As luxury travel brands go, the Orient Express has been remarkable for its savvy ability to unveil one unique experience after the other, invariably cornering the high ground, sometimes literally, with a luxuriously grand fleet of trains and hotels. And now, the high seas are firmly in the cross-hairs, the marque recently announcing the debut of the first of two yachts.
Suite door
Scheduled to set sail through the Adriatic, Mediterranean and the Caribbean in the summer of 2026, the Orient Express Corinthian will be – for now, anyway – the world’s largest sailing yacht, clocking in at 220m from bow to stern. Crowned by three 100m-high masts which can unfurl 4,500 sqm of sails, the vessel, propelled solely by wind, can reach speeds of 17 knots, though a high-tech LNG-powered engine is reassuringly on hand.
On every metric, the 54 all-suite yacht is an object of beauty, its super structure conceived at the Nantes-based shipyard, Chantiers de L’Atlantique, and its Grecian-luxe interiors by Maxime d’Angeac, the architect and artistic director of Orient Express. ‘Drawing inspiration from the golden age of luxury cruises, the Corinthian reinvents movement and comfort on the water,’ says Sébastien Bazin, Group Chairman & CEO of Orient Express’s owner, Accor.
Desk and daybed
Maxime D'Agneac, architect and artistic director of Orient Express
Not that guests will be spend too much time holed up in their suites. Not when the Corinthian lays out five restaurants, eight bars, a cabaret, cinema, spa and - just in case you’re moved by all that fresh sea air to exercise your vocal chords - an actual recording studio. All this alongside an almost 17m lap pool.
Swathed in a palate of creamy accents, timber veneer wall panels, slender Ionic columns, Greek key patterns and Art Deco wardrobes, the suites are framed by deeply-set bay windows, with bathrooms edged with rich red-veined marble.
Suite view
Suite bathroom
Bathroom detail
By any yardstick, these are usually busy times for Orient Express as the brand preps for the unveiling of two hotels - one in Rome by the end of the year, and another in Venice next year - as well as the launch of another train, La Dolce Vita Orient Express, which will journey through Italy.
The suite
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