Hobo Inn

We drove by the Hobo Inn on our way to a hike a few weekends ago and were sufficiently intrigued by the idea of staying in a caboose! Don’t take the «four-​stars» review the wrong way… this is definitely a no-​frills motel. But it’s NEAT! You’re staying in a train car! The beds were pretty comfortable, there’s a mini fridge, a coffee maker, some board games and a deck of cards, and even a tiny TV to keep you entertained. Personally, we opted for some bottles of Cook’s sparkling wine and an Estonian card game to keep us busy and really enjoyed our stay.
The proximity to Mt. Rainier’s Longmire entrance made it a perfect choice.

It’s not a 4 star hotel like Seattle. This is Elbe folks. But for the town and location it’s 4 stars. The beds and pillows are comfy. It’s very clean and tidy. Each room is an old train car. We stayed in the red caboose car and you can sit in little couches in the top of the caboose and look out! My 7 yr old son thought this place was the best thing since sliced bread. If your kid loves trains stay here! Fairly moderate price. Not bad. The restaurant is great; great homemade food. And the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad is steps away. What a great find. Friendly little town. Each train car has its own bathroom, shower, TV, and fridge.

We stayed here out of emergency when we had car trouble and it was the only place in town. It was the most expensive night on our trip at around $ 120 for a 2 bed room but it is in a restored caboose which was a first for two of the group. The room was clean and had a VCR with videos so we got our retro on as there was nothing much else to do.
Its a nice place for a novelty stay but if you expect anything fancy go somewhere else also the only food here is also out of a train as is the bar and pizza place. Staff were helpful in lending there phone and advice which was helpful.

Nice novelty for my son but even he (at 9) was afraid of the shower! It was $ 126 for the night and the bed was fine and shower hot so by Hobo standards it was pretty swell.

Enjoyed our stay at the Hobo Inn! I thought my boyfriend would get a kick out of sleeping in a caboose and I was right. Very cute room, air conditioned, mini fridge, table and chairs, tv to play vhs movies (we watched Forrest Gump!), bathroom with shower… everything you need. Was this super fancy? No, of course not. You’re sleeping in a converted rail car, not the Ritz! The room was clean and quiet and the staff was great! No cell service or WiFi which, to me was a plus. It’s nice to unplug for awhile.
Had dinner in the lounge car. Again, cute atmosphere, server was great! They could probably put a little more effort into their food. It was a little overpriced and nothing to write home about. I figure, it’s probably difficult to get a great chef to move to Elbe to work so I’ll cut them some slack.
Rode the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad the next morning — it was lovely and we had a blast! It would be nice to see more seats filled on the train! I’d hate to see it go under because not enough folks experienced it!

My wife had a coupon to ride the train, and a weekend getaway was overdue, so we tried the Hobo Inn and the dining car restaurant one Saturday night. It’s a great idea for a hotel, but needs some work. I stay in lots of hotels on business and in an old theme venue don’t expect the same standards, but the rooms aren’t clean. Ours had half-​empty shampoo bottles and someone else’s half used soap in the bathroom. For what we paid it wasn’t worth it, even with the «free» breakfast which consisted of OK eggs and very crumbly pancakes that needed lot’s of syrup. The restaurant service is wonderful, nice people; the hotel is another story– rushed into taking the room, no chance to check out the others, and no response when we asked if they had any other VHS movies on hand (who wants to watch «Glitter?»). We were glad to check out, and if we ever stay down that way again will look for a decent motel.

We had to give this place a try as my husband is a railroad employee!
Gave this a 2 star rating because it was not a great place but not a bad place either.
Pros: Very Unique. Clean. Air Conditioning. Comes with full breakfast served next door in the dining car. Bar was nice — ate dinner in there and then played the pinball machine. Military Discounts.
Cons: Lock on first unit (car #1) didn’t work — had to move to another unit (car #5) — husband kept having to run back and forth to dining car (in the rain/​mud at 10pm), which is the hotel office. Small showers. No seating in room. No phone, no televisions, no wireless (okay unless you have kids-​which we don’t). They do have a small tv for movies but it is for VHS. Could only preview room through a tiny window. Outdated furnishings. Small, sqeaky beds. No hairdryer in unit #5 — which the staff told me there would be. Very Steep steps to get into unit — would not be easy for elderly or handicapped. Lot is in need of gravel with several large potholes and is very muddy. Finally, I think it is pricey for the overall condition of the units. If you factor in that you get breakfast — it is a little better. Meal prices are on the expensive side — would not have eaten there if not for staying there. No discounts for AAA, AARP or railroad employees!
All in all, this was a unique, one time experience.

Just a note: The «filtered» review by Jackie W. Kelso, WA is as complete as mine or the other review shown. And it is accurate. As usual Unilocal’s filters are garbage.
As long as you realize you are staying in restored antiques (and make allowances for that) this will be a great experience. I am putting the pros and cons below, but I suggest you stay here (if you can) even if the cons bother you.
Pros:
You get to stay in a CABOOSE! COOL!
You support the preservation of vintage railways.
They’re cute.
It’s pretty much the only place to stay in town.
It has a full service restaurant, bar, and they are in DINING CARS! COOL!
Bar looked nice, I don’t say that about many bars.
Breakfast is included.
No smoking in rooms.
Air conditioned
Quiet peaceful. Close to national park.
Fairly clean.
It’s next door to (and associated with) the Scenic Steam Train.
Cons:
Steep steps (pretty sure no handicapped rooms)
The inside of a caboose would be a great place for a kid to get hurt if you don’t keep ‘em from it.
Staff seems a little paranoid. Maybe it’s justified given the tourists going by. Various things, just an example, you can’t look at a room before you pay, you might use the bathroom or track in dirt. I guess no staff to walk you over?
May be a little pricey for some folks: $ 126 (I recall) But as they pointed out, with breakfast, that close to the park, it’s fair.
Spider webs, lots on outside, some on inside.
In the one I stayed in, the fixtures were ok, but not «hotel» level. In other words, if a smallish shower stall bugs you :(I was ok with it.
AC blows on bed. Most windows don’t open.
Our breakfasts, while large, were not the greatest. I’ve had much worse but… It the kind of place that puts kid’s rainbow sugar sprinkles on the whip cream on the powdered sugar that is on the Belgian waffle. No maple trees were bothered for the «maple» syrup — just high fructose corn. The berry sauce for the waffles was pretty synthetic tasting. My bacon was good. Eggs were fine. Pancakes and waffles were ok. Non dairy creemers, milk on request. My suggestions: Go for meat and things that they are unlikely to sweeten. Bottom line: I don’t mean to run them down, but I like a good diner /​greasy spoon breakfast, ie not healthy, but worth it, this one was not worth it. Maybe ordering something different would have helped, maybe if we stayed again… But I wouldn’t stop for breakfast if I was going by.
All that «con» stuff aside: It was fun, it was unique, I’d stay again. But I wouldn’t recommend it to the 5 star resort crowd.

This Awesome!!! a hotel made from old railroad cars. Who wouldn’t want to spend the night in that!!!