Just a few months ago, it was revealed that Accor commissioned Parisian architect Maxime d’Angeac to resurrect the original Orient Express as an all-suites travelling hotel. The most romantic emblem of old-world luxury travel being resurrected around 140 years after it first took the rails back in 1883 is news enough, of course, but the hype has been ramped up considerably now Accor has released some first-look images of Orient Express 2.0, including its attractive Presidential Suite as well as its swanky 1920s Bar Car and Dining Car.
The Presidential Suite, the absolute pinnacle of luxury-on-rails, looks like it could be a masterwork for Accor. Images were released to coincide with the Design Miami fair, where the French hospitality giant offered visitors a peek into the future of luxury train travel with a VR walkthrough of the restored locomotive.
All 17 repurposed heritage carriages were included in the VR experience, detailing the historical nods these redesigns have made to the original Orient Express, which was launched by Georges Nagelmackers in the 1800s.
While Orient Express 2.0 won’t be launching until 2025, these images position the travelling accommodation as one of the most exciting developments in hospitality right now.
As the pinnacle offering, the Presidential Suite uses an entire car from the locomotive’s former glory as the Nostalgie-Istanbul Orient Express. It’s got enough space for various luxury amenities with a length of 21 metres and a width of just 2 metres. That translates to around 55 square metres of living space, framed by four columns with a fireplace on one side and Lalique panels on the other.
Guests will be wrapped in supreme comfort with a bedroom touched by rich velvet and ornate custom furniture, adjoining an Art Deco bathroom that pays tribute to the work of Rateau.
Anyone who books the Presidential Suite also has access to an exclusive “LX” luxury cabin from 1929 which has also been treated with a similar sense of occasion. Solid mahogany and marquetry that was found board the original train have been restored for this secondary cabin, along with two plush beds and a hidden room Accor is called the “Cabinet de l’Egoiste” – a dining space dedicated to “good vibes and epicurean festivities.”
If you can even stand to leave your Presidential Suite, you’ll find other cars across the Orient Express have been distinguished with vastly different designs. The Bar Car leans towards a swanky 1920s aesthetic with large domes of light, a glass counter and attractive emerald green furniture where each table has a special press-for-Champagne button. The Dining Car, on the other hand, has an ornate mirrored ceiling and partitions designed to evoke a “rail” motif dating back to the 1930s.
The Orient Express will launch in 2025.
