Scenic Railroad Journey Through Royal Gorge

I booked the Vista Dome expecting a premium experience, but it wasn’t worth the extra cost. The train moves very slowly, and while there are some beautiful views, they’re only at certain points—not throughout the ride. The Vista Dome windows also had noticeable water spots, which affected the view. The best part was the open-air car, where the views were much better. I also liked the variety of food and drinks available on board. After reading other reviews, I found many people shared similar concerns about the value. I’d recommend booking the standard coach and enjoying the open-air car instead of paying extra for the Vista Dome.

I traveled solo from Denver, so it was a bit of a drive, but not too bad. The scenery along the route was beautiful, and I had always wanted to experience the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. I booked a seat in the Vista Dome with breakfast and a mimosa included. Unfortunately, it took about 25 minutes to receive my mimosa, and the breakfast sandwich on the brioche bun was pretty bland and underwhelming. One highlight was the service. My server was wonderful, friendly, attentive, and very knowledgeable throughout the trip. I also went on a Tuesday morning, so it wasn’t crowded, which meant I had an entire table to myself. I was looking forward to spending time in the open-air car, but it stayed packed for almost the entire ride. It was also about five cars away from the Vista Dome. I only made it out there for the last 15 minutes, and I do think adding another open-air car would make the experience much more enjoyable for everyone. Overall, I’m glad I finally crossed this off my bucket list, but I don’t feel the experience justifies the price. The views are beautiful, but for the cost, I expected a bit more.

OMG! This was an amazing experience. I was in amazement the whole trip. Breath taking views. The food was absolutely amazing, the service was amazing. All the grounds were clean and all the staff was amazing and nice. This adventure was worth every penny. Thanks for an amazing experience ❤️🇨🇱

We enjoyed our experience on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. We elected the glass dome car and were very pleased with this selection. Saw beautiful scenery and had a lovely lunch of a chicken panini, side salad and yummy glass of Brickmason Red Blend wine. Angie, our server, is very personable, attentive and provided excellent service. Our only complaint was when we were offered side salads we were not made aware about an additional upcharge for the salad. Since this is a very expensive experience of more than $400 for 2, this class of train including lunch, the additional change should have been mentioned.

The positive: The views and the open air car were breathtaking. The server was very friendly and knowledgeable. Overall the price to experience was not worth it. We did the vista dome. Please look at my photos and then look at how they advertise it. Bait and Switch. At least use the same train to show what you are selling. The prepaid food package is the meal and coffee/soda the pint is a glass that you pick up at the end. If you were like me you assumed it was a souvenir glass that you got with a drink on the train. That is not the case. If you do this I would say take coach tickets and go on the open air cart it’ll be a better experience for a bit less of the cost all things said over six hundred dollars spent with three people hard. Really let down that the vista dome was not remotely the quality advertised. Also the food is “high quality” take a look at the photos ild tend to disagree.