I've stayed at the Red Caboose three times now. Each time the accommodations varied, largely because each caboose is unique. One of the 3 times the caboose wasn't as nice as we liked and the owner moved us right away.
What do you say about a place that charges $129 a night but the room doesn't have a phone or internet access in it but does provide a "fly swatter"?
The kids liked it and it's a novel idea but it was dirty and grungy....
My parents and I still talk about the horrors of spending 2 nights here in 2006. The first night in an unrenovated caboose, in spite of my reservations for a renovated one only. No one slept the first night there: the dripping "shower" (and...
My husband and I thought my son would love to stay in a caboose and we were right, he did. It was great for him and really in some ways not so bad for us. The whole experience of staying in a caboose was unique and fun. however the service is not...
What a unique idea! For anyone who loves trains, the Red Caboose Motel is a must-stay! My husband and I were attending the November Trains and Troops swing dance, held at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg and had booked a caboose at...
53 year old female with a moderate budget, traveling for leisure
This was the most " fun" hotel we stayed in of 5 different in the Lancaster area. Was really CUTE. Bed was comfortable. Got a good buggy ride from there. Right next to Strasburg Train Ride & museums. The dinning car restaurant was so good that we ate there 3 times.
35 year old male with a economy budget, traveling for leisure
All in all our stay was wonderful, except for some things I'll point out in the next paragraph. We'd been there years back when it was under different ownership when our kids were younger. For old time’s sake, we decided to go back and experience sleeping in a caboose and enjoy fine dining in a simulated train. Our caboose was clean; the one housekeeper was very friendly. She made us feel welcome and gave us extra towels. In fact, she, next to the waitresses and some of the female front desk staff, were the only nice ones there. She was very sweet as I saw her seem concerned about a cat there that disappeared under a bush.
I must say though the guy who checked us in could have been friendlier. A smile goes a long way. A guest shouldn't feel they are burdening an employee by being there. I admit feeling a bit like I was being a nuisance and for crying out loud; I was checking our family into our room, or caboose.
The day before we checked out we had breakfast in the caboose. A very sweaty woman with what looked like no bra came out of the kitchen to ask how our food was. I shuddered to think that was our cook! I try not to judge people by their appearance but my appetite was ruined. She looked like she seriously needed to be hosed off with the horses on a hot day.
At lunch time there were two very nice waitresses who didn't mind chitchatting with us off and on. The place started getting busier and we let them tend to their work. Someone pushed the button to make the simulated train motion and then we heard someone from the kitchen yell one of the waitress’s names. He proceeded to yell at this young girl in front of a bunch of customers who were trying to enjoy their lunch. She was clearly doing nothing wrong, had been attentive, pleasant, doing her job and he saw nothing wrong with yelling at her at almost the top of his lungs. When he disappeared I saw the sad lost look in her eyes and my heart ached. No ones lunch should mean that someone has to get abused in the workplace like this. I take this guy was her boss or something. He clearly lacked humane social skills and should have known better than to talk to anyone like that, much less in the company of a bunch of people. I left her a little something extra for a tip that day and prayed that someone would hit that man with a happy stick.
Our stay would have been nicer had we not had to experience this.
44 year old male with a economy budget, traveling for leisure
It was a nice quirky change of pace and was great for the kids. They kept everyone in the railroading mood for visits to the other rail attractions nearby. The almost continuous procession of horse-drawn Amish carriages was a nice addition to the atmosphere.
The room was clean with decent space. We only had a shower, no bath tub. There were a couple of playgrounds on the premises for the kids and a viewing tower. The restaurant had good simple fair, and the price was fine. It was a good value for $85.00 a night especially for a family of 6.
When researching, I found a lot of very negative reviews on the web from a couple of years ago. The place is under new management and they have done a very nice job of making it a very enjoyable experience.
we live -10 miles away and still stay!
–
Posted Mar 27, 2007
Excellent
we first went for a couples birthday weekend. we liked it so much we decided to take our 4 kids one weekend! they had so much fun and we live less than 10 miles away. we go back at least 1 time every couple months. It's so much fun and it's...
Write a Hotel Review
