QF Lad

I have posted this question in this forum, as I believe it is of greater relevance to the Luxury Hotels forum than to the Euopean Railways forum.

Has anyone been on the Orient Express between Venice and London. If yes, would you recommend the experience?

vuittonsofstyle

No, because of the lack of proper bathrooms, but if you like dressing up for dinner and you love trains, then maybe.

RCyyz

+1

The Orient Express is of course one of those fabled things that would be really cool to put on the "been there, done that" list. And surprisingly, it's well within reach as far as luxury price points go.

But ... there are no shower / bath facilities on board the train. And the dress code for meals is definitely rooted in a different age. I don't mind dressing up for dinner (if it's worth it of course), but demanding appropriate attire for all meals (and neat, tidy appearance in between) then not having bath facilities is not something I'm willing to accept.

wripro

Anyone ever wonder how Agatha Christie thought she could get twelve people into one of those tiny cabins to murder someone?

vuittonsofstyle

....and....how did Hercule Poirot keep his cream suits so clean, given the lack of bathroom facilities?

schriste

The train does a couple of Venice to Rome day journeys for the 2010 season if lack of bathroom is a show stopper.

francophile

Another day trip, as an alternative to Eurostar:

http://www.orient-express.com/web/vs...s/4_121936.jsp

Depart Paris just before brunch for your day journey to London, where you arrive late afternoon the same day.

behuman

Some, despite posting on this "luxury" hotels forum seem unable to understand what real style is about.

The VSOE is about the best train travel experience you can have. The carriages are the real historic ones and for one night the washbasin is enough to "shower" with a wet towel. I even manage to wash my hair.... (but I am just a modest Euroepan with simple family backgrund).

Staff is immaculate with Italian waiters and French chefs. The dining cars are either with wood inlay marquetry or Lalique glass panels.

The bogies are new with air suspension and the matresses too.

If you are looking for more "modern comfort" try the E&O from Singapore to Bangkok run by the same company.

This said, I can affirm that VSOE is the leading luxury train operator in the world.

QF Lad

This is going back a long way, but I don't believe all twelve people were in the compartment together.

Kagehitokiri

ignore the trolls/trolling...

why not update bathrooms? OE doesnt even have any with double beds do they? there are trains now with both shower and bath, double beds, etc. a new one in india even has a full suite with living/dining. there are also private cars on a lux train in australia.

and how is the engineering?
http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

who cares about 1 night? they have WEEK LONG trips. and will the ridiculous singling out of ONE nationality ever end? choosing americans is SO outdated too.

vuittonsofstyle

Agree! The idea of not having a shower, no matter what your nationality, is something that should be saved for war correspondents. Orient-Express is heavily into history, but less into comfort, and yes, they need to change!

RCyyz

Indeed. While I admire their devotion to historic standards, I would personally think nothing less of the Orient-Express if they simply updated their living quarters to include a basic shower. Keep those Victorian dining cars, keep the quaint dress code, keep the formal atmosphere ... just update the "rooms" and all will be well.

But, who am I to judge? The Orient-Express is still in existence all these years later so business must be good.

eamus

It is interesting that there doesn't seem to have been any thought given to engineering a solution to the shower problem on trains. With aircraft, the weight of the water is the big problem, but with rail you simply do not have that concern (up to a point well beyond the weight associated with plumbing in some showers). In fact, hooking up an entire tank car for water should be relatively, a few PEX hoses and pumps and an internal reconfigure, and there you are. Or you could create and hook up a car with 3 or 4 cabanas in which to shower and change, frankly not unlike an airport lounge. I realize the market is probably fairly limited, but it would still seem to exist.

Kagehitokiri

as i said, some have both shower and bath.

i was curious >

venice simplon
$2960 > $6400 per nt
$1840/$1920 day (one way)

royal scotsman
$3051 > $3657 per nt

eastern oriental
$1152 > $2800 per nt

british pullman & northern belle
$480 > $1260 day (round trip)

hiram bingham
$307/$334 day (one way)

Kettering Northants QC

Couldn't agree more^

I don't understand the context of the remark relating to US citizens by Behuman but to single out someone because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that purports to reveal the behaviour of that person is racist, whether intended or not. Should that be tolerated on this forum or anywhere else?

I was also surprised to find out regarding the bathroom situation, I'd assumed the arrangement was the same as the E & O