GrandLuxe Rail will cease operations Friday
GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, a company based in Evergreen, Colorado, that runs luxury U.S. train tours, is halting operations effective Friday because of financial problems, Chairman Tom Rader confirmed Wednesday.
The action affects customers on dozens of trips scheduled this year and next who each paid thousands of dollars to travel in private cabins with vintage furnishings on 4-to-12-day rail journeys. Destinations include the American West and South and, to have been new next year, Mexico’s Copper Canyon.
In a telephone interview, Rader declined to elaborate on the financial problems of his company, which bought American Orient Express in 2006, but he left the door open to restarting operations.
“We’re in negotiations with various parties, lenders,” he said. “We are evaluating what our options are.” The company hasn’t filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, he added.
Customers with bookings should contact their credit-card company about getting refunds, Rader said. For more information, they can contact the company by e-mail at reservations@grandluxerail.com (the preferred method) or call (800) 320-4206.
“We have spoken to all the customers on the next two trips we can reach,” Rader said. The next one, Great Northwestern National Parks, had been scheduled to depart Saturday from the Seattle area.
Industry insiders expressed surprise at the shutdown of GrandLuxe, which earlier this year was named one of the world’s Top 25 trains by the Society of International Railway Travelers. In a review published in March, the Sunday Times of London called the train “simply awesome.”
– Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor
17 Comments on “GrandLuxe Rail will cease operations Friday”
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August 28th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
How sad. We just returned from the trip July 23-31,2008 seeing 4 of our beautiful national parks and had a wonderful time. This was truly a trip of a lifetime. 1st class all the way. We hope Grand Luxe remains in operation.
August 29th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Was contacted by Grandluxe at 4:00PM on Wed. Aug. 27 and advised that our Wed. Sept. 3 Grandluxe rail journey had been cancelled by Grandluxe who was “financially unable to continue operations”.
Calls to Travel Insured international, the provider of the Grandluxe Rail Journeys Travel Protection Plans that we purchased, have evidenced their position that we purchasers in fact are not eligible for Trip Cancellation Benifits arising from “Grandluxe bankrupcy and financial default”.
No offer of reimbursement by Grandluxe at this time.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hi Jim-
Thanks for your comment. I’ve never been on the train, but it got some great reviews. Sounds like it was a great way to see the parks.
August 30th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Bill makes a good point: When you buy insurance from the travel supplier, it often doesn’t cover default of that supplier. Anyone else run up against this problem?
August 31st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I just submitted my request for information concerning a trip from NYC to Calif. within the next 3 months before I read that GrandLuxe is no longer operating. If this is true, why do you still have a website up requesting personal information when you don’t offer any trips and are no longer in business? This is not very honest and I would have preferred not to disclose this info. Also, you have wasted my time.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
We had purchased the Great Northwestern Parks trip leaving on September 17th. We recieved all of our paperwork and a request to supply our meal desires at certain locations. I called them to give them this info on the 27th of August. They asked why I was calling and I explained agin. Then they said “just a minute” and left the phone for about 2 minutes. When they got back on the lady stated ” we have ceased operations as of yesterday.” Now I am in the hassel of getting my money back. The credit card company says they are trying to contact Grand Luxe to see if they want to dispute my dispute. The insurer says they won’t pay anything until the credit card company says what they will do. The credit card company says it will be another 45 days and the insurer says it will be 6 weeks after that. Stay tuned for the next chapter which will be sometime next year. The airlines charged us $300 to not fly but refused any refund to us leaving us with tickets that are nearly worthless. We have gone on a trip on the Orient Express 2 years ago and would have never guessed anything like this could happen. Shame on Tom Rader and the rest of the executives at Grand Luxe. There are certainly many people out there that are willing to pay a reasonable price for this luxury train trip. I guess Grand Luxe didn’t know how to manage the money.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Hi Paul–
What a hassle. I wonder if your credit card might give you a refund on your air tickets? The Fair Credit Billing Act might be useful to check out, if you haven’t already: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre28.shtm.
I’d be interested in hearing how you come out on this.
Jane Engle,
Assistant Travel Editor
Los Angeles Times
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Thank You Jane for your sugestions. I am looking into the Federal Trade Commision today. In all fairness to those affected, I only lost out on a trip. There are a lot of train personnel that are losing out on jobs and many travel places that are losing out on busines including food vendors, hotels, guides and bus companies. I know from my experience with the first trip on the American Orient Express that these people were outstanding and performed well above the average. I truly feel sorry for all of them but I know that there outstanding character and dedication to work will help them retain new opportunities in the travel industry. I can’t say enough good things about the magnificent meals and cleanliness of the rooms/cabins and support of the guides as well as the maintenance and service staff performing their everyday jobs at an above average level. I wish them all the best of luck in pursuing their next career.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Mr. Mangan,
I was one of the butlers on the AOE/GLE. I worked the train off and on since 1994. We were informed on Wednesday Aug 27 at 9:00am and were instructed to start packing because EVERYONE was being sent home once we got to Tacoma the following day.
Trying to find work since then has been difficult, most places won’t hire me because I’m extremely over-qualified. I have picked up odd-jobs with a few privately owned railcars but it’s not the same..
Javier Garza
Washington Car Butler
1994-2008
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I was on the tour from New Mexico to Tacoma Washington in mid July. We met you Javier. You have been treated very shabbily, indeed.
December 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
We took one of their trips in 2007 and it was a very bad experience. You are better off losing part of your money rather than taking the trip and getting ripped off for the whole amount.
January 26th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Has it been determined whether or not GrandLuxe has declared bankruptcy? We received our “smail mail” contact from Grandluxe. I called the office. I was told to wait, it had not been determined if prepaid trips could be refunded. We were completely prepaid for a presidential suite on the long postponed Mexico/Copper Canyon trip. If they have declared , I’d like to be contacted as a creditor.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Hi Steve–
Thanks for your e-mail, and sorry you had that bad experience. I haven’t seen any news stories indicating that GrandLuxe has filed for bankruptcy. In any event, your best bet, if you paid for your trip with a credit card, is to seek a refund from your credit card company. Bankruptcy proceedings can take years and may pay only pennies on the dollar, if at all. I hope this helps, and good luck!
Jane Engle
Assistant Travel Editor
Los Angeles Times
February 10th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Hi Jane,
Your advice about working with the credit card company is the best advice. After slowly going through the very long procedure and working with the crsdit card company from August until now as well as the Travel Insurance company I was able to get all but a thousand dollars back of the total amount I originally paid out. It takes time and you must not get frustrated even though it is a frustrating procedure. I am relieved that it has had a reasonable outcome for us. I would still travel with whoever ends up running the service if it runs again. It was the best trip my wife and I ever went on and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Does anyone know the status of the equipment? I had heard that there were negotiations in progress but I have not heard if there had been any results.
February 12th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Grand luxe has been bought by Phillip Anshultz. I hope he intends to get it rolling this year as unlikely as that seems.
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I am betting they were in trouble before the economy took its toll. We took the Northwest National Park Rail vacation with Grandluxe a couple of years ago. True, we had a state room, but I would not call it a luxury trip. Not with waitresses calling you honey, daytrips without planning for forecast of rain (which materialized)and left us stuffed in small antique tour vehicles without lunch, and on the same day, shortenng time for breakfast availability without adequate notice, leaving many without either breakfast or lunch, switching day trip destinations without notice, and no real time to even take a good walk through the parks. Passengers were good sports, it was fun, staff did their heart breaking best, but it wasn’t a luxury trip, not even a bit.
September 13th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I am saddened that the GrandLuxe Rail Journeys have ceased to exist. I live in Caliente, Nevada and watching the train go by is truly a memory. One day I hope to have enough money to take the train ride of a lifetime.