Since Orient Express first re-emerged in 2016, following a near-40-year disappearance, and its subsequent acquisition by Accor, the company is in the “most exciting phase” of its renaissance, according to Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer of Accor and CEO of Orient Express.Perez-Alvarado pointed to the April debuts of La Dolce Vita Orient Express, offering eight itineraries across 14 regions in Italy, and Orient Express La Minerva in Rome, the first Orient Express-branded hotel—as well as to the upcoming debuts of Orient Express Corinthian, touted as the world’s largest sailing yacht, and its second hotel, Orient Express Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in Venice – earmarked to open on 1 April 2026.
“We’re going from a dream, an idea, to pre-sales to, now, having an actual product, to having guests, to getting feedback, to reacting to the feedback,” Perez-Alvarado told LATTEthis week at Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas. “It’s everything happening all together.”Pulling from its 140-plus-year-old history, the modern Orient Express is not just building trains, hotels and yachts to have a stake in each of these travel segments: it’s all part of creating a “grand voyage,” according to Perez-Alvarado. The idea is you can visit (as of now) Italy, staying at Orient Express hotels and travelling via Orient Express trains.
But, with the upcoming launch of its first-ever sailing vessel (in October 2026), Orient Express, she said, will soon be able to weave its “golden thread” beyond just continental Europe.
What Will Orient Express’ Future Look Like?
Although Perez-Alvarado didn’t make mention of any specific future properties, according to a no-longer-online Orient Express Brand Brochure, upcoming hotels may be located in Diriyah Gate, Saudi Arabia (reportedly opening in 2027), as well as in Aqaba, Jordan, and Aswan and Luxor in Egypt. On the sailing side, a sister ship to Corinthian (named Olympian) is under construction and is slated to debut in 2027.Perez-Alvarado said, however, that despite a planned global presence, we shouldn’t expect too large or fast of an expansion.“We don’t want to grow big; this is very select,” she told us. “This is very precious. It’s like your best perfume—it comes in a very small quantity because it’s intense.”
