by Richard Ng
Photo: Accor
Before the modern epoch of glitzy aviation came the era of cruise liners. But even before that, railways were the way to go for true luxury – and in that world, there are few luxury railways as iconic as the Orient Express. Launched in 1883 by Belgian civil engineer Georges Nagelmackers, the legendary train brought the well-heeled and well-connected from Paris to Istanbul in the lap of yesteryear luxury.
And come 2024, you might just get the chance to taste of that era’s excess.
In 2015, some 17 carriages from the Nostalgie-Istanbul Orient Express – a later operator that ran a long-haul route from Paris to Tokyo in the ’80s after the final tour of the original train ceased in 1962 – were discovered in Poland and subsequently snapped up by the Accor Group’s Orient Express brand.
After several years of extensive refurbishment under the charge of French architect Maxime d’Angeac – who’s headed other major restorative projects for such luxury houses as Daum, Hermes and Guerlain over the past two decades – history’s most glamorous train is on the cusp of a triumphant return.
It will be hitting the rails once more – though sadly, in three years’ time. While routes haven’t been confirmed just yet, one can expect that the phoenixed train would ply a similar route as before: departing from Paris, and threading scenic lines across the idyllic European countryside.
While there were “immersive exhibitions” held in Paris and Miami over the last two months to give potential guests a preview of the refurbished train, we’ve already missed them. So we’ll have do with the next best thing: pictures and flowery prose.
A ’20s-esque aesthetic heavy with art deco influences
Expect the nouveau Orient Express to ship out with a ’20s-esque aesthetic heavy with art deco influences, contrasted by a whiff of contemporary sensibilities.
The Bar Car features a Rene Lalique-inspired glass bar counter beneath Second Empire-style domed light fixtures, alongside dining tables equipped with dual call buttons: one, to grab attention from staff, and the other, to signal for champagne service. Meanwhile, the Dining Car offers mirrored ceilings, marquetry panels and a decorative nods to 20th-century illustrator Suzanne Lalique-Haviland via a reinterpretation of rail motifs found in her tapestries.
Finally, individual suites, all rounded corners, muted browns and precious materials, are made out to be dens of “absolute comfort”. Think wood and leather partitions opening up to beds bedecked with mother of pearl headboards and sumptuous ensuite bathrooms.
Says chairman and CEO of Accor Sebastien Bazin, “Maxime d’Angeac’s design awakens the myth with the revelation of its luxury, modernity, and French elegance. Tomorrow, the Orient Express will shine again, proud of its 140 years of history and looking to the future. The legend continues.”
If you can’t wait until 2025, a parallel service replete with Italian design elements from the ’60s has been announced for 2024, dubbed La Dolce Vita. Preregistrations for jaunts across the Italy are available here.
