I found most of the complaints leveled against the VL to be either subjective or groundless, in my experience. I prefer them.
I have never experienced the "light up feature" at night. The room has always seemed as dark as any other. What I always use in any sleeper, VL or SL, is clips to help keep curtains completely closed. I have not noticed VL curtains to be any different from the SL. I prefer the VL door window shades, though I realize that these tend to jam up over time. Neither have I noticed the daytime glare to be any more or less, or the level of AC/heat control to be different.
Of course the toilet in a standard VL compartment is tight. But I would MUCH rather have this than share a common latrine. I can take my time and not worry about who might be waiting for me to come out, the pungent fragrance left behind, the cleanliness of the person who came out just before me, and the list goes on.
Only once have I ever seen luggage in a shower compartment. All one needs to do is either move it or ask the attendant. I cannot see not wanting a VL standard on this basis. And it was cute to read that the SL bathrooms are allegedly always equipped with an abundance of fresh towels, implying that the VL shower is not. This, naturally, depends on the efficiency of the attendant and is unrelated to the equipment.
Squeaks and rolls seem to be to be the same to me on both types of cars, with more sway on the upper level SL. The four public toilets "benefit" mentioned for the SL was a little disingenous, as there are private toilets for each VL standard, so the purported benefit of the former is unclear.
Some would consider stairs a disadvantage, rather than the opposite. Ditto for the larger size of the car, for that matter.
Some of the SL I cars still have the rust-colored, 1970's era decor in the compartments.
It obviously is a matter of opinion and that is fine. I simply cannot see expressing subjective observations as though they were hard facts.
