Robb Report
Who needs a five-star hotel when you have the Orient Express ?
Some 140 years since the train’s first voyage – it debuted on October 2, 1883 – Accor has announced it is opening a new luxury hotel inside the original locomotive. The « dream on wheels » will consist of 17 cars that used to be part of the Nostalgie-Istanbul Orient-Express (the train’s moniker changed according to route). Dating back to the 1920s and ’30s, the convoy has been meticulously restored and now includes 12 sleeping cars, one restaurant and one caboose.
The French hospitality group tasked Paris-based architect Maxime d’Angeac with creating a new contemporary look for the rolling hotel that still reflected the train’s storied past. The result is a classic Art Deco interior that seamlessly blends the two worlds of modern luxury and bygone travel. Charming original features – like woodwork, engraved wall motifs and Lalique panels – play against chic new furnishings. As for accommodation, the century-old sleeper comprises only suites that each come complete with a lavish bathroom.
« The rebirth of the Orient Express is a technological challenge, meeting scientific, artistic, and technical criteria, where the entire project has been conceived as a work of art, » D’Angeac said in a statement. « From the nuts and bolts stamped with Orient Express’ signature to the innovative concept of the suites, an exact science of detail will allow travelers to rediscover the great splendor of the Orient Express. »