For more than 140 years, the name Orient Express has conjured images of lacquered marquetry, cut-crystal decanters and a Europe stitched together by moonlit rail. It is shorthand for romance and intrigue, immortalised in the pages of Agatha Christie and forever associated with the golden age of travel.
Now, under the stewardship of Gilda Perez-Alvarado, the brand is undergoing its most ambitious reinvention since its inaugural departure from Paris in 1883. No longer confined to sleeper trains, Orient Express is evolving into a fully fledged ultra-luxury hospitality universe spanning rail, hotels and sea, a deliberate strategy that reflects both shifting traveller expectations and the renewed appetite for experiential, slower journeys.
Perez-Alvarado, who joined Accor as chief strategy officer in 2023 before assuming the CEO role at Orient Express in January 2024, speaks of the transformation in narrative terms. “Each product is a chapter,” she says. “Together they form the book called Orient Express.”
A heritage brand, reimagined
The revival began in earnest in 2022, when Accor acquired the Orient Express brand, separate from the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express operated by Belmond. A year later, Accor deepened its luxury ambitions through a strategic partnership with LVMH, signalling that this would not be a nostalgic vanity project but a serious bid to compete at the apex of global hospitality.
In April, the first tangible expressions of this strategy came to life. The La Dolce Vita Orient Express began rolling through Italy, while Rome welcomed the 93-room Orient Express La Minerva, housed within the 17th-century Palazzo Fonseca, steps from the Pantheon.
Further milestones loom. Orient Express Venezia is scheduled to open in 2026, occupying a restored Venetian palazzo. In the same year, the brand will launch its most audacious venture yet: the Orient Express Corinthian, a 220-metre sailing yacht poised to become the world’s largest of its kind.
For Perez-Alvarado, these launches are not disparate projects but components of a coherent ecosystem. “We are aesthetically inclined, Art Deco is part of our DNA, but it is never design for design’s sake. There is always a story behind it. That story enhances the guest experience.”
Slow travel in a fast world
The brand’s resurgence coincides with a structural shift in luxury travel. The pandemic accelerated a move away from accumulation, of stamps, of selfies, of status goods, towards immersion. Slow travel, once niche, has become a serious commercial proposition.
Rail, by definition, embodies deceleration. The new Italian itineraries meander through lesser-known regions as well as icons such as Venice and Rome, combining Michelin-starred dining with curated excursions into private estates, artisan workshops and historic caves. Guests might find themselves dining beneath frescoed ceilings one evening and listening to musicians perform in ancient Matera grottoes the next.
“Our guests are incredibly well travelled,” Perez-Alvarado says. “They have seen it all. What they want is to see the places they love through a different lens.”
This reframing is central to Orient Express’ appeal. In cities strained by overtourism, the brand’s ability to unlock access, whether through private viewings, after-hours cultural visits or introductions to local custodians, is a defining competitive advantage. The emphasis is not on volume but depth.
Behind the scenes, that requires painstaking relationship-building. “You cannot commoditise these experiences,” she insists. “Our teams work closely with local communities. The staff are the linchpin. They are attuned to guest preferences and they orchestrate the emotional current of the journey.”
From leisure legend to business playground
Although Orient Express remains synonymous with romance, Perez-Alvarado is clear-eyed about its corporate potential. The price point, and the privacy, naturally attracts senior decision-makers from finance, technology, fashion, media and real estate.
“We’ve seen it all,” she says with a smile. “From a networking perspective, it’s a remarkable place to do business. You never know who you’re going to meet.”
There is historical symmetry in that observation. In its 19th-century heyday, the original Orient Express connected not just capitals but elites, diplomats, industrialists and aristocrats who forged alliances as the train threaded across Europe.
Today, entire trains or select carriages can be reserved for corporate buy-outs, from discreet board retreats to high-profile product launches. The format lends itself to incentive travel, where the journey itself becomes the reward. On board, private suites offer both sanctuary and workspace; communal dining cars facilitate conversation that feels organic rather than transactional.
For C-suite travellers increasingly fatigued by anonymous five-star boxes, the proposition is compelling: a contained, design-rich environment where business can be conducted without sacrificing pleasure.
Restoring craftsmanship, sustaining communities
If heritage is the aesthetic backbone of Orient Express, craftsmanship is its moral compass.
In Venice, the forthcoming hotel is being restored in close collaboration with the Italian state, drawing on artisans capable of replicating centuries-old techniques to modern safety standards. Cabinetmakers, glassblowers and textile specialists are not decorative afterthoughts but core contributors.
A similar philosophy underpins the restoration of the historic Nostalgie-Istanbul carriages that will form part of a future French train, L’Orient Express, slated for 2027. Seventeen carriages dating from the 1920s and 30s are being painstakingly revived, engaging more than 30 trades, from marquetry to bespoke lighting.
In an era dominated by digital acceleration and AI automation, this commitment to analogue mastery is striking. “We are helping to keep industries alive,” Perez-Alvarado notes. “These skills are part of cultural heritage. Preserving them is a responsibility.”
For the business travel sector, where ESG criteria increasingly shape procurement decisions, such investments are more than romantic gestures. They are strategic differentiators.
The sustainability scorecard
Luxury is being redefined. As Perez-Alvarado puts it, “In the future, the scorecard will be more than just five stars. It will be: what are you doing for sustainability? Who are you partnering with? What is your carbon footprint?”
Rail already carries inherent environmental advantages over short-haul air. But the brand is extending sustainability considerations into design, sourcing and operations.
The forthcoming Corinthian yacht illustrates the balancing act between indulgence and innovation. Developed in partnership with engineers at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the vessel will be powered by liquefied natural gas, reducing emissions compared with conventional marine fuels. Advanced systems will identify marine life to minimise ecological disruption.
On board, the yacht will feature 54 suites, five restaurants overseen by multi-Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno, and expansive wellness and entertainment areas. It is a study in contrasts: Belle Époque-inspired interiors paired with cutting-edge naval engineering.
For corporate clients under pressure to demonstrate credible sustainability credentials, such measures matter. Hosting a leadership summit on a yacht with a demonstrably lower emissions profile, or incentivising teams via rail rather than private jet, reframes luxury as conscientious rather than conspicuous.
The Accor and LVMH effect
Accor’s experience with heritage brands such as Raffles and Fairmont provides operational ballast. “Europe is blessed with heritage brands,” Perez-Alvarado observes. “We understand how to honour the past while making it relevant.”
Meanwhile, the partnership with LVMH brings ultra-luxury acumen, an understanding of how high-net-worth consumers think, spend and align their values. The objective is not simply to create beautiful assets but to build a coherent, aspirational universe.
That universe is designed to be modular yet interconnected. A guest might begin with a stay in Venice, board La Dolce Vita to Rome, check into La Minerva and then transfer to the Corinthian for a Mediterranean voyage. Each component is distinct, yet the narrative thread, Art Deco elegance, curated access, meticulous service, binds them.
For the business travel community, this creates opportunities for multi-stage programmes: incentive trips that evolve across cities and modes of transport, executive journeys that blend board meetings with cultural immersion.
The art of exclusivity in an age of excess
Luxury’s paradox is that as access expands, exclusivity becomes harder to sustain. Orient Express’ strategy hinges on controlled scale. The trains carry limited guests. The hotels are intimate. The yacht, despite its size, houses just 54 suites.
This scarcity is deliberate. It preserves the sense of theatre, the anticipation of boarding, the ritual of dressing for dinner, the choreography of service.
It also fosters community. On a train or yacht, encounters are inevitable yet curated. Conversations unfold over multiple courses and shared vistas rather than fleeting networking receptions.
For senior executives accustomed to hyper-scheduled conferences, that slower cadence can be transformative. Deals may be discussed, but they are framed by sunsets over the Dolomites or the Ligurian coast.
What, then, is the ultimate ambition? Perez-Alvarado speaks not of scale for its own sake but of cohesion. “Every asset is unique, but we want to loop it together,” she says.
In practical terms, that might mean crafting grand itineraries that weave through the portfolio. But it also means aligning leadership, sustainability commitments and brand values in a way that resonates with a new generation of affluent travellers, those who measure luxury not just in thread counts but in impact.
Orient Express was born in an age when rail symbolised modernity. Its revival, paradoxically, is rooted in a desire to slow down, to rediscover craftsmanship, connection and narrative in travel.
For the corporate world, where business journeys often blur into obligation, the proposition is refreshingly distinct. Here, transit becomes theatre; accommodation becomes story; and networking unfolds against a backdrop of lacquered wood and passing landscapes.
More than a resurrection, this is a reinvention, one that suggests the future of ultra-luxury travel may lie not in ever-faster movement, but in travelling better.
As Perez-Alvarado puts it, with quiet conviction: “You can do it all.”