Madrid to Lisbon On Trenhotel Lusitana
 

Reposting From General Europe:
Has anyone travelled on the Trenhotel Lusitania from Madrid to Lisbon on this overnight train recently - say in the last year? If so, was it a reatively good experience or did you end up wishing you had flown? When I tallied the cost of an extra night at our hotel and meals in Madrid plus the cost of flying Madrid>Lisbon versus a night on the train (first class) that includes both dinner and breakfast meals, the train option came out about $400 U.S. cheaper! But there doesn't seem to be much recent comment on the web from travellers who have taken the train, so wondered if there are any negatives I should be considering. Also, if you have booked this train recently did you have to wait 60 days before doing so? We won't be doing this portion of our trip until January but I was hoping to have everything booked a.s.a.p.

A few years back I made the same calculation and ended up taking the Train Hotel Madrid Paris, I suppose they are similar? In this particular one they had a class over the first, called Gran Clase. Indeed we had a good dinner, a breakfast and cocktails before dinner. We had our own cabin, with a bathroom that had everything including a shower. It was not luxurious as in the time of Queen Victoria, or not even in a novel by Agatha Christie, but it was fine. What can I say, I prefer flying but we drove from Avila, left the car in Chamartin train St and took the Train Hotel, next morning we were in Paris very neas our hotel. Took a taxi for a few euros and that was it.
It is not ideal to be on a train for me, the noise is constant and of course it moves and shakes a little.
But on the whole it was an experience, we did not paid for a hotel that night and arrived fresh and ready to star using our Carte Orante in Paris. Good luck.
That was the only time when someone from the train helped us with our luggage, he also opened our beds while we were in the dinning room.

Sorry to answer your post with a question but trying to evaluate it for the future, assuming this a train, how expensive is it and how long does it take?

Thanks for sharing your experience Graziella5b. As it happens, there is also a Gran Clase on the Madrid > Lisbon and that is what we were considering and comparing with an extra night and dinners in Madrid plus the flights to Lisbon. ComfyShoes -- the rates are on http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fa...&WT.srch=1
For us, we would be flying to Lisbon one way, and then doing a round trip flight to Madeira plus our hotel on top would be $160 U.S. but if you decide to do this sometime, the comparison may not be as dramatic as $400 U.S.

Hi Encantadora, Please ask me if you have more questions, I also remember that there are few places in this Class, only one wagon, and may be 10/12 compartiments. Anyway that is what happened in the Madrid Paris the day we took it. It was exactly May 6
because it is a day after my birthday. As I tried to convey to you it was not glamorous, or luxurious, it was fine. But I did the same calculations hotel+dinner+taxi to Barajas etc and then taxi in Paris from airport to Downtown, time lost in getting in Paris etc.We took the train in 2002 and may be in those days I was not aware of great budget flights
today I think I might fly.
Food was good. If you only take first class, I am sure you will have most the same , probably not the private bath with shower, but the dinning room was full with people that did not take the Gran Clase.
Dinner was pretty good, great corvina not overcook with vegetables was the main dish.

Thanks, Encantadora.