Belmond presents luxurious plans for 2025

Belmond shares its strategic outlook for 2025: plans that mark its expansion in several aspects of luxury travel to diversify its portfolio.

The luxury travel firm plans to expand its world-leading railway offering with the launch of a new sleeper train; further enhance and diversify its remarkable portfolio by taking it to greater heights; amplify its range of cultural and culinary experiences.

The strategy behind these plans aims to bring the concept of Slow Luxury to life.

What is Slow Luxury? 

With Slow Luxury, each property’s identity is steeped in the value of time and promotes mindful living. It is crafted through the thoughtful curation of an outstanding portfolio and the attentive creation of memorable life experiences. 

Slow Luxury celebrates exceptional craftsmanship, local sourcing, curated exclusivity, genuine encounters and cultural richness. 

The concept cultivates a sense of time that allows for deeper connections: with cultures, with nature, with people, and with oneself.

Belmond CEO Dan Ruff said: “Our properties’ identity is rooted in Slow Luxury. In 2025, we will elevate this further by inviting guests to discover a new pace of travel, allowing for deeper connections with the destination. They can embark on the first luxury sleeper train in England and Wales, or indulge in our first private summer residence in Portofino. We continue to build a new legacy as we enhance our properties, focusing on celebration, epic journeys, wellness in nature and creative terroir.”

Luxury on the tracks

In July 2025, Belmond will launch the first luxury sleeper train in England and Wales: Britannic Explorer, A Belmond Train, UK. 

It will fuse a celebration of exceptional rail history and epic touring with contemporary British gastronomy, culture and style, offering three or six-night journeys with a selection of three captivating routes through the spectacular natural landscapes of Cornwall, the Lake District, and Wales. 

Fine dining experiences will be designed by acclaimed Michelin star Chef Simon Rogan, pioneer of the farm-to-fork movement. 

A considered cultural programming will offer exclusive access to some of the nations’ rare or hidden gems. 

Wilderness will be enjoyed through open-water swimming and invigorating hikes. 

The train, crafted in England with elegant interiors by Albion Nord, will feature 18 cabins (15 Suites and three Grand Suites), a wellness suite, two restaurant cars and a bar located in the Observation Car.

The Royal Scotsman, A Belmond Train, UK will introduce a majestic seven-night new journey, the Grand Tour of Scotland, a new Grand Suite carriage named Heron in July 2025 and Chef Tom Kitchin will be back on board for a unique gastronomic experience on the rails.

In March 2025, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, Europe’s most extraordinary new carriage will join the rake, redefining the modern luxury rail experience and setting a new milestone and legacy for the future of the industry. 

L’Observatoire by artist JR is the train’s first carriage designed by an artist, and is its most exclusive and spacious accommodation type, encompassing an entire carriage. The interiors flow through several micro-environments, from the bedroom featuring a free-standing bathtub, a bathroom, a lounge with a daybed, library, hidden Tea Room, with never-seen-before oculus-shaped skylights. 

This artwork in motion pays tribute to the train’s rich history of timeless craftsmanship and its myriad mythical journeys: inspiring wonder and curiosity, it adds a new dimension to time travel and invites travellers to reconnect with their creative selves. 

The Venice Simplon-Orient Express will continue to launch new itineraries pairing the Art Deco journey on board with a lavish stay in storied Belmond Italian properties to convey a sense of time-travelling grandeur. 

The highly acclaimed Paris to Portofino route launched in 2024 will return and can be combined with a stay at Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino. In spring 2025, a Paris to Tuscany route will launch and the journey can be extended to Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel, Tuscany.