Jump to content

Belmond Limited

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belmond Ltd.
FormerlyOrient-Express Hotels Ltd
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryHospitality
Founded1976
HeadquartersHamilton, Bermuda[1]
Key people
Roeland Vos (Chairman)
Dan Ruff (CEO)
ServicesHotels, trains, cruises, restaurants
RevenueUS$ 576.84 million (2018)[2]
ParentLVMH
Websitewww.belmond.com

Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates hotels, train services and river cruises and safaris worldwide.[3] In 2024, the company has 47 properties in 28 countries and territories, with 32 hotels, six tourist trains, seven river cruise boats and two safaris.

History

[edit]

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 carriages from the original Orient Express train, which he restored and used to offer rides from Paris and London to his hotel in Venice,[4] thus the former name of the company. Much of the history of the company is documented in 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 partnered with Irish Rail to launch the 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% 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 day.[13] The deal closed in April 2019.[14]

Belmond has continued to grow its portfolio in Italy. In September 2021, it acquired Villa Beatrice in Portofino.[15] In February 2023, the company announced an agreement with Sardegna Resorts S.r.l to manage Romazzino in Sardinia.[16]

It has also added a cluster of new properties in Mexico. In August 2023, Belmond re-opened Maroma following a redesign, in which ten beachfront suites were added.[17] In June 2023 it entered into an agreement with Cora Pacific Development to open Milaroca, a hotel on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, in 2025.[18] In December 2023, the company announced that it had acquired Hacienda Katanchel in Mexico, with a planned opening in 2027.[19]

In December 2022, Belmond announced a ten-year plan to upgrade its properties, which it had already begun with the renovation of Splendido Mare in 2021.[20] Upgrades have included renovations and refurbishments to its trains. In October 2021, Belmond launched a train carriage designed by film director Wes Anderson on the British Pullman train.[21] In 2023, the company also launched a Dior Spa on The Royal Scotsman.[22]

In 2024, the company returned the Eastern & Oriental Express to service, after the train service was paused during the pandemic.[23] The company also launched a Dior Spa aboard, and unveiled a sleeper carriage for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, designed by French street artist JR.[24] The carriage was presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale.[25]

Properties

[edit]

Hotels

[edit]
Continent Country City Name
Europe Italy Venice Belmond Hotel Cipriani
Portofino Belmond Hotel Splendido
Splendido Mare
Florence, Tuscany Belmond Villa San Michele
Casole d’Elsa, Tuscany Castello di Casole
Amalfi Coast Belmond Hotel Caruso
Sicily Belmond Villa Sant'Andrea
Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo
Sardinia Romazzino
Spain Deia, Mallorca Belmond La Residencia
Portugal Madeira Belmond Reid's Palace
United Kingdom London The Cadogan
Oxfordshire Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
North America United States Santa Barbara, California Belmond El Encanto
French West Indies St. Martin Belmond La Samanna
British West Indies Anguilla Belmond Cap Juluca
Mexico Riviera Maya Belmond Maroma Resort & Spa
San Miguel de Allende Casa de Sierra Nevada
South America Brazil Rio de Janeiro Copacabana Palace
Iguaçu Falls Belmond Hotel das Cataratas
Peru Lima Belmond Miraflores Park
Cusco Belmond Palacio Nazarenas[note 1]
Belmond Hotel Monasterio[note 1]
Machu Picchu Belmond Sanctuary Lodge[note 1]
Sacred Valley Belmond Hotel Rio Sagrado
Colca Canyon Belmond Las Casitas
Asia Indonesia Bali Belmond Jimbaran Puri
Thailand Koh Samui Belmond Napasai
Laos Luang Prabang Belmond La Résidence Phou Vao
Cambodia Siem Reap Belmond La Résidence d'Angkor
Africa South Africa Cape Town Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel
Botswana Chobe National Park Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge
Okavango Delta Eagle Island Lodge

Transportation

[edit]
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 (seven canal and river barges)

Other formerly operated trains

[edit]

Restaurants

[edit]
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

Notes and references

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c All Cusco and Macchu Picchu Hotels are a 50% Joint Venture with Peruvian shareholding company Peru Hotel Macchu Picchu SA (Peru Belmond Hotels SA)
  2. ^ (since May 2017) In 50% partnership with the Peruvian shareholder company Peruvian Trains and Railways SA
  3. ^ Belmond has a 50% interest in PeruRail.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Company 10-Q
  2. ^ "Belmond revenue". www.craft.co. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Belmond Ltd. - SEC". Sec.gov. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Belmond's founder deserves his place in its history". Ft.com. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Interview: Behind Belmond's Rebrand of Iconic Orient-Express Name". Skift.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  6. ^ Vora, Shivani (14 March 2014). "Orient-Express Hotels Gets a New Name". Intransit.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Log In". Wsj.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Bloomberg". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. Changes Corporate Name to Belmond Ltd". Hotelnewsresource.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  10. ^ Eoin Burke-Kennedy (22 April 2015). "'Orient Express' company Belmond jumps tracks to Ireland". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  11. ^ Ravi Teja Sharma (2 July 2016). "Tata-owned India Hotels sells 5.1 per cent stake in Belmond for $49.57 million". Indiatimes.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  12. ^ Rupert Neate (14 December 2018). "Orient Express sold to owner of Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  13. ^ Travis Hoium (14 December 2018). "Why Belmond Ltd's Shares Jumped 40% Today". Fool.com}. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  14. ^ "LVMH buys Belmond hotel group for $3.2 bn, including Machu Picchu and Cusco hotels". News from Peru - Peruvian Times. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Villa Beatrice a Portofino, il gioiello immerso nel polmone verde del Parco di Portofino". Harper's BAZAAR (in Italian). 7 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  16. ^ Hanson, Eloise (10 February 2023). "LVMH signs management of two Sardinia hotels". Boutique Hotel News.
  17. ^ Forshaw, Irenie (10 August 2023). "Belmond's Maroma Unveils Extensive Redesign". Elite Traveler. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  18. ^ Rogers, Cara (27 June 2023). "Milaroca, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Nayarit to open in 2025". Sleeper. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  19. ^ "2027 Opening Planned for Katanchel, A Belmond Hotel, Mexico". Hospitality Net. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Deux nouveaux directeurs de division chez Belmond". Hospitality ON (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  21. ^ O'Hare, Maureen (14 October 2021). "Wes Anderson has designed a luxury Belmond train carriage". CNN. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  22. ^ Ayling, Kim (12 April 2023). "The Royal Scotsman Introduces Dior Spa Carriage". Elite Traveler. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  23. ^ "How LVMH exhumed luxury rail with the Eastern & Oriental Express". Australian Financial Review. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  24. ^ Chang, Rachel (12 July 2023). "Belmond's Eastern & Oriental Express Is Launching New Train Routes to Malaysia's Most Uniques Landscapes". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Unveils an Over-the-Top Sleeper Carriage". AFAR Media. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
[edit]
  • Official website
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belmond_Limited&oldid=1250143235"