He was all that was missing to return to the golden age of the Orient Express legend. The largest sailing ship in the world, measuring 220 metres long and 25 metres wide, with its three masts soaring over 100 metres high. Inside and on its decks, it boasts everything to entice the most affluent clientele, including five restaurants overseen by the multi-Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno, eight bars, a Guerlain spa, a swimming pool, and 54 suites meticulously decorated by the finest French craftspeople.
Carrying the revival of this mythical name from the golden age of travel, the Accor group had already launched a luxury train in Italy, the Orient Express Dolce Vita, while awaiting the resumption next year of the Paris to Istanbul route with original carriages of reinvented Art Deco splendour. It had also opened two hotels, in Rome last year and very recently in Venice. The Orient Express Corinthian thus concludes this ultra-exclusive trilogy of palaces on wheels, afloat, or securely moored in the world's most beautiful destinations.
Christened on April 29th in Saint-Nazaire, where it was built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique (see box), the sailing ship will begin its first cruising season in Lisbon on May 2nd, before sailing throughout the Mediterranean until autumn, then heading to the Caribbean for the winter. Before new itineraries in 2027, particularly towards the Eastern Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
No more going from palace to palace from Nice to Capri, via Monaco or Porto-Cervo: this hotel « the most mobile in the world "– as described by Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin – breaks down the constraints, taking travellers from one destination to another. Without having to pack and unpack, without taking a car, in complete freedom.
"For three months now since we've been marketing it, we're seeing that the Orient Express is a destination in its own right. Customers want to get on board and let themselves be guided.”, noted Sébastien Bazin. Regarding the marketing, the CEO of the French hotel group revealed that he had "A lovely surpriseupon seeing the enthusiasm for chartering the boat. An appeal that is equally divided between families wanting to celebrate a wedding or anniversary and companies wishing to treat their clients in the most exceptional way.
While individual bookings are open for the summer period, the Orient Express Corinthian is indeed dedicated, until mid-July and then at the end of the season, to private or corporate events. In this context, the yacht will call at Cannes for the duration of the festival, giving luxury travel agencies the opportunity to see the refinement of the venue first-hand.
"It is well known that the positioning of a boat is a "killing factor". Is it a coincidence that the boat will never be very far from Monaco at the time of the Grand Prix, from Venice during the Mostra, or from Saint-Tropez during the Voiles de Saint-Tropez? It will be positioned where people will want to carry out these privatised events.”, explains Philippe Heltland Brault, president of Orient Express Sailing Yacht, the company that owns the yacht, whose capital is held by Accor and LVMH, both partners in the operation of the Orient Express brand and the management of hotels, trains and boats, in addition to the Swiss investor Millenium.
With its 54 suites – a deliberately limited number – and its 115-seat amphitheatre, with its decks and restaurants for cocktails and gala dinners, the Orient Express is – for a price with nearly six zeros at the end of the cheque – suited to events of exceptional exclusivity in an equally exceptional setting.
Nautical chic, steam-powered glamour, and vice versa: architect Maxime d’Angeac, Artistic Director for Orient Express, responsible for the design of both trains and sailing yachts, has worked hand-in-hand with Chantiers de l’Atlantique to design interiors reminiscent of the brand’s signature Art Deco universe while also, Mediterranean obliged, taking detours between the grandeur of ancient Greece and the golden age of the French Riviera.
The suites spread across decks 4, 5 and 6 – some are duplex, some have terraces while others offer large day beds on which to relax while gazing out to sea – fit this theme, adopting the train's colour palettes and adapting them to more generous volumes and the marine environment. Another atmosphere can be found on deck 7, where the six penthouse suites play on contemporary lines. Among them is the Agatha Christie suite, the largest of all, which occupies the entire width of the ship and extends over 235 m². A yacht within a yacht, this deck 7 can also be privatised in its entirety, for around twenty people, with dedicated chef and butler, exclusive dining room and private lift.
While the Orient Express Corinthian will soon depart from Saint-Nazaire for its maiden voyage, its sister ship, the Orient Express Olympian, is already undergoing fitting out following its launch on April 17th. It is scheduled for launch in 2027.
