AccorHotels to Launch it’s Orient Express Brand in Bangkok
Date: December 2018
Location: King Power Mahanakhon Building, Bangkok’s tallest tower, Thailand
Name: The Orient Express Bangkok – opening late 2019
No. of Keys: 154
Owner: King Power Group, the billion dollar business chaired recently until the tragic death of it’s chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanprabha. The company counts several travel and sports brands within it’s duty-free empire.
In the same week that Belmond, formerly known as Orient Express Hotels is sold to LVMH, Accor announces the first Orient Express hotel will open in the landmark King Power Mahanakhon Building in Bangkok.
Imprinted in both history and imagination, the Orient Express brand has been reinvented for the future, with a vision to build a collection of prestigious hotels, steeped in tradition, myth and adventure.
Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels said: “Orient Express has always acted as a passport between worlds and a trip on these legendary trains was historical, touristic and cinematic with an inimitable experience.
This linking of Occident and Orient, of history and modernity, and of curiosity and cultures will be a hallmark of the new Orient Express Hotels and we are excited to bring back this spirit of luxurious adventure to today’s modern travellers.”
Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha Chief Executive Officer of King Power Group said, “The launch of the world’s first Orient Express Hotel at King Power Mahanakhon truly completes our vision of creating an extraordinary landmark that celebrates the city and adds a new milestone to Thailand and the world’s hospitality industry, while further elevating Thailand to a truly world-class destination.
“King Power Mahanakhon seeks for all of its projects to be different, impressive and distinct, exuding excellence in every dimension. We look forward to welcoming visitors from all over the world, and placing Thailand’s tourism scene on the global stage through a landmark that combines exceptional hospitality, award-winning cuisine, a unique shopping experience and Bangkok’s spectacular views.”
“We are proud to bring the multicultural heritage, mystery and exoticism of the legendary Orient Express brand to Bangkok” said Michael Issenberg, Chairman and CEO AccorHotels Asia Pacific. “Orient Express redefined rail travel in the 1900s, introducing the first sleeper cars linking West to East and delivering unprecedented levels of comfort and dining. We look forward to bringing this same luxury and refinement to the new incarnation of Orient Express hotels.”
The original Orient Express trains were famous for the highest standards of fine craftsmanship, the newest innovations and the most exquisite dining and so Orient Express Mahanakhon Bangkok will bring together the best names in these fields to reinterpret the art of luxury travel.
Esteemed designer Tristan Auer has been tasked with reimagining the Art Deco stylings and plant motifs of the original Orient Express carriages into a modern skyscraper in the heart of a bustling metropolis. The sumptuous bedrooms and exquisite bathrooms will bring new levels of style and luxury to Bangkok.
Two signature restaurants will include Mott 32 on level 2 and Mahanathi by David Thompson on level 5 of the hotel. David Thompson is known worldwide for his skills and expertise in Thai cuisine and culinary.
Thompson has established award-winning restaurants across the world, Nahm in London and Bangkok, Long Chim in Asia and Australia and Aaharn in Hong Kong. Famed Mott 32, will also bring an exceptional modern Cantonese dining experience to the city with a contemporary restaurant and cocktail bar in Orient Express Mahanakhon Bangkok.
Mott 32 is named after 32 Mott Street in New York – the site of NYC’s first Chinese convenience store, which opened in 1851 and is now a vibrant Chinatown in the city.
Within the complex is the recently launched Mahanakhon SkyWalk, Thailand’s highest observation deck on levels 74, 75 and 78, while a King Power Duty Free and Retail occupies levels 1 to 4.
A rooftop restaurant and bar on level 76 will also provide some of the best views in Thailand, making the King Power Mahanakhon Building the epicenter of Bangkok’s social scene, just as the Orient Express was the place to meet the most fascinating people at the beginning of the 20th century.
For over 135 years, Orient Express has inspired authors, artists and film directors, with famous guests including Josephine Baker, Albert Einstein, Coco Chanel, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Marlene Dietrich and Mata Hari. Agatha Christie made the trains even more famous with her eponymous novel Murder on the Orient Express, while Albert Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes and James Bond’s From Russia with Love further immortalised the Orient Express name in the popular imagination.
Orient Express Mahanakhon Bangkok will feature 154 rooms including 9 suites and 2 penthouses, as well as an entire floor devoted to wellness including an outdoor pool and jacuzzi plus signature Orient Express Spa by Guerlain.
Guests will have access to the building’s spectacular rooftop observation deck and rooftop bar, all rooms will provide stunning views over the Far East ‘City of Angels’. At 78 storeys, King Power Mahanakhon Building is currently the tallest building in Bangkok and a visual landmark thanks to its dramatic exterior, which is encased in a glass curtain with cuboid spiral cut-outs that give it a pixelated appearance.
The hotel will open in the last quarter of 2019, 136 years after the Orient Express took its maiden voyage from Paris.
THPT Comment: AccorHotels and SNCF Group signed a strategic partnership in 2017 to develop Orient Express hotels after AccorHotels acquired a 50% stake in the share capital of the brand.
SNCF retains ownership of the seven original Orient Express carriages, which have been restored and now provide a new and exceptional setting for the organisation of events in collaboration with Potel & Chabot.
First Seen: AccorHotels website
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