I booked the nicest room on the Caledonian Sleeper train to Scotland for $587. The overnight ride luxurious but not perfect.

We booked the priciest room, a Caledonian double en-suite for £445, about $587, one way.

Our room tier includes station lounge access, priority boarding, priority access to the club car, and breakfast on board (served to our room or in the club car).

When we booked, the second most expensive option was the club en-suite room with twin bunk beds and similar perks, priced at about £420 for two travelers.

There’s also a classic room with twin bunk beds and a washbasin that would’ve been about £330 for two. There’s no breakfast included in this tier, but travelers can pay extra for it and have it delivered via the included room service.

Lastly, we could’ve gone with the cheapest option — two seats in the coach car for £168. Though they offer adjustable headrests and footrests, these seats only recline 10 degrees … and I doubted our ability to sleep in a sitting position.

We arrived at Euston at 21:30 — well ahead of our departure at 23:30 — to check in, get our cabin keycard, and explore the station lounge.

It felt a bit busy at times, but there were enough seats for everyone. The two roomy showers and bathrooms off the lounge seemed to be in near-constant use.

We appreciated the help-yourself bar with tea, coffee, and soft drinks, including Irn-Bru — a bright-orange soda that’s considered one of Scotland’s national drinks. Plus, there were complimentary cookies, cakes, and chips.

We could’ve also purchased alcoholic drinks and other hot meals and snacks while in the lounge.

Luckily, getting to our room was pretty easy.

However, the corridors on the train felt really narrow — probably to maximize the space in the rooms — so I was glad we’d only brought backpacks with us.

This might be a tight squeeze for anyone trying to wheel bigger suitcases. On the bright side, though, they won’t have far to go as all rooms seem to be fairly close to a carriage door.

As soon as we opened the door to our room, we saw a neatly made double bed with pristine-looking white sheets.

Arranged on top of it were Scottish treats — including an Arran Sense of Scotland toiletries set and honeycomb chocolate — plus sleep kits containing earplugs and fetching tartan eye masks.

The room didn’t have much decor beyond a framed graphic and a bit of wallpaper, but I’d probably describe it as “modern business hotel with accents of tweed.”

The rooms felt well equipped with free WiFi, several USB ports and power sockets, control panels to adjust the room’s temperature and dim the lights, coat hooks, and under-bed storage for stowing bags.

We found our sink located by the bed (beneath the window) and our private en-suite bathroom (stocked with hand and bath towels) behind a small door.

I wish our window had been bigger, but my visions of gazing at rolling landscapes from my bed in the morning didn’t work out anyway because it was too dark out during our trip.

We traveled in early November and didn’t see daylight until we hit the outskirts of Glasgow.

We left our bags in the room and headed to the club car in the next carriage for a drink.

The club car features cozy booths and swivel seats, functioning as a lounge with table service for dining, drinking, and unwinding. It’s not available to those travelling in coach seats, and priority access is given to those staying in our cabin class or a club room.

Fortunately, the car wasn’t busy at all when we visited, and we had our pick of seats to choose from.

The onboard menu has a decent selection of mains, desserts, drinks, and light bites for an additional cost. It was especially nice to see Scottish-style fare like haggis, neeps and tatties, and a venison stew on offer.

Neither of us could stomach food that late, so we opted to check out the wine list instead. We paid extra for small bottles of wine and prosecco, which were lovely.

Before bed, we filled out cards to choose which breakfast we wanted the next morning and handed them in to the staff.

A full Scottish cooked breakfast was available alongside options such as pancakes with fruit and yogurt, bacon and sausage sandwiches, and porridge pots.

We’d chosen the double room over bunks because we’re both tall—6’0″ and 6’3″ —and my partner has broad shoulders.

However, walls surround the bed on three sides, and with my partner on the fourth, I felt uncomfortably boxed in.

On the bright side, the double bed was complete with a Glencraft mattress, literally fit for royalty. (The Scottish company has supplied mattresses to the British Royal family’s Balmoral Castle for years.)

I did get some sleep, but it was broken and fitful. I woke up at least a dozen times throughout the eight-hour train ride. The complimentary earplugs and eye mask were a godsend.

I tried taking a photo of our shower area, but it seemed impossible due to the room’s angle and how the door opened inward, obscuring the view of what was inside.

Even so, the bathroom felt cleverly designed to switch from a toilet to a shower wet room with the closing of a lid that creates a shelf on which you can sit while showering. I chose to stand, and I still had plenty of space.

The water was hot, the pressure felt surprisingly decent, and the Arran toiletries smelled heavenly.

Though we could’ve had our breakfast delivered to our room, we opted to eat in the club car, hoping we might enjoy some nice views through its large windows.

Unfortunately, it was still quite dark out, and rain obscured the little we could see even more.

Still, we enjoyed drinking our hot coffee and tucking into deliciously crispy bacon and sausage sandwiches with ketchup and brown sauce.

Our train arrived at Glasgow Central on time at 07:30, but we were given until 08:00 to get off.

We took advantage of this buffer because, frankly, we both felt wiped out after a night of broken sleep.

I understand why the Caledonian Sleeper is a popular and sensible option for business travelers.

After all, it’s extremely efficient to travel while you sleep (provided you can sleep). The late departure and early arrival mean your workday, or time at home before you travel, is maximized.

Some people also prefer to book the sleeper because it can be cheaper than booking a standard train ticket and a hotel room. However, this isn’t always the case.

For example, the night after our ride, we booked a room at Novotel in central Glasgow, 15 minutes’ walk from the train station, for £123 — and our stay included breakfast. The next morning, we could’ve taken the standard off-peak train from Glasgow to London for around £166.

All in all, that’s over £150 less than we’d pay for a suite on the sleeper train.

However, this may not be the case if you’re taking the overnight train in the other direction from Glasgow to London, where central hotel rooms are typically far more expensive.

Though flying might’ve taken me under two hours and cost less than £200 a ticket, I prefer the ease and simplicity of the sleeper train.

It was nice to stretch my legs and avoid the stress of navigating airport security and packing for budget-friendly flights.

This route has also long been on my wish list, and I had quite the adventure. However, because the ticket is priced so high, I’m not exactly in any hurry to re-book.

If I decide to splurge on this suite on the Caledonian Sleeper again, I’ll travel alone so I can sleep diagonally across the double bed and be more comfortable.

I’ll also try to travel in the summer when the days are longer — hopefully then I could enjoy some of the panoramic views I was sad to miss.