One number settles most of this: Belmond runs 40-plus properties worldwide and owns the genuine historic train; Accor's Orient Express has two hotels open. They are different companies that share a name and a tangled history. Book Belmond for range and the real Venice Simplon-Orient-Express; book Orient Express for the newest debut in Rome or Venice.
Affiliate disclosure: when you book through links on this page we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We never accept payment for placement or rankings.
The single most useful thing to know before you book either: they are not the same company. Belmond carried the name Orient-Express Hotels Ltd until it rebranded to Belmond in 2014; LVMH then bought it in 2019 for an enterprise value of about 3.2 billion dollars. Belmond still owns and runs the actual heritage train, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which has carried passengers Paris to Venice since 1982. When people picture the Orient Express, they are usually picturing Belmond's train.
The Orient Express you see opening new hotels is a separate brand. The trademark sits with SNCF; Accor took a stake to develop it as a hospitality label in 2017, and in 2024 LVMH joined with a strategic investment to accelerate it. That brand opened its first hotel only in 2025, Orient Express La Minerva in Rome, followed by Orient Express Venezia in spring 2026. Two hotels, both Italian, both debuts.
So the contest is asymmetric by design: a mature 40-plus-property collection with a proven record against a brand-new label two hotels deep, both flying a version of the same storied name. The numbers, and where each actually wins, follow.
| Belmond | Orient Express (Accor) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Established global luxury collection | Brand-new luxury hotel label |
| Hotels open | ~43-46 properties, ~24 countries | 2 hotels (Rome, Venice), mid-2026 |
| Name history | Was "Orient-Express Hotels" until 2014 | Trademark held by SNCF; revived as a brand |
| Owner | LVMH (acquired 2019) | Accor + SNCF; LVMH investment from 2024 |
| The historic train | Owns Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (since 1982) | Reviving its own train (La Dolce Vita; future relaunch) |
| Track record | Decades; icons like Cipriani & Copacabana Palace | None yet, first hotel opened 2025 |
| HFK score | 8.9 / 10 | 8.8 / 10 (two hotels) |
| Sweet spot | Range, heritage, the real train | Newest, most theatrical Italian debut |
Signature: a worldwide collection of heritage icons, plus the genuine Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train, all under LVMH and its "slow luxury" positioning.
Belmond's advantage is everything Orient Express does not yet have: scale and a record. You can book a Belmond stay on five continents, from the Hotel Cipriani in Venice and Copacabana Palace in Rio to the Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina and Reid's Palace in Madeira. Each is a recognised landmark with decades of operating history, and the group runs the actual heritage train people associate with the Orient Express name. For 2026, Belmond has leaned further into rail with new Venice Simplon-Orient-Express routes and Dior spa tie-ins.
If your goal is a famous, dependable, instantly bookable luxury stay, or the train itself, Belmond is the established answer.
Honest trade-off: Belmond is a collection, not a single coherent brand, so consistency varies property to property, and you should judge each hotel on its own merits. Under LVMH, rates at the marquee properties have climbed, and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is one of the most expensive train experiences in the world for a short journey.
Weighted: Service 25%, Design 20%, Romance / Value / Food 15% each, Location 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments, not guest review averages.
Giudecca-island legend with the city's most famous pool.
1923 Art Deco grande dame on Copacabana beach.
Terraces over the Greek theatre and Mount Etna.
Cliffside infinity pool 350m above the Amalfi Coast.
Signature: a tiny, design-maximalist label putting the Orient Express name on restored Italian palazzi, backed by Accor, SNCF and LVMH.
Orient Express wins on novelty and craft. Its two hotels are unrestrained restoration showpieces: La Minerva in Rome, a 17th-century palazzo on Piazza della Minerva reworked by designer Hugo Toro with 93 keys, and Orient Express Venezia at the 15th-century Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, 47 keys, restored by Aline Asmar d'Amman. Both opened to heavy press and sit among the most talked-about debuts in Italy. For a traveler who wants the single freshest, most theatrical room in Rome or Venice and the cachet of the name on a brand-new property, this is the draw.
The brand is also building outward, the La Dolce Vita Orient Express train in Italy and a future train relaunch, but as hotels go, this is still just two doors.
Honest trade-off: there is no track record, two hotels, both under a year or so old, is a thin basis for trust, and early openings can have teething issues. Rates sit at the very top of the market, you are paying a premium for the name and the newness. And it does not own the historic train most people mean by "Orient Express", that is Belmond's. Outside Rome and Venice, you cannot stay with the brand at all yet.
Weighted: Service 25%, Design 20%, Romance / Value / Food 15% each, Location 10%. Scored on the two open hotels only, a deliberately small sample.
If you want range, a proven record, or the genuine historic train, book Belmond, 40-plus bookable properties worldwide and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express earn it an 8.9 and the safer choice for almost everyone.
If you specifically want the newest, most design-driven stay in Rome or Venice and the cachet of the reborn name, the two Accor Orient Express hotels are spectacular at 8.8, just understand you are an early adopter of a two-hotel brand, not a buyer of the storied train. Range and certainty go to Belmond; novelty goes to Orient Express.
No, and this is the most common confusion. Belmond was called Orient-Express Hotels Ltd until it renamed itself Belmond in 2014; it is now wholly owned by LVMH and still operates the genuine historic train, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. The separate Orient Express hotel brand is developed by Accor with SNCF (which owns the trademark) and, since 2024, an investment from LVMH. They are different companies running different hotels.
The famous blue-and-gold heritage train, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, has run Paris to Venice since 1982 and is owned and operated by Belmond, an LVMH company. Accor's Orient Express brand is separately reviving its own train, La Dolce Vita Orient Express in Italy, plus a future relaunch of a legendary Orient Express train. If you want the train people picture, that is Belmond's.
Belmond operates a global collection of roughly 43 to 46 properties across about 24 countries and territories, spanning hotels, trains, river cruises and safaris. Accor's Orient Express hotel brand has just two hotels open as of mid-2026: Orient Express La Minerva in Rome (93 rooms, opened 2025) and Orient Express Venezia at Palazzo Donà Giovannelli (47 rooms, opened spring 2026). Belmond is a mature collection; Orient Express is a brand-new label.
For breadth, a proven record and the real historic train, Belmond wins; it scores 8.9 on our rubric across 40-plus properties you can book worldwide today. For travelers who want the single newest, most design-driven debut, the two Accor Orient Express hotels in Rome and Venice are spectacular but unproven, scoring 8.8 on the strength of two properties only. Choose Belmond for range; choose Orient Express for the freshest statement stay.
Yes. Orient Express La Minerva, the brand's first-ever hotel, opened in Rome in 2025 inside a restored 17th-century palazzo on Piazza della Minerva, with 93 rooms and suites designed by Hugo Toro. The brand's second hotel, Orient Express Venezia at Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, opened in spring 2026 with 47 keys. Both are taking bookings.
Yes, which adds to the confusion. LVMH owns Belmond outright after acquiring it in 2019 for an enterprise value of about 3.2 billion dollars. Separately, in 2024 LVMH took a strategic investment alongside Accor to accelerate the Orient Express brand. So LVMH sits behind both names, but the two remain distinct operations with distinct hotels and trains.
Subscriber only hotel offers, suite upgrade alerts, and one honest review every Sunday. Free, weekly, unsubscribe anytime.