Robb Report
Last month, Accor announces plans for a luxurious new Orient Express. Now it’s giving the world a look at the train’s crown jewel. The French hospitality group just unveiled the interiors of the locomotive’s prized Presidential Suite ahead of an immersive experience at Design Miami this week. It’s a lodging that’s steeped in history, too.
For the unversed, Accor has decided to repurpose 17 historic carriages from the first Orient Express trains that Georges Nagelmackers launched in the late 1800s for the new locomotive. Orient Express 2.0, which is set to debut in 2025, has been entirely reimagined by French architect Maxime d’Angeac yet still oozes the glitz and glamor of its old-world predecessors. The newly revealed accommodation is further proof of that.
« The Orient Express Presidential Suite captures the essence of the future train, » Maxime d’Angeac said in a statement. « It is a work carved out of excess, inspired by the geniuses and pioneers of Art Deco, Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann and Armand-Albert Rateau, and by the importance of refinement and the absolute finesse of detail. »
Indeed, the top-tier suite occupied an entire car from the former Nostalgie-Istanbul Orient Express. Measuring 69 feet long by nine feet wide, it offers almost 600 square feet of living space. The carriage is anchored by four dramatic columns that feature a fireplace on one side and beautiful Lalique panels on the other. The spacious bedroom is replete with rich velvet and ornate custom furniture, while the elegant bathroom tributes Rateau with Art Deco styling.