Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide.
In 2015, the company had 35 deluxe hotels, 7 tourist trains, 3 river cruises and restaurants in 22 countries.
History
The company was founded in 1976 by the American entrepreneur James Sherwood with the acquisition of the
Hotel Cipriani
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 t ...
in Venice from the
Guinness family
The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinnes ...
for £900,000. James Sherwood then bought a number of historic rail cars similar to (but likely separate from) those used on the original
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger 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 and int ...
train, which he restored and used to offer rides from Paris and London to his hotel in Venice to wealthy clients,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, and on 1 July 2014, Belmond's holding company was also renamed Belmond Ltd.
In April 2015, Belmond Limited partnered with
Irish Rail
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
to launch the luxury train Belmond Grand Hibernian in Ireland. In July 2016,
Indian Hotels Company Limited sold its 5.1% stake in Belmond, retaining only 0.44% of Belmond after the sale.
In December 2018, the company agreed to be acquired by
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...
in a $3.2billion transaction which closed in April 2019, thus delisting the company from the NYSE and making it 100% privately owned. The announcement of the sale led Belmond's share to increase by 40% in a single trading day.
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Properties
Hotels
Transportation
Restaurants
See also
*
Topdeck
Topdeck Travel is a tour operator providing trips for people aged 18 to 39 throughout Europe, North America, Africa, Egypt and the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Topdeck offers 330 different tours in 65 countries.
History
Early ...
*
Road Scholar
Road Scholar is an American not-for-profit organization that provides educational travel programs primarily geared to older adults. The organization is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. From its founding in 1975 until 2010, Road Scholar ...
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
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{{LVMH
Hotel and leisure companies based in London
Companies of Bermuda
Cruise lines
Multinational food companies
Railway companies of Italy
Railway companies of the United Kingdom
Hotel chains in the United Kingdom
Hospitality companies established in 1976
Railway companies established in 1976
1976 establishments in Italy
2019 mergers and acquisitions
LVMH brands