lounge may have been skewed by the rejective welcome, but once you realise it’s not the Virgin (Atlantic) Clubhouse and reset expectations, it was actually ok. Just before 10pm, we decided to walk back to the main concourse and await the announcement of the platform. Nothing was showing on the board, and still nothing by 10:15pm so we asked a member of staff and they said it would depart from platform 15. I think in actual fact we should have realised this, I imagine it’s the same platform every night and platform 15 has been shown in some You Tube reviews already.

When we arrived at the platform, the train was indeed there - while recently it seems that Scotrail have been mixing in some old carriages too, this train looked like it was made up completely of new stock. Be aware, if you’re leaving from London Euston heading North, there are two train services - the Lowlander and the Highlander. I believe at the moment only the Lowlander service has been upgraded, the Highlander service is still using the old style carriages. 

The Lowlander service ultimately travels to both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the train actually splits in Carstairs early morning and different carriages go onto different destinations. The Highlander service does actually go to Edinburgh initially (though it’s not a recognised stop, so you can’t get off here) and then splits into three - one for Stirling, Perth, Aviemore and Inverness; a second for Dundee and Aberdeen; and a third for Fort William. 

While we waited to get access to the train (all the staff seemed to be there, they were just chatting on board in the Club car lounge) we found coach B (where our cabin was due to be) - it looked really nice, albeit the corridor seemed very narrow with most of the width being given to the cabins themselves. There are currently four types of accommodation on the new service, though not sure what has happened to the fifth - these were announced as being airline-style sleep pods where you got a separate secure locker for storing belongings. Other than the comfort seats, the most basic accommodation is a Classic Room - this is basically just a new version of the old style cabins, available with either single or twin bunk beds and in-room sink, no en-suite. Next up is the Club Room - this is the same space as the Classic, albeit there is an en-suite shower/WC. The top category is the Caledonian Double, effectively the same as the Club Room except it does have a standard-sized double bed so is marginally wider. Believe me, there is clearly the extra width of the bed, but all cabins are extremely compact, especially for two passengers. In both the Club Rooms and Caledonian Doubles, as well as the en-suite, you also get station lounge access, breakfast included and priority access to the Club Car (the dining car).

The Caledonian Sleeper train has undergone a significant upgrade from its old style. The new train features improved lighting that can be dimmed, better temperature control that is more controllable and effective, USB ports, WiFi, and keycard entry for each cabin. In contrast, the old sleeper had no external locks, so if you left your cabin, it had to remain open. These upgrades provide a more comfortable and secure experience for passengers.

Here is a detailed summary of each of four categories:

Eventually about 10:45pm the staff came off the train and attendants proceeded to walk to each of the carriages - being coach B, adjacent to the Club Car, our attendant was there in a few seconds and she checked our authority to travel. She dug out our keycard from a bunch and gave us one for room 5 - I explained that we had booked room 2, but she said the train had all been wrongly numbered and we were in room 5 - this was the cabin map as currently on the Caledonian Sleeper website (https://www.sleeper.scot). My heart sank thinking that we had been reallocated into a different room type, but once we made our way down the (extremely narrow) corridor, we found our room and it was indeed a double. I had a small wheely case, this was only just able to fit down the corridor face on, it really is extremely narrow.

The Caledonian Sleeper train offers cabins for passengers to rest during their journey. While the cabins may appear decent at first glance, the lack of space becomes apparent quickly. Even with a double bed, the area between the bed and the wall is narrow, making it difficult to navigate with even small luggage. The space under the bed can be used for storage, but it is limited and may not accommodate larger suitcases. The cabin does have sufficient lighting and temperature controls, which is an improvement from the old sleeper service. The en-suite is an okay size, but it only includes a WC with a cover that doubles as a bench seat for the shower.

In the room itself there were two mini bags with some bottled water, instructions about the train service, a toiletry set with Arran Aromatics shampoo, body/hand wash, moisturiser and an aromatherapy sleep spray. There was also an eye mask with earplugs and a small pencil for filling in the breakfast card, which had to be completed and hung on the cabin door within 30 minutes of departure. This was hotel style with options to tick for a fruit juice, hot drink and hot/cold food options. We made our appropriate choices and hung them on the door, asking for delivery at 7am. The train was due to arrive into Edinburgh at 7:22am but not needing to disembark until 8am. You could also choose whether to have breakfast delivered to your room or eat this in the restaurant Club Car - certain items (like the full Scottish breakfast) were only available in the Club Car.

When getting settled for the night, what became apparent very quickly (other than the complete lack of even turning space) was the almost constant beeping of the other cabins’ intercoms. Having already had dinner and a further (very light) snack in the lounge, getting on for what was now 11pm with the delayed boarding we felt no compunction to either visit the Club Car for a meal nor have room service, though it was quite an extensive menu (especially drinks) as you can see here. Maybe with the rumbling of the train tracks (though I must say I didn’t find this too bad, even attempting the ear plugs which were pretty rubbish and fell out overnight) guests like to partake of quite a few drinks to knock them out for the night!

As guests pressed the intercom to connect with the attendants, this was a loud constant beeping and, if not answered quickly (as seemed to be in the majority of cases) meant it lasted a long time. Surely these carriages and the cabin design must have gone through multiple stages of testing, not sure how this wasn’t picked up before that it might have been a better idea to actually have a handset instead to reduce the intrusion on adjacent cabins. The noise seemed to permeate the entire carriage (our carriage B had a total of only 6 cabins), either that or the cabins either side were repeatedly contacting the attendants.

After a decent night’s sleep (the bed was comfortable enough), with decent bed linen pillows etc. and using the sleep mask (as some of the wall control units stayed illuminated) we had an ok sleep.

Despite asking for breakfast to be delivered at 7am, there was a knocking on the door before 6:30am and the attendant gave us a bag with two orange juices - we had actually ordered one orange and one apple juice. At 6:45am they then came with trays - one was right which was normal tea and a bacon roll but the other tray was the same, despite ordering the vegan option of a chia seed smoothie bowl with dried banana. The attendant said there was the choice of either normal tea or mint - Mrs ThePrivateTraveller said it had to be green tea, they went away and came back with this but there was no movement on the bacon roll - this was especially great for a vegetarian! Although the breakfast cards asked for a preferred time, it seemed as if this was ignored to make it easier for the attendants - presumably they wanted passengers off the train as quickly as possible so they could complete whatever they had to do. Clearly the menu cards hadn’t been studied that closely with being given the wrong items.

The en-suite shower was ok considering the location limitations, though not sure if you were meant to use the bench over the toilet as a seat as it was extremely slippy when wet and with the train moving. The water pressure was good however (considering being on a train) and a good adjustable temperature. Wet room it was but this just sounds a bit grand for what it actually was - very functional, but clean (other than a large dark hair stuck to the wall). You need to make sure you have carried out your morning routine in the correct order, using the WC after a shower would mean the area was all completely soaked.

The train was spot on time at both ends of the journey, arriving into Waverley at exactly the scheduled time of 7:22am. Despite being allowed to remain on board until 8am, about five minutes before drawing into the station the attendant came to collect the trays. Again this just felt like things were done to suit the staff rather than to accommodate the passengers - i.e. just collect the trays once the passengers had actually left.

In summary, how would I rate this trip? With all the delays on the introduction of this new service, lack of responsiveness from Caledonian Sleeper and the negative publicity surrounding the introduction, I actually had zero expectations here. I was pleasantly surprised, having a decent night’s sleep. The facilities were decent, albeit the cabins are incredibly small, the biggest issue I had was probably with the service - delayed boarding, noisy intercoms and the poor breakfast execution. Clearly nothing can now be done to adjust the space allocated to each room but if the service becomes more of a focus then this could become a really credible alternative to a daytime train or a flight.

---