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Formerly | Orient-Express Hotels Ltd |
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Hospitality |
Founded | 1976 |
Headquarters | Hamilton, Bermuda [1] |
Key people | Roeland Vos (Chairman) Dan Ruff (CEO) |
Services | Hotels, trains, cruises, restaurants |
Revenue | US$ 576.84 million (2018) [2] |
Parent | LVMH |
Website | www |
Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide. [3] In 2015, the company had 35 deluxe hotels, 7 tourist trains, 3 river cruises and restaurants in 22 countries.
The company was founded in 1976 by the American entrepreneur James Sherwood with the acquisition of the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Italy, from the Guinness family for £900,000. Sherwood then bought a number of historic rail cars similar to those used on the original Orient Express train, which he restored and used to offer rides from Paris and London to his hotel in Venice to wealthy clients, [4] thus the former name of the company. Much of the history of the company is documented in James Sherwood's memoir Orient Express: A Personal Journey.
On 10 March 2014, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd was renamed Belmond, [5] [6] [7] [8] and on 1 July 2014, Belmond's holding company was also renamed Belmond Ltd. [9]
In April 2015, Belmond Limited partnered with Irish Rail to launch the luxury train Belmond Grand Hibernian in Ireland. [10] In July 2016, Indian Hotels Company Limited sold most of its 5.1% stake in Belmond, retaining only 0.44% of Belmond after the sale. [11]
In December 2018, the company agreed to be acquired by LVMH [12] in a $3.2 billion transaction which would delist the company from the New York Stock Exchange and make it 100% privately owned.[ citation needed ] The announcement of the sale led Belmond's share price to increase by 40% in a single trading day. [13] The deal closed in April 2019. [14]
Type | Route | Name |
---|---|---|
Sleeper trains | London-Venice | Venice Simplon-Orient-Express |
Scotland | Belmond Royal Scotsman | |
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand & Laos | Eastern and Oriental Express | |
Peru | Belmond Andean Explorer [note 2] | |
Day trains | Great Britain | Belmond British Pullman |
Peru [note 3] | Belmond Hiram Bingham | |
River Boats | France | Les Bateaux Belmond (five canal and river barges) |
Country | City | Name |
---|---|---|
United States | New York City | 21 Club |
United Kingdom | Oxfordshire | The Restaurant at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons |
London | The Lalee | |
Portugal | Madeira | William Restaurant |
Italy | Venice | Oro Restaurant |
Taormina | Otto Geleng Restaurant | |
Florence | La Loggia | |
Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | Mee |
Rio de Janeiro | Ristorante Hotel Cipriani |
The Orient Express was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, with terminal stations in Paris in the northwest and Istanbul in the southeast, and branches extending service to Athens, Brussels, and London.
Machupicchu or Machupicchu Pueblo, also known as Aguas Calientes, is a location in Peru situated in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province. It is the seat of Machupicchu District. Machupicchu lies at the Vilcanota River. It is the closest access point to the historical site of Machu Picchu which is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away or about a 90-minute walk. There are many hotels and restaurants for tourists, as well as natural hot baths which gave the town its colloquial Spanish name, Aguas Calientes or hot water.
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) is a private luxury train service from London to Venice and other European cities. It is currently owned by Belmond.
The Belmond Hotel Monasterio is a five-star hotel in Cusco, Peru. It is a refurbished Baroque seminary built in the 17th century on Inca foundations. The hotel is located two blocks from the Plaza de Armas, in the former premises of Saint Anthony the Abbot Seminary.
PeruRail is a railway operator providing tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru. It was founded in 1999 by two Peruvian entrepreneurs and the British company Sea Containers.
The Great South Pacific Express was a luxury Australian train service, run in by Queensland Rail and Belmond, the operator of the Venice-Simplon Orient Express.
James Blair Sherwood was an American-born, British-based businessman, and the founder of Belmond Limited and Sea Containers.
The Belmond Hotel Cipriani is a deluxe hotel on the island of Giudecca in Venice, northern Italy. It is reached by hotel launch from St Mark's Square, a five-minute journey across the lagoon. Long considered one of the leading luxury hotels of the world, its room rates begin at USD $1,400 per night.
Luxury trains are a premium passenger rail service. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others take passengers on a ride through a single country.
Belmond Reid's Palace is a historic hotel located to the west of Funchal Bay in Madeira, Portugal, in an imposing position looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel has sloping gardens. The hotel's complex include more than 40,000 square meters of space designed as a subtropical botanical garden.
Belmond Palacio Nazarenas is a hotel in a former convent built on Inca walls at the centre of Cusco, Peru. It is located in a small square, close by the Plaza de Armas and the city cathedral.
Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado is a hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, 46 kilometres from Cusco, Peru. It is built on the banks of the Urubamba River by Urubamba, near the town of Ollantaytambo, which is known for its Inca archaeological site and as a starting point for one of the longer treks to Machu Picchu. The hotels features 11 suites, 10 rooms, and 2 villas. The hotel has extensive gardens constructed with streams reminiscent of Inca water channels.
Belmond Sanctuary Lodge is a small hotel situated at the entrance to the Machu Picchu Inca citadel. It is the only hotel at this World Heritage Site, and can be accessed by foot or by rail.
Belmond British Pullman is a private luxury train that operates day and weekend journeys around Britain. Until 2023, it also served as the British leg of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) service between London and Venice.
Belmond Hiram Bingham is a luxury train operating day return trips from Poroy station outside Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the station for Machu Picchu in Peru.
The Belmond Grand Hibernian was a luxury train service in Ireland. The service was operated by Belmond, the operator of several other luxury trains including the Venice Simplon Orient Express. It was officially launched on 30 August 2016 and ceased on 18 February 2021 and the service will run in another European country in the future.
Lorenzo Sousa Debarbieri is an entrepreneur, businessman and author from Lima who oversees large privately held tourism and railway companies in Peru.
Belmond Andean Explorer, launched in May 2017, is South America's first luxury sleeper train. It replaces the eponymous Pullman day train, between Cusco and Puno, at Lake Titicaca. By the new train this trip is converted to a one-night journey, and extended from Puno for another overnight ride to Arequipa.
Belmond Las Casitas is a hotel in the Colca Valley, Caylloma Province, Arequipa, Peru, 180 km north of Arequipa and 8 km from the town of Chivay, which is known for its regional market. It is a one-hour hike from the colcas or granaries, hewn into the cliffs just above the river, where inhabitants of the valley dating back to the pre-Inca era would store grain. It is 11.2 km from the Colca Canyon where condors can be seen in flight.