Business Traveller
Opulent sleeper train to take it up another notch
Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN • Updated 28th June 2017
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(CNN) — If there's one drawback to having an authentic 1920s train experience, it's the way Golden Age passengers bathed on their journeys.
They didn't.
Hence, there are no showers or baths aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express -- the luxurious European sleeper train that's known for its romantic old-world charm and fleet of vintage carriages from the 1920s and '30s. But that's about to change.
Belmond, the company that operates the train, has revealed the designs of the three new Grand Suites to be added to the service in March 2018.
Each of the suites will have a double/twin bedroom, a living area -- which includes a dining area and a sofa that can be converted into an additional bed -- as well as an en suite bathroom with shower, washbasin and toilet.
Like the rest of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the interior designs of the new rooms will stay true to the train's opulent historical style.
Inspired by and named after three of the destinations the train covers -- Venice, Paris and Istanbul -- the carriages will be furnished individually, from Italian Baroque-style silk and glass lamps in the Venice suite to hand-carved timber and lavish metal details in the Istanbul suite.
Other exclusive perks for guests of the Grand Suites include a dedicated steward, bespoke amenities, complimentary caviar on arrival and free flow champagne during the journey.
The cost of a trip in a Grand Suite on Venice Simplon-Orient-Express ranges from £5,500 ($7,036) per person (a one-night journey from London to Venice or vice versa) to £15,500 ($19,829) per person (an annual 10-day voyage from Paris to Istanbul).
