What else can Orient Express do? They’ve conquered the world of luxury trains for over a hundred years, have recently made their mark on some glorious hotels, and now? They’re conquering the seas.
An unprecedented new chapter in the Orient Express world, Orient Express Corinthian is the first sailing yacht in the Orient Express fleet, and it happens to be the world’s largest sailing yacht. Not bad for a first. Monumental, elegant and oh-so-sleek on the outside, AD Middle East was one of the first few to step onboard inside this extraordinary vessel.
From a distance, the Orient Express Corinthian is already impressive, at 220 metres long and with three tilting masts reaching a height of over 100 metres, it boldly stands out from any neighbouring vessels and on land, people clamour to take a photo of this unusually striking ship.
Inside, it’s just as refined. After a speedy check-in and welcome on-board, guests are ushered to their suites, of which there are only 54, and that’s where the Orient Express magic begins. Rooms are sumptuous and grand with high ceilings, polished wood furniture, curated artwork and art deco refinement galore, from plush velvet furnishings to the gorgeous marble bathrooms to the geometric patterns found on mirrors and cushions. There’s also the views – every suite boasts panoramic windows that seem to invite the sea into your room.
The Orient Express Corinthian was conceived as a floating palace, and it really is – a (surprisingly) Grecian-inspired palace. Palladian columns flank the entryway to suites, bronze Medusa heads hang in the bathroom and custom carpets bordered by a pattern of Grecian tiling and ocean waves are the most memorable interior standouts. It’s all very mythical and fantastical, which is an aesthetic you don’t seem to find in many yachts. And the mind behind the vision? Maxime d'Angeac, architect and the Artistic Director of Orient Express, the same man responsible for reimagining the Orient Express trains. Maxime has a personal passion for Palladian architecture, and notes of it can be seen in every suite.
“We were very much inspired by Villa Kérylos,” says Judith Louët, one of the interior designers who works alongside Maxime d’Angeac. (For those unfamiliar, Villa Kerylos is a house in Beaulieu-sur-Mer built in the early 1900s by French architect Emmanuel Pontremoli, famous for its Ancient Greek Revival style).
Playful elements are dotted around each suite, like the backgammon patterned marble floor in the bathrooms and a subtle wooden box built into the day beds which when opened reveals a chess set, playing cards and dominoes. It’s Orient Express to a T, every corner is filled with some sort of aesthetically-pleasing beauty. And every single thing you see and touch is bespoke, from the textured door handles right down to the genuine leather tissue boxes and coasters, “hand-made in Italy,” Judith proudly adds. In fact, almost everything has been made in Europe by the hands of the finest European craftsmen and women. Even the embroidery work on the curtains have been done by the same atelier responsible for the embroidery at Chanel.
Even though it's all very palatial, the ship carries only 110 guests across its four decks. 48 of its suites are located on desks 4,5 and 6, and the seventh deck is home to the ship’s six Penthouse Suites, the largest being the Agatha Christie suite which spans the entire width of the ship. Decor wise, the Penthouse Suites are a lot more modern with unusual features like cocooned seating areas, curved sofas and chrome fittings, a vision of the Orient Express in perhaps 50 years time.
If you can manage to leave the haven of your room, the rest of the ship is just as striking.
While the suites are light and bright, the halls and corridors of the yacht are moody and dark. “We wanted to keep the halls dark and mysterious to honour original Orient Express trains,” Judith says. “But we have designed the carpet” – maroon and patterned with ripple-like waves – “to be full of movement.” These winding corridors seem like they’re designed for guests to explore, and it’s a good thing they do, because the Orient Express Corinthian is so much more than gorgeous accommodations.
There are five restaurants and eight bars – each with their own distinctive style and personality. Standouts include Le Speakeasy (which is hidden behind a secret wall in the barber’s salon) and is full of roaring twenties vintage charm, L’Encre is every seafood lovers dream and is a nautical delight with fun details like oyster shaped serving bowls and a sculpted silver crab that houses salt in its shell, and the ship's speciality restaurant by Michelin-starred Chef Yannick Alléno, La Table de l'Orient-Express. Even if you're not much of a foodie, it's worth reserving a seat just for the stunning dining room alone which is full of gorgeous dark glasswork, Corinthian-style columns and hand-carved panels featuring a magnificent jungle scene.
There’s no chance of cabin fever on this sailing yacht as there’s a lot to keep passengers busy, like the 115-seat cabaret, a cinema (with seats that have the exact same fabric from the original Orient Express trains, sourced and especially reproduced for the Corinthian from the original supplier of the train in 1910), a Guerlain spa filled with some of the most gorgeous marble-filled treatment rooms, a recording studio, a library and, of course, two pools. The most interesting, Le Couloir De Nage, is perched on deck 7 and is a uniquely skinny 54-ft lap pool that runs beneath the sailboat’s mast. For those who prefer sea to pool, when the Corinthian is anchored, one of the biggest watersports platforms ever built on a yacht unfolds and offers seamless access to the sea.
An aesthetes absolute dream, every space on the Corinthian tells a story, from the breathtaking lobby with its 1930s styled bas-relief panels to the hand-carved rope design that runs around the ceilings of each suite, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any other ship that boasts such attention to detail. But then again, that’s the Orient Express magic.
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