Orient Express hotel in Rome expected to open by year’s end

Accor is inching closer to the debut of its first Orient Express hotel, with the Orient Express La Minerva, Rome expected to begin welcoming guests by the end of this year.

Accor unveiled plans to relaunch Orient Express hotels in 2017, after acquiring a 50% stake in the brand from French national rail company SNCF Group. Rome was announced as the first destination in 2021.

The Orient Express La Minerva will be followed by the Orient Express Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, Venice and Orient Express Diriyah Gate, Riyadh Saudi Arabia in 2025, said Accor.

The expansion comes as Accor joins forces with luxury behemoth LVMH. The pair have forged a strategic partnership to accelerate development of the Orient Express brand for trains and cruises as well as hotels.

Earlier this year, Accor opened bookings for its La Dolce Vita Orient Express luxury overnight train service, which will launch next spring. Last year, the company said it would extend the Orient Express brand into luxury cruising, announcing a 2026 debut for its Orient Express Silenseas sailing ship.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Accor to accelerate the renewal of this travel icon,” said LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, adding that the pair plans to “take Orient Express to the pinnacle of the art of hospitality.”

LVMH is the owner of luxury hospitality group Belmond, which, in addition to its hotels and restaurants, has the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train and five other luxury trains in its portfolio. Belmond previously operated under the company name Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., though the group rebranded to Belmond in 2014 after its licensing deal with SNCF was not renewed.